(Wency Leung/ Globe and Mail) — The federal government has released a long-awaited national dementia strategy, providing a road map for the first time for how it intends to address a costly and rapidly growing public health concern.
But while dementia experts welcomed the strategy as an important initial step, some emphasized the government will need to devote much more funding than promised to actually implement it.
At a press conference in Toronto on Monday, Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor outlined the main objectives of the strategy: prevent dementia, seek better treatments and a cure, and improve the quality of life for people with the condition and their caregivers.
She affirmed the government is spending $50-million over five years to fund the strategy, as set out in the 2019 federal budget. And she announced the Canadian Institute of Health Research, the federal funding agency, will contribute $31.6-million over the next five years to support a national dementia research consortium. (…)