Health Policy Council
For Ontario to thrive, we need to ensure we have healthy workers, communities and workplaces. As many businesses witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a direct connection between a strong health care system and a robust economy. Government investment in preventive health care is an important cost-effective measure for the long-term. Beyond supporting a healthy, productive workforce, a strong, efficient health care system ensures a robust economy, including through job creation, effective delivery of services, improved population health, and research and innovation.
Working with government and health providers, the private sector plays a key role in supporting a stronger and more resilient public health system by supporting innovation in drug discovery and medical devices, supporting cost-effective government procurement, and leveraging data to ensure our health system operates efficiently.
Launched on April 7, 2020, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s Health Policy Council brings together experts from industry, health practitioners, insurers and academia to provide timely recommendations to governments related to health care system modernization, innovation, and resilience in Ontario. Now more than ever, Ontario’s success depends on working together to ensure care system modernization, innovation, and resilience in Ontario.
Recent Highlights:
- Publication of letter, Ontario Business Imperative: Investing in Healthy, Sustainable Communities
- Ontario Budget Submission and Federal Budget Submission
- Ontario’s aging population and Alzheimer’s and dementia care
- Op-ed on Ontario life sciences strategy
- Submission to the Competition Bureau on digital health and virtual care
- COVID-19 therapeutics
- Health human resources and staffing shortages
Publications:
- Principles for an Effective Pharmacare Program
- Power of the Purchase Order: Modernizing Public Sector Procurement in Ontario
- Realizing the Full Potential of Virtual Care in Ontario.
- Mental Wellness in the Workplace: A Playbook for Employers and A Playbook for SMEs.
- Blueprint to Bolster Ontario’s Prosperity.
2025 Policy and Advocacy Priorities:
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Supporting life sciences and health innovation: Ontario is home to more than 2,000 life sciences companies contributing $65.2 billion every year in GDP and supporting over 72,000 high-paying jobs. There is an opportunity to capitalize on Ontario’s life sciences advantage and ensure timely access to life-saving care.
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Improving health infrastructure: Modernizing and expanding Ontario’s health infrastructure is essential, as current timelines—often spanning 7 to 10 years—are no longer adequate to meet the pace of population growth and evolving healthcare needs. Strategic and accelerated investments are especially critical in rural, remote, northern, and Indigenous communities, where longstanding infrastructure gaps continue to limit access to care.
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Strengthening health systems for long-term resiliency: There is an urgent need to expand access to primary care to reduce reliance on emergency departments, ease pressure on hospitals, and support a more efficient, cost-effective, and patient-centered system.
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Addressing Ontario’s health human resources (HHR) crisis: Over 2.5 million Ontarians are without a family physician—a number projected to rise to 1 in 5 within two years. This growing shortage of health human resources, compounded by gaps in the talent pipeline, is placing significant strain on system capacity and jeopardizing timely access to care and patient outcomes.
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Improving mental health and substance use supports: Demand for mental health and addiction supports remains high, with growing waitlists, a worsening opioid and substance use crisis, and increased pressure on small businesses to provide employee mental health resources. Addressing this “echo pandemic” requires strengthened system capacity, integrated community-based care, and accessible supports tha
Members of the Council include:
- Abbvie
- Alzheimer Society of Ontario
- Amgen
- AstraZeneca
- BD
- Biogen
- BioMarin
- Dynacare
Eisai - Eli Lilly
- GoodLife Fitness
- Green Shield Canada
- GSK
- Hologic
- Ingersoll Nurse Practitioner Led Clinic
- Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC)
- Janssen/J&J
- Johnston Group
- Lavictoire Consulting
- LifeLabs
- Medavie
- Medtech Canada
Merck - MyHealth Centre
- Novartis
- Ontario Genomics
- Ontario Dental Association
- Ontario Physiotherapy Association
- Ontario Medical Association
- Praxus Health (formerly 19 to Zero)
- Pfizer Canada
- Roche
- Sun Life
- Trudell Medical
- Vertex Pharmaceuticals
- York University
Click here to learn more about OCC’s ongoing advocacy work.
Click here to learn more about the OCC’s COVID-19 related advocacy.
For more information on how to join the Council, please contact, Neeky Dalir, OCC’s Policy Analyst.