Our Submission for the Study of Bill S-5, the Connected Care for Canadians Act

April 16, 2026

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The Canadian Chamber of Commerce welcomes the opportunity to provide written feedback to the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology as part of their study of Bill S-5, the Connected Care for Canadians Act.

For the past three years, the Canadian Chamber has convened an annual health data summit, bringing together federal and provincial government leaders with industry experts and patient group advocates to discuss the importance of pan-Canadian health data interoperability and accelerating its implementation. Our engagement on this issue reflects the tremendous national opportunity of fully leveraging our health data, which is needed not only to improve medical care and patient outcomes, but to strengthen our economic resilience and sovereignty.

Across each summit, one message consistently stood out: health data saves lives. Indeed, there are real costs to keeping health information locked away in physical records or electronic medical records systems that are not interoperable. Most importantly, a patient’s treatment can be impaired if medical practitioners across treatment settings are unable to quickly access their medical records. Critical time can be lost trying to piece together the patient’s story, or diagnoses can be mistaken or missed altogether, resulting in worse health outcomes that could have been avoided.

Beyond the clear benefits to patients, health data interoperability is also a significant economic opportunity. The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) estimates that fully leveraging Canadians’ health data could generate close to $10 billion per year in financial value. Insights derived from health data can drive improvements in the delivery of care and how we allocate resources in our health systems. It can also be used to evaluate the real-world efficacy of new treatments and will support Canada’s standing as a leading jurisdiction for clinical research and investment. We can see how international examples, such as the EU’s Health Data Space, which connects health data from across its 27 member states, are boosting confidence and focus in the life sciences ecosystem.

A strong health data foundation is also critical to fully leverage advances in artificial intelligence (AI) models, which will increasingly drive the future of medical innovation, from drug discovery to treatment and diagnostics. AI will also be used to leverage health data to find system-wide efficiencies in our medical systems, which can help improve access to medical care. However, AI models require quality, standardised data to deliver meaningful insights. Shared national standards will therefore be necessary to fully benefit from applications of AI to health care.

Given the significant opportunities arising from better management of our health data, we were pleased to see health data recognized by the Prime Minister as a key priority in Canada Strong. We also commend the government for reintroducing the Connected Care for Canadians Act in Bill S-5. These developments build on and support the vision laid out in the Pan-Canadian Health Data Strategy and the Interoperability Roadmap.

However, we must also recognize that tangible progress has so far not kept pace. While most other developed nations already offer easy access to medical information to patients and practitioners, as well as access to anonymized data to researchers, Canada continues to lag. Furthermore, provinces and territories have been proceeding with their own interoperability frameworks that, while well-intentioned, are creating a patchwork of unique standards and distancing us from the goal of national interoperability.

The federal government must therefore lead the implementation of shared national interoperability standards. While the federal government should work collaboratively with provinces and territories, it must also be recognized that the status quo is no longer acceptable to Canadians, who expect that they will have a similar level of access to health information as patients in peer countries. Canadians also expect the government to take all reasonable measures to improve access to health care and, as we face unprecedented challenges, strengthen our economic resilience.

We again commend the government for tabling Bill S-5, the Connected Care for Canadians Act, which is a critical step towards national health data interoperability. We believe that this bill should be passed without delay to prevent further fragmentation of the Canadian health data landscape. We also submit the recommendations included below to ensure that the legislation achieves its objectives and drives meaningful progress. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss our submission with the Committee.