COVID-19 and Canada’s Children: Emergency Funding Request to Support the Health of Canada’s Children and Youth

The purpose of this proposal is to issue a request for federal emergency funding to support the needs of the health systems serving children, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are encouraging occupational therapists to share this proposal with their Member of Parliament. 

Children’s Healthcare Canada, the Pediatric Chairs of Canada, MICYRN, and patient and family partners call on the federal government to:

Recommendation 1: Allocate emergency funding in the amount of $95M to facilitate the implementation of virtual delivery of children's health services across the continuum of care (including occupational therapy).

Recommendation 2: Provide funding in the amount of $28M to support Canada’s child health research communities to ensure their sustainability.

Children are being significantly impacted both directly and indirectly by the COVID-19 pandemic. While children with COVID-19 experience less severe symptoms and lower mortality rates than other age groups, the negative impacts on children, youth, and their families as a result of the pandemic are significant. As COVID-19 monopolizes Canadian health systems, many children and youth are forgoing immunizations and other lifesaving or life-sustaining health services. Concurrently, the children’s health research enterprise has come to a halt. The diversity of healthcare organizations serving children, youth, and their families (e.g., children’s hospitals, children’s treatment centres, community hospitals, respite providers, home care agencies, and research institutes), and the jurisdictional division of responsibilities for health services planning and delivery only adds further complexity to the articulation of a measured response to protect some of Canada’s most vulnerable citizens.

What can you do to help?

Call or Email and show your support for this proposal. You can find the list of MP's (and their contact information) from across Canada here.

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