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Health Canada’s cannabis program will see about $20.5 million in cuts over the next three years as part of the federal government’s goal of finding some $15.8 billion in savings over five years under its ongoing “Refocusing Government Spending” initiative, reports the Hill Times.
The cuts to Health Canada’s cannabis program constitute the largest made in order to reach the budgetary goal. Health Canada’s pharmaceutical drugs programs and management and oversight services will also see millions in reduced spending.
The document shared in the House of Commons shows Health Canada’s refocussing government spending reductions for its cannabis program by $4.7 million in 2024-2025, $7.5 million in 2025-2026 and $8.3 million 2026-2027 and ongoing.
In Budget 2023, the federal government announced the “Refocusing Government Spending to Deliver for Canadians” measure with a goal of reducing the pace and scale of growth in government spending back to a pre-pandemic path.
The Hill Times’ reporting comes from recently tabled House of Commons documents showing cuts to federal programs from affordable housing to vaccines, the Department of National Defence, and more. The tabled documents are in response to a question from Peter Julian, the NDP MP for New Westminster—Burnaby, BC.
The cuts were first announced as part of Budget 2023, which announced a goal of refocusing $14.1 billion over five years from different government organizations and $1.3 billion over five years from enterprise crown corporations.
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More than $20 million in cuts to Health Canada’s cannabis program over next three years
