Our new Federal Min of Health and what she thinks!

[Alies Maybee]

This came into my inbox today from Canada Healthwatch about Minister Marjorie Michel's positions coming from her various podcasts/talks:

Federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel laid out a series of positions on The Gritty Nurse podcast pointing to big changes underway inside federal–provincial health agencies.
The government is poised to accelerate drug and medical device approvals, AI-adoption, and changing models of care.
“Before becoming a leader, we have to be in the game. Right now, we are not.”
Michel criticized Canada’s regulatory culture as economically uncompetitive, describing Health Canada as overly restrictive:
“The posture of Health Canada was always protecting, protecting ... we added a lot of layers.”
She said she is personally driving deregulatory changes:
“This is why I am pushing my department… moving fast, removing the red tapes, facilitating the clinical trials ... And this is why I am on it like 24 hours a day.”

Violence in hospitals:
Asked by podcast host Amie Archibald-Varley whether the federal government would consider tying health transfers to nurse–patient staffing ratios or to provincial compliance with occupational safety standards, Michel replied:
“We had that conversation ... at my last FPT. And because we had a presentation from the nurses about harassment and violence. I think I already asked Health Canada to see how we can support them better by ... raising awareness.”
When pressed on whether provinces are failing to enforce existing occupational health laws, she said:
“I wouldn’t say that. I think it’s very complex.”

Men’s health strategy:
The Minister said she is launching a national boys’ and men’s health strategy “very soon,” and that the men’s health strategy will encompass digital harms.
“I am also including all this social media, gambling ... in my strategy, because it impacts a lot of young men.”
Though regulation of social media platforms formally falls to the Department of Canadian Heritage, a federal stance toward regulating the internet under the auspices of health would be a new development.
Rapid AI-adoption, unclear guardrails:
The Minister predicts that in a few years’ time, “we'll have a very different healthcare system.”
She said the government is very keen to prevent Canada from becoming a passive consumer of foreign tech:
“If we don't move fast and if we are not embracing it, we will be buyers but not innovators.”
The push for speed comes as international regulators are reporting dramatically increased malfunction rates for AI-enabled surgical devices compared to non-AI counterparts.
On the health workforce:
The Minister also discussed a permanent move away from physician-centred care:
“... we won't ever have enough doctors to take care of the health of Canadians. And now we have nurses that are well trained and who are doing the work and more and more, they will take their space.”
Canada Healthwatch reached the Minister’s office asking for clarification on regulatory approvals, AI oversight, and a federal stance on hospital safety. No response was received by publication time.