In Depth
Federal Budget 2008
Health spending to improve food, product safety
February 26, 2008
CBC News
Health funding in the 2008 federal budget focuses on programs to reassure consumers that the food and products they buy are safe.
The budget includes $113 million over the next two years for the Food and Consumer Safety Action Plan, announced in December. It's aimed at modernizing and strengthening the country's safety system for food, consumer and health products.
An additional $33 million over the next two years will be used to implement a new approach to the regulation of natural health products.
Other health spending listed in the budget includes:
- $9 million over two years for a regulatory system to standardize safety measures taken in laboratories that work with bacteria and viruses.
- $25 million over the next two years to produce a guide to help educate Canadians about the links between environmental contaminants and illnesses, developmental disorders and birth defects.
- Making more medical assistive aids, such as a seeing-eye dogs, exempt from the GST/HST.
- Expanding the costs that patients can claim under the Medical Expense Tax Credit to include: altered auditory feedback devices, electrotherapy devices, devices for standing therapy and pressure pulse therapy devices.
- Providing $110 million to establish research projects to help homeless people suffering from mental illnesses in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Moncton, N.B.
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