Healthcare Policy Digest
November 2025
➢ The Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research (CIMVHR) announced a partnership with the Canadian Chiropractic Research Foundation (CCRF) to fund research. As a result, CIMVHR has issued an RFP for research on chiropractic and multidisciplinary approaches to improve musculoskeletal health and well-being for Canadian Armed Forces and Veterans. Applicants can request up to $125,000 in funding through the CCRF–CIMVHR Military and Veteran Research Initiative. The deadline for submission is December 19, 2025. Click here for full details.
Chiropractic - News
➢The Community Solution Education System (CSES) and Camosun College, from British Columbia, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that would develop academic pathways for Camosun students to all six institutions within the CSES.
One of the academic pathways in the agreement would allow Camosun kinesiology students to pursue a Doctor of Chiropractic program at the University of Western States. The partnership promotes student mobility, joint research, interdisciplinary grants, and resource sharing. Click here for more information.
Chiropractic - News
➢ The National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) and the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards (FCLB) announced that they have initiated discussions to form a single organization. The NBCE and FCLB boards of directors unanimously approved exploring this possibility and a working group has been established to evaluate its viability. If the plan to combine the organizations moves forward, it will be presented to the Boards of Directors for approval in the first quarter of 2026.
Click here for a copy of the press release.
➢ The World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) has appointed Dr. Jason Jaeger as its new North American board director, filling the vacancy left by John Maltby, now WFC Interim SecretaryGeneral. Jaeger will serve for the remainder of the current board term.
Click here for more information.
Chiropractic - News
➢L’Institut Franco-Européen de Chiropraxie has renewed its partnership with Blagnac SC Rugby for the 2025/2026 season. The agreement allows chiropractic students to work with players on functional assessments, performance testing, and individualized care. The collaboration includes preseason, mid-season, and end-of-season reviews, as well as ongoing consultations under the supervision of an experienced clinician. Players receive tailored exercises, lifestyle guidance, and chiropractic adjustments, while students gain hands-on experience in athlete care, strengthening their skills and understanding of sports-specific needs.
Click here for more information.
Chiropractic
➢Health Sciences University (HSU), formerly the AngloEuropean College of Chiropractic, has secured £2.14 million in capital funding to expand clinical training and address healthcare workforce shortages in Dorset. The funding will create teaching clinics and advanced simulated learning environments, including an oral health simulation suite, a diagnostic radiography and multi-use simulation ward, and an immersive VR room. These facilities will train new dental, allied health, and other healthcare professionals. The investment will increase placement capacity and enhance clinical readiness.
Click here for more information.
Chiropractic - News
➢Improve International, a postgraduate veterinary and healthcare education provider, has partnered with the UKbased College of Health, a provider of human and animal chiropractic training. The collaboration expands Improve International’s multidisciplinary reach and supports its strategy to deliver high-quality healthcare education across more fields and regions.
The College of Health’s chiropractic programs will complement Improve International’s veterinary and human healthcare offerings, enabling both organizations to accelerate innovation through new technologies, advanced qualifications, and modern professional development methods. Click here for more information.
Chiropractic - News
➢Sherman College of Chiropractic has partnered with the University of South Carolina(USC) Upstate to provide chiropractic care for USC Upstate student-athletes. Through this partnership, Sherman chiropractic interns will gain hands-on experience by treating athletes regularly on campus. Their care will support athletic performance, mobility, and injury recovery. Click here for more information.
Extended Healthcare Coverage
➢ The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) released their annual report that updates industry wide data and information. Canada’s life and health insurers paid $143.3 billion in benefits and retirement payouts in 2024. This is about $400 million per day which is an increase of nearly 12% from 2023.
According to CLHIA’s report, health benefits alone covered 27 million Canadians and totaled $53.3 billion, with strong growth in paramedical claims (up 16%) and prescription drug claims reaching $16.6 billion.
In 2024, insurers paid $71.4 billion in retirement benefits, $18.6 billion in life insurance benefits, and $10 billion in disability benefits supporting 12 million Canadians.
Click here for a copy of the report.
Extended Healthcare Coverage
➢ Sun Life is expanding its Provider eClaims direct-billing service to include more mental health and paramedical practitioners, reducing upfront costs and simplifying claims for plan members.
The rollout will occur in three phases:
▪ Psychologists and social workers (already live as of Oct. 1, 2025)
▪ Clinical counsellors and psychotherapists (Dec. 1, 2025)
▪ Several paramedical groups including chiropodists, occupational therapists, osteopaths, podiatrists, dietitians and speech therapists on Feb. 1, 2026.
The expansion improves reimbursement speed, broadens provider access, and enhances the overall claims experience. Providers must complete a validation process before submitting claims.
Click here for a copy of the bulletin.
Extended Healthcare Coverage
➢ Ontario plans to regulate preferred pharmacy networks (PPNs) by introducing legislation that creates an “Any Willing Provider” framework, allowing any pharmacy that matches a network’s financial terms to participate.
While PPNs will still be permitted, exclusive dispensing arrangements in employer drug plans would effectively end. The move follows years of consultations with stakeholders, other provinces, and the Competition Bureau, and aligns with concerns from the Ontario College of Pharmacists about closed networks limiting continuity of care and patient autonomy.
Click here for more information.
Extended Healthcare Coverage
➢ The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is standardizing disability claim documentation by replacing the Attending Physician’s Statement (APS) with a single Initial Disability Insurance Medical Statement. This new form will be used for all disability products, including short-term, long-term, and salary continuance claims. For plan sponsors and members, the claims intake process remains the same, and the new form will apply to new claims only. Existing APS forms will still be accepted during the transition. Organizations using customized APS forms will receive further guidance in the coming weeks. Click here for more information.
Federal Government/Federal Agencies
➢ On November 4, 2025, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government tabled its first fall federal budget. The government is projecting a deficit of $78.3 billion in 2025/2026, declining to $56.6 billion by 2029/2030. Key elements of Budget 2025 include:
▪ Increase in the Canada Health Transfer from $54.7B in 2025/2026 to $65 billion in 2029/2030
▪ A dedicated Health Infrastructure Fund ($5B over three years) and northern health assessment to improve access in Indigenous and remote communities
▪ Investment of $17.2 billion over 10 years for infrastructure projects in housing, health, and post-secondary education, with cost-matching and regulatory conditions.
▪ Investment of $97 million over five years for the Foreign Credential Recognition Action Fund, focusing on health and construction sectors.
Click here to be directed to the federal budget website.
➢ The Minister of Health, Marjorie Michel, provided an update to the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP). According to the government, nearly six million Canadians are now covered under the CDCP which has saved participants about $800 annually on dental care.
The Minister of Health also announced over $35 million for 30 Oral Health Access Fund projects to improve dental training and expand access to care. These projects will improve training for dental students by allowing them to obtain the hands-on experience they need to provide care to Canadians across the country while strengthening efforts to improve access to care.
Click here for a news release to the Minister’s announcement.
Click here to learn more about the 30 projects.
Federal Government/Federal Agencies
➢ The Canadian Institute for Health Information released the 2025 Taking the Pulse report. The report focuses on Canada’s progress toward shared health priorities, focusing on primary care, mental health and substance use. The following are some of the findings of the report:
▪ In 2024, 83% of adults and 89% of children had a regular primary care provider.
▪ Only 27% of adults and 42% of children saw their provider within a day for non-urgent issues.
▪ Potentially avoidable hospitalizations rose to 325 per 100,000 in 20242025 (up from 312), suggesting gaps in community care.
▪ 41% of adults and 36% of youth with diagnosed conditions did not receive the mental healthcare they needed.
▪ 70% of patients hospitalized for mental health or substance use received physician follow-up within 30 days, though broader follow-up data are still lacking.
Click here for a copy of the report.
Prince Edward Island
➢ Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia have renewed an agreement guaranteeing PEI students priority access to 50 first-year seats in several high-demand health and professional programs at Dalhousie University for the 2026/2027 and 2027/2028 academic years. The collaboration ensures PEI students can pursue specialized training not offered on the Island, including programs in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, rehabilitation sciences, diagnostic imaging, speech-language pathology, audiology, and physician assistant studies.
Click here for more information.
New Brunswick
➢ The Minister of Finance René Legacy tabled New Brunswick’s second-quarter fiscal update. The report projected a deficit of $834.7 million, up from the projection in the budget of $549 million. The increase deficit is due to lower revenues from corporate and personal income taxes and federal grants, alongside higher expenses in healthcare and social development.
Click here for a copy of the report.
➢ The New Brunswick government is investing up to $30 million to build a new modern endoscopy suite at Moncton’s Dr. Georges L. Dumont University Hospital Centre. The upgraded unit will expand procedure rooms from seven to twelve. The upgrade will add specialized rooms (including ENT, bronchoscopy, ERCP and urology), and improve cancer detection, diagnostic capacity, and patient access.
Click here for more information.
New Brunswick
➢ BioScript Solutions, a Moncton-based specialty healthcare company, will create up to 30 new jobs by 2027 with support from Opportunities NB, which is providing up to $230,000 in payroll rebates. The company provides support for complex drug therapies, managing the needs of patients, prescribers and manufacturers. The expansion is expected to add over $4 million to the provincial GDP.
Click here for more information.
➢ The Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, tabled a letter in National Assembly on November 17, 2025, where he recognized chiropractors’ expertise in diagnosis, treatment, and preventing of neuromusculoskeletal conditions. The letter also announced work with Santé Québec and the Office des professions du Québec to develop new care pathways. The government’s commitment aims to ensure patients receive timely care from the appropriate professional.
Click here for more information.
Ontario
➢ Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy released the 2025 Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review. Ontario’s projected deficit for 2025/2026 is $13.5 billion, an improvement of $1.1 billion compared with the projection in the 2025 Budget. The government forecasts a $7.8 billion deficit in 2026/2027 and a $0.2 billion surplus in 2027/2028. Key elements of the review include:
▪ Investment of $1.1 billion over three years to extend home care services and the Hospital to Home program.
▪ $100 million added to the Ontario Together Trade Fund
▪ Improvements to the Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit
▪ Invest over $201 billion in infrastructure investments over 10 years, including $33 billion in 2025/2026, to create jobs and support economic growth. Click here for more information.
Saskatchewan
➢ The Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Jim Reiter tabled the 2025/2026 Mid Year Fiscal report. The government of Saskatchewan is forecasting a $427 million deficit, which is $79 million higher from the forecast in the first quarter. Total gross debt is projected at $39.3 billion, up 2.5% from the budget.
Saskatchewan maintains the second-lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in Canada.
Click here for a copy of the report.
Manitoba
➢ The Honourable Anita R. Neville, Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Manitoba delivered the Speech from the Throne to open the Third Session of the 43rd Manitoba Legislature.
The following policies were outline in the speech:
▪ Introduce legislation to improve patient safety by creating a patient safety charter and end mandatory overtime for health professionals
▪ Launch a digital health card and a new patient portal in 2026
▪ Expand a pharmacists’ scope of practice to allow them to treat common ailments
▪ Conduct a targeted meth sweep focusing on those producing and distributing meth
Click here for a copy of the Speech from the Throne.
Manitoba
➢ The Manitoba government has passed Bill 48, the Protective Detention and Care of Intoxicated Persons Act, to address the province’s escalating meth crisis. The law expands the definition of intoxication to include drug use and allows police and healthcare professionals to detain severely intoxicated individuals for up to 72 hours in protective care facilities.
The goal is to stabilize people experiencing meth-related psychosis, prevent harm to themselves or others, and connect them with addictions treatment once acute intoxication subsides. Minister Bernadette Smith stated that the legislation reduces pressure on emergency rooms and improves community safety while avoiding criminalization.
Click here for more information.
Manitoba
➢ The Manitoba government has added physicians to the Health Links – Info Santé phone service to provide callers with direct primary care advice and reduce unnecessary emergency room referrals. A doctor is now available daily, with expanded hours coming in December and nurse practitioners planned long term. In the first 10 days, 160 callers spoke with a physician and only 10 were sent to the ER, compared to an average of 40 ER referrals per day. The initiative is part of Manitoba’s broader strategy to lower emergency room wait times by strengthening phone and virtual care options.
Click here for more information.
Alberta
➢ Alberta has introduced Bill 11, the Health Statutes Amendment Act, which would modernize multiple areas of the province’s health system to improve access, accountability and efficiency. The legislation would strengthen drug coverage by making private plans the first payer and protecting health benefits for working adults 65 and over. It would tighten billing oversight to prevent improper claims, enhance food safety through updated regulations and stronger inspection powers. Amendments to the legislation would also support a more integrated health information system, enable health foundations to connect appropriately with patients, and advance restructuring of Alberta Health Services.
Click here for more information.
Alberta
➢ Alberta’s Bill 11, the Health Statutes Amendment Act, would allow physicians to work in both the public health system and private settings. This dual practice model is aimed at reducing wait times and expanding patient choice while protecting publicly funded care.
The dual practice model is used in Quebec and New Brunswick and other international jurisdictions. The legislation would require dedicated public-system surgery volumes, restrict private practice in undersupplied specialties, and potentially limit private work to evenings, weekends, or rural sites. Family physicians and life-threatening or emergency surgeries such as cancer and emergency procedures are excluded from private options.
Click here for more information.
Alberta
➢ Alberta has introduced the Regulated Professions Neutrality Act. This legislation is designed to protect the rights of regulated professionals and prevent regulatory bodies from disciplining individuals for lawful, off-duty speech. Prompted by high-profile disciplinary cases across Canada, the act bars regulators from penalizing expressive conduct unless it involves threats, violence, or criminal conviction. The legislation would set a consistent legal standard for reviewing related disciplinary decisions.
Click here for more information.
Alberta
➢ Alberta has created Health Shared Services (HSS), a new sharedservices organization designed to centralize IT, finance, HR and other administrative functions across the province’s health system. Launched November 1st, HSS will support Acute Care Alberta, Primary Care Alberta, Recovery Alberta, Assisted Living Alberta, provincial health corporations, and major providers including AHS and Covenant Health.
Led by interim CEO Maureen Towle, HSS aims to reduce duplication, improve system-wide coordination, and allow health agencies to focus on patient care. The organization will begin delivering services on December 1st and is expected to be fully operational by April 1, 2026.
Click here for more information.
British Columbia
➢ Preliminary data from the BC Coroners Service shows 158 deaths from unregulated drug toxicity in September 2025, averaging 5.3 deaths per day. For 2025 to date, adults aged 30 - 59 account for 69% of deaths, and 78% are male.
Fraser (406 deaths) and Vancouver Coastal (366 deaths) health authorities represent over half of all fatalities, with the highest numbers occurring in Vancouver (314), Surrey (137) and Greater Victoria (93).
Fentanyl and its analogues remain the leading substances detected (84%), followed by cocaine (52%) and methamphetamine (51%). Smoking is the most common mode of use (65%). Youth deaths (≤18) increased to 20, compared to 17 in 2024.
Click here for a copy of the report.
British Columbia
➢ Premier David Eby has appointed two new parliamentary secretaries to advance key provincial priorities in economic growth and healthcare.
▪ Darlene Rotchford (MLA for Esquimalt–Colwood) becomes parliamentary secretary for armed forces development and Veterans affairs, focusing on strengthening ties with military organizations and aligning skills training with growing defence, aerospace, ship-building and technology sectors.
▪ Stephanie Higginson (MLA for Ladysmith–Oceanside) becomes parliamentary secretary for primary care access, supporting efforts to expand community health centres, team-based care and rural primary care services. Click here for more information.
British Columbia
B.C. is proposing amendments to the Mental Health Act to strengthen involuntary care and better protect healthcare workers who treat patients with severe mental-health and substance-use challenges. The changes to the act would clarify liability-protection provisions, reduce ambiguity and support front-line staff. The amendments are aimed at ensuring vulnerable patients receive timely treatment when they cannot seek help themselves. The province is also expanding involuntary care capacity, adding new beds and facilities in several communities. Click here to learn more.
& Developments in American Chiropractic
➢ Legislation sponsored by New Jersey Senator Vince Polistina has passed the Senate Commerce Committee to create a preceptor program allowing final-year chiropractic students to gain supervised, hands-on clinical experience before graduation. The initiative aims to enhance clinical skills, improve patient safety, and encourage graduates to remain and practice in New Jersey. Click here for more information.
International Developments in Chiropractic & Other News
➢ Mexican Deputies from the Movimiento de Regeneración Nacional are proposing to require chiropractors to hold an official professional degree to strengthen regulation of the profession. The initiative, led by deputies Arturo Hernández and Marcela Michel López, aims to professionalize chiropractic practice and address legal gaps.
Click here for more information.
➢ Dr. Benito Oliva has been appointed President of dell’Associazione Italiana Chiropratici, succeeding long-time leader Dr. John Williams. Dr. Oliva’s mandate focuses on supporting young chiropractors, expanding training opportunities, and securing full legal recognition of the profession in Italy. Dr. Oliva is an Italian-Canadian who has practiced in Sardinia and Calabria.
Click here for more information.