My Role in the Canadian Health System

The Canadian Constitution lays out how the roles and responsibilities in Canada’s health care system are divvied up between federal, provincial and territorial governments. The administration and delivery, for the most part, falls to the provinces and territories which includes establishing their own priorities, health care budgets and resources. The federal government’s role in health care is largely to provide funds to the provinces and territories. For the provinces and territories to get their full funding from the federal government the provinces and territories health systems must meet national principals set in the Canada Health Act (ISC, 2022).

According to Indigenous Services Canada (ISC, 2022) health care for Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Inuit and Metis), federal and provincial and territorial governments have some degree of jurisdiction. Indigenous Peoples are included in per capita funding from the federal government and as such are entitled to provincial and territorial health services as any other resident of a province or territory. Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) also funds or directly provides certain health care services to First Nations Communities.

One of the health care services that ISC provides or funds to First Nation communities is the Environmental Public Health Program. This is a mandatory health program as the environment, both manmade and natural, can affect and individual’s ability to attain and maintain good health. As described in the First Nations: Environmental Public Health Program pamphlet as:

A healthy environment includes safe water and food supplies, properly designed, constructed and maintained housing and community facilities, as well as suitable treatment and disposal of wastewater and solid waste. To maintain a healthy environment, it is also necessary to plan for and respond to emergencies and work to prevent and control communicable diseases (Health Canada, 2008).

The environmental public health program at Maskwacis Health Services (MHS) is funded by the federal government through ISC to provide environmental public health services to the 4 First Nations that make up the Maskwacis People. The Environmental Public Health Program at MHS works with the First Nation Communities it serves to identify and prevent environmental public health risks that could impact the health of the community members. The program also includes recommending corrective action to reduce these risks.

My role as an Environmental Public Health Officer (EPHO) for MHS is to provide advice, guidance, education, public health inspections and recommendations to the Maskwacis First Nations and their leadership to help manage public health risks associated with the environment (Health Canada 2008).

References

Indigenous Services Canada. (2022). Indigenous health care in Canada. Retrieved May 27, 2022, from https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1626810177053/1626810219482

Health Canada. (2008). First Nations: Environmental Public Health Program. Retrieved May 27, 2022, from https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/hc-sc/migration/hc-sc/fniah-spnia/alt_formats/fnihb-dgspni/pdf/pubs/promotion/2009_env_prog-eng.pdf