Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada

The Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada, also known as the Romanow Report, is a committee study led by Roy Romanow on the future of health care in Canada. It was delivered in November 2002. Romanow recommended sweeping changes to ensure the long-term sustainability of Canada's health care system. The proposed changes were outlined in the Commission's Final Report, Building on Values: The Future of Health Care in Canada, which was tabled in the House of Commons on 28 November 2002. Although the Report of the Royal Commission dealt with a wide range of issues, much of the early attention was paid to the recommendations with respect to the financing of health care in Canada and especially transfers from the federal government to provincial and territorial governments. The Report set the stage for another round of federal-provincial/territorial bargaining leading to a significant agreement in September 2004 whereby the Government of Canada agreed to transfer an additional $41 billion over the next 10 years in support of an action plan on health. The new funding is meant to strengthen ongoing federal health support provided through the Canada Health Transfer (CHT) as well as focus resources on addressing the fact that Canadians, like citizens in other OECD countries, often have significant wait times for access to essential health care services.