Federal government reveals plan to improve access to diabetes care across Canada
The federal government has tabled a long-awaited plan in the House of Commons to improve access to diabetes treatment and prevention in Canada, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced Wednesday.
Liberal MP Sonia Sidhu called for the framework as part of a private member's bill that became law in 2021.
At the time, Diabetes Canada was clamouring for some kind of national vision to address the growing disease epidemic.
“The framework means that Canada will have a co-ordinated response to diabetes that will improve health outcomes for everyone,” Sidhu said at a press conference alongside the Health minister Wednesday.
Diabetes prevents the natural production or use of insulin in the body, which in turn prevents the regulation of glucose in the blood. It is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and lower limb amputation.
According to the private member's bill, the framework must outline the training, education and guidance health workers need to promote the treatment and prevention of diabetes, including new clinical practice guidelines.
The act says the government will ensure the Canada Revenue Agency administers the disability tax credit fairly and in a way that helps as many people with diabetes as possible.
It will also address research, surveillance and data collection, Sidhu said.
Advocates for diabetes patients have lamented the lack of federal vision on the disease for years.
“There's really the gap of having an overall playbook or framework, and then there (are) gaps in being able to measure progress against that by providing data,” Laura Syron, president of Diabetes Canada, said in an interview Wednesday.
A federal strategy was established in 1999 but then absorbed into a larger strategy to address chronic diseases in 2005.
“The longer we delay co-ordinated efforts with targeted outcomes, the more diabetes prevalence will increase and the more Canadians will experience its tragic complications,” Dr. Jan Hux, then president of Diabetes Canada, said in a statement in 2019.
Since then, the prevalence of diabetes and prediabetes in Canada has grown 6.5 per cent, according to statistics released by Diabetes Canada, and the annual cost of treating the disease has grown to $30 billion.
There were 5.7 million people with diagnosed diabetes as of March 2022 and another five million experiencing prediabetes - a condition that, if left unmanaged, can develop into Type 2 diabetes.
“I'm a person who lives with Type 2 diabetes, so I can tell you with confidence that this framework has the potential to transform the lives of millions of people who live with diabetes like me, and those who care for them,” Syron said at the press conference.
The strategy will serve as a road map for provincial health systems and outline what diabetes treatment and prevention should look like in Canada, she said.
She is particularly interested in a starting a conversation about reducing stigma around diabetes, which research has shown makes people less likely to take their medication and hurts patients' quality of life.
Now that the framework is in place, she said her organization will start pushing the federal government to dedicate funding to it in the next budget.
The government is also speaking with Indigenous groups to address diabetes in First Nations, Inuit, and Metis populations, Duclos said.
“We also know that Indigenous Peoples are diagnosed with diabetes at a younger age, and tend to have more severe symptoms and have more difficulty having access to appropriate health-care services, and therefore face a higher risk of complications and experience poorer treatment outcomes,” Duclos said.
The federal government also funds the Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative to address the outsized risks Indigenous people face from the disease. The initiative aims to deliver primary prevention, screening and treatment programs with the help of First Nations and provincial and territorial governments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 5, 2022.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Doctors combine a pig kidney transplant and a heart device in a bid to extend woman's life
Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Local Spotlight
Fergus, Ont. man feels nickel-and-dimed for $0.05 property tax bill
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
'I'm committed': Oilers fan won't cut hair until Stanley Cup comes to Edmonton
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
'It's not my father's body!' Wrong man sent home after death on family vacation in Cuba
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
'Once is too many times': Education assistants facing rising violence in classrooms
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
What is capital gains tax? How is it going to affect the economy and the younger generations?
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
UBC football star turning heads in lead up to NFL draft
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Cat found at Pearson airport 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.