Introduction

The Health Sectoral Follow-up Session (HSS) held on November 4-5, 2004, was the first in a series of sessions intended to fulfill the commitment made by Prime Minister Paul Martin at the conclusion of the Canada-Aboriginal Peoples Roundtable on Strengthening the Relationship that was held on April 19, 2004. The Sectoral Follow-up Sessions are intended to explore new and innovative ideas through which the Government of Canada, national Aboriginal leaders and provincial/territorial governments can work together to close the quality of life gap between Aboriginal peoples and all Canadians. In addition to Health, Sectoral Follow-up Sessions are to be convened for Lifelong Learning, Housing, Economic Opportunities, Negotiations and Accountability for Results.

Following the distribution of the April 19, 2004 Canada-Aboriginal Peoples Roundtable report, the Aboriginal Affairs Secretariat (AAS) within the Privy Council Office (PCO) established an overall Planning Committee to develop the proposed Sectoral Follow-up Sessions. The Planning Committee is comprised of representatives from:

• five National Aboriginal Organizations, including, Assembly of First Nations (AFN), Métis National Council (MNC), Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP), and the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC);
• key federal departments and agencies that serve as lead departments or have related responsibilities, including Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Health Canada, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Industry Canada, Treasury Board Secretariat, the Privy Council Office; and
• provincial and territorial officials.

A Health Planning Sub-Committee, chaired by Health Canada and comprising federal, Aboriginal, and provincial/territorial members, applied the overall session planning guidelines established by the Planning Committee to the particular needs of the health field. The Health Planning Sub-Committee responsibilities included:

• identification of policy priority topics, focus questions and the agenda to guide discussions at the session;
• development of background papers to provide participants with an overview of key issues;
• selection of participants and officials (who attended as observers to support the process); and
• review of the facilitator's report on the session.

The five National Aboriginal Organizations (NAOs) were given the opportunity to select 10 participants from their organizations and/or communities at all levels. Other participants were selected, based on their areas of expertise and in an effort to balance regional, distinction and gender representation, from additional names submitted by the NAOs, provinces, territories and federal departments. There were a total of 96 participants at the Health Sectoral Follow-up Session. The NAOs and the participating governments identified officials to provide support to their selected participants and to report back on the discussions. Each NAO had up to three officials, the federal government had up to 15 officials, and the provincial and territorial governments divided a total of 15 officials’ seats. There were a total 43 officials identified (see Annex B).

The Health Sectoral Session (HSS) was designed to bring experts and practitioners' together to put forth new and innovative suggestions for improving the health of Aboriginal peoples and discuss how those ideas or recommended actions could be implemented to achieve on-the-ground success. It was agreed at the Planning Committee that the Sectoral Follow-up Sessions be open to an exploration of a wide range of ideas that could inform the subsequent work, rather than seek to achieve consensus on any particular idea or position.

The specific objectives for the HSS established by the Planning Committee were to engage participants in a discussion of health matters affecting Aboriginal peoples and communities and to recommend options for improving:

• the health status of Aboriginal peoples;
• the health services available to Aboriginal peoples;
• the health systems of delivery; and
• health governance and accountability.

The results from the technical level discussions at the HSS are contained in this Facilitators’ Report. The report is based on the flip chart notes prepared by the participants and facilitators during the session and a template approved by the Planning Committee. All flip charts were transcribed verbatim and are contained in Annex C of this report. The daily summaries were prepared by the facilitators and presented in the plenary session at the end of each day. These summaries have been used to help prepare this report; and are included in Annex C. As a practical matter, it is not possible to reflect every idea placed on the flip charts during the breakout group in the narrative of this report. The facilitators have attempted to draft this report in a manner that highlights the content of the flip charts as succinctly and objectively as possible. As a result, this report should be read in tandem with the detailed ideas contained in the flip chart notes. As well, discussion at the session built on the content of the background papers prepared in advance of the HSS. These background papers can be found on this Roundtable website.

The discussions themselves, the HSS Facilitators’ Report, the Facilitators’ Reports from the other Sectoral Follow-up Sessions, and the Facilitators’ Final Report on all Sectoral Sessions are intended to support and inform the development of Aboriginal policy in Canada as well as the events leading to:

• a spring 2005 policy retreat with members of the Cabinet Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, national Aboriginal leaders, and provincial/territorial representatives¹; and
• the fall 2005 First Ministers’ Meeting (FMM) on Aboriginal Issues.

It is also anticipated that the participating governments and organizations may develop their own reports and analysis of the Sectoral Sessions (for example, ITK is convening an Inuit-specific forum on the environment). It is also understood that the brainstorming at the Sectoral Session in no way commits any particular government or organization to a discussion on any particular idea at upcoming political level forums.

1. Discussions are ongoing with provinces and territories regarding their participation in the planned spring policy retreat and this matter will be clarified as work proceeds toward this proposed initiative.

Table of Contents

The documentation contained on this website does not necessarily represent the views of any government or National Aboriginal Organization. The purpose of this website is to share information related to the Canada-Aboriginal Peoples Roundtable: background papers, Facilitator's sectoral and final reports, agendas and media announcements.

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