Federal Support to Palliative and End-of-Life Care

The federal government is committed to ensuring quality health care for all Canadians, including care at the end of life. The aging of the population is one of the main factors that explains the increasing need for quality palliative and end-of-life care. In response to this increasing need, the federal government supports palliative and end-of-life care in a variety of ways.

Health Portfolio

The federal health portfolio, including Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), supports palliative and end-of-life care.

Health Canada

The Palliative and End-of-Life Care Unit (previously known as the Secretariat on Palliative and End-of-Life Care), within Health Canada's Strategic Policy Branch, is the focal point at Health Canada for issues faced by Canadians who are dying or dealing with life-threatening illnesses. The Palliative and End-of-Life Care Unit ensures that palliative and end-of-life care is taken into consideration in relevant policy initiatives at Health Canada and at the federal level. One of the roles of the unit is to provide support for the Minister of Health on palliative and end-of-life issues. Other areas of Health Canada also have initiatives that relate to palliative and end-of-life care, including those responsible for health human resources, home and continuing care, and primary health care.

Health Canada works with provincial and territorial partners and with key stakeholders regarding end-of-life issues. It also provides leadership and support for national initiatives that help to improve knowledge and awareness of palliative and end-of-life issues, support access, and contribute to quality palliative and end-of-life care for all Canadians.

Health Canada works with First Nations and Inuit communities in developing comprehensive home and community care services. These services assist people who have chronic and acute illnesses receive the care they need in their home or community. Care provided in these familiar settings allows First Nations people and Inuit to be close to their loved ones as long as possible and to keep their independence. Home and community care may include nursing care, personal care such as bathing and foot care, home support such as meal preparation, and in-home respite care, that is, caring for someone while family members have a rest.

Public Health Agency of Canada

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), through the Division of Aging and Seniors, provides federal leadership and serves as a focal point for information on public health issues related to aging and seniors. The division has published a Palliative care Info-sheet for seniors and produced an End-of-Life Care for Seniors CD containing three publications that explore medical, cultural, spiritual and ethical issues in end-of-life care.

Canadian Institutes of Health Research

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Cancer Research identified palliative and end-of-life care as one of its strategic research priorities in 2002. In June 2003, CIHR and partners launched a palliative and end-of-life care initiative that reflected the multiple needs of the palliative care research community. The initiative was designed to support infrastructure development, enhance interdisciplinary research collaboration, encourage the development of early career researchers and attract trainees to this emerging area. The components of the initiative were:

• one-year pilot project grants designed to target and assess innovative approaches in implementing palliative and end-of-life care
• five-year New Emerging Team (NET) grants designed to build capacity and to promote the formation of new research teams or the growth of small existing teams
• one-year Career Transition Awards intended to attract researchers who want to change their research focus in the field of palliative care or to enter the field from another discipline

This initiative, along with the previously funded NET and Strategic Training Program, funded 19 pilot projects, 10 NETs and one Career Transition Award. The total investment was $16.5 million over six years for palliative and end-of-life care research.

Other Federal Initiatives

Other federal initiatives related to palliative and end-of-life care have also been implemented, including:

• Employment Insurance (EI) Compassionate Care Benefits - Compassionate Care Benefits, through the Employment Insurance (EI) program, are available for eligible workers who have to be absent from work to provide care or support to a gravely ill family member near the end of life.
  
  
• Caregiver amount - The caregiver amount may be claimed on a tax return by someone caring for a relative who lives with them and who is dependent because of a physical or mental impairment.