Question: How does the federal government initiate nation policies such as the Canada Health Act?
About the article "Canada", section "Provinces and territories".

Candidate passages:
Canada is a federation composed of ten provinces and three territories.
In turn, these may be grouped into four main regions: Western Canada, Central Canada, Atlantic Canada, and Northern Canada ("Eastern Canada" refers to Central Canada and Atlantic Canada together).
Provinces have more autonomy than territories, having responsibility for social programs such as health care, education, and welfare.
Together, the provinces collect more revenue than the federal government, an almost unique structure among federations in the world.
Using its spending powers, the federal government can initiate national policies in provincial areas, such as the Canada Health Act; the provinces can opt out of these, but rarely do so in practice.
Equalization payments are made by the federal government to ensure that reasonably uniform standards of services and taxation are kept between the richer and poorer provinces.
The CHST was an amalgamation of two federal programs prior to 1996: Established Programs Financing (which paid for health care and post-secondary education and was established in 1977) and the Canada Assistance Plan (which supported social assistance and was established in 1966).
Under the Constitution of Canada, health, education and social assistance are all areas of provincial responsibility and authority.
The federal government does not directly participate in the administration of government services in these areas, though federal money through the CHST and its successors is used to fund them.
But unlike equalization payments, which provinces can spend on anything, money distributed through the CHST is conditional and must be spent on health, post-secondary education or welfare.
Legislation such as the Canada Health Act specify standards that the provinces must maintain in order to receive funding.
The CHST and its successors consist of both cash transfers and tax transfers.
Cash transfers are direct transfers of money from the federal government to the provinces.
Tax transfers work because both federal and provincial governments collect personal and corporate income tax.
A tax transfer involves the federal government reducing its income tax rates, leaving the provinces room ("tax points") by which they can increase their own taxes (and thus their revenues) without increasing the total tax burden on their citizens. 
Tlicho Government (formerly Dog Rib Rae Band).
The Tlicho Agreement.
The act of signing the agreement began the ratification process for the Tlicho Agreement.
On Thursday, August 4, 2005, the Tlicho Agreement went into full effect, "The first official day of the Tlicho Government and the Tlicho community governments" (Tlicho Effective Date).
On August 25, 2003, they signed a land claims agreement, also called Tłįchǫ, as the Tlicho Government, with the Government of Canada.
The agreement will cede a area between Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake in the NWT to Tłįchǫ ownership.
The territory includes the communities of Behchoko, Gamèti, Wekweeti and Whatì along with Diavik Diamond Mine and Ekati Diamond Mine.
The four bands, "Dogrib Rae Band", "Whatí First Nation", "Gaméti First Nation" and "Dechi Laot’i First Nation" and the Dogrib Treaty 11 Council, ceased to exist on August 4, 2005 and have been succeeded by the Tlicho Government (or "Tåîchô Government").
The Tłįchǫ will have their own legislative bodies in the area's four communities, of which the chiefs must be Tłįchǫ, though anyone may run for councillor and vote.
The legislatures will have, among other authorities, the power to collect taxes, levy resource royalties, which currently go to the federal government, and control hunting, fishing and industrial development.
The Tłįchǫ will also receive payments of $152 million over 15 years and annual payments of approximately $3.5 million.
The federal government will retain control of criminal law, as it does across Canada, and the NWT will control services such as health care and education.
This land-claims process took twenty years to conclude.
A similar process with the Inuit in the NWT brought about the creation of the new territory of Nunavut.
Though Tłįchǫ will not be a separate territory, the extent of its powers has invited comparisons both with the birth of Nunavut and with the creation of the NWT government in 1967. 
Several policies regarding interior and domestic issues in Canada were planned and adopted by the Canadian Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, following the January 23, 2006 election of the Conservative Party to a minority of seats in the House of Commons, such as social and environmental policies.
At the beginning of the government's appointment, five policy priorities were identified in the areas of federal accountability, tax reform, crime, child care and health care. 
The conclusion of the Report set out 47 recommendations along with a timetable for their implementation.
Recommendation 1 – A new Canadian Health Covenant should be established as a common declaration of Canadians’ and their governments’ commitment to a universally accessible, publicly funded health care system.
To this end, First Ministers should meet at the earliest opportunity to agree on this Covenant.
Recommendation 2 – A Health Council of Canada should be established by the provincial, territorial and federal governments to facilitate co-operation and provide national leadership in achieving the best health outcomes in the world.
The Health Council should be built on the existing infrastructure of the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) and the Canadian Coordinating Office of Health Technology Assessment (CCOHTA).
Recommendation 3 – On an initial basis, the Health Council of Canada should: Establish common indicators and measure the performance of the health care system; Establish benchmarks, collect information and report publicly on efforts to improve quality, access and outcomes in the health care system; and coordinate existing activities in health technology assessment and conduct independent evaluations of technologies, including their impact on rural and remote delivery and the patterns of practice for various health care providers.
Recommendation 4 – In the longer term, the Health Council of Canada should provide ongoing advice and coordination in transforming primary health care, developing national strategies for Canada’s health workforce, and resolving disputes under a modernized Canada Health Act.
Recommendation 5 – The Canada Health Act should be modernized and strengthened by: Confirming the principles of public administration, universality and accessibility, updating the principles of portability and comprehensiveness, and establishing a new principle of accountability; Expanding insured health services beyond hospital and physician services to immediately include targeted home care services followed by prescription drugs in the longer term; Clarifying coverage in terms of diagnostic services; Including an effective dispute resolution process; and Establishing a dedicated health transfer directly connected to the principles and conditions of the Canada Health Act.
Recommendation 6 – To provide adequate funding, a new dedicated cash-only Canada Health Transfer should be established by the federal government.
To provide long-term stability and predictability, the Transfer should include an escalator that is set in advance for five year periods.
Recommendation 7 – On a short-term basis, the federal government should provide targeted funding for the next two years to establish: a new Rural and Remote Access Fund; a new Diagnostic Services Fund; a Primary Health Care Transfer; a Home Care Transfer; and a Catastrophic Drug TransferRecommendation 8 – A personal electronic health record for each Canadian that builds upon the work currently underway in provinces and territories.
Recommendation 9 – Canada Health Infoway should continue to take the lead on this initiative and be responsible for developing a pan-Canadian electronic health record framework built upon provincial systems, including ensuring the interoperability of current electronic health information systems and addressing issues such as security standards and harmonizing privacy policies.
Recommendation 10 – Individual Canadians should have ownership over their personal health information, ready access to their personal health records, clear protection of the privacy of their health records, and better access to comprehensive and credible information about health, health care and the health system.
Recommendation 11 – Amendments should be made to the Criminal Code of Canada to protect Canadians’ privacy and to explicitly prevent the abuse or misuse of personal health information, with violations in this area considered a criminal offense.
Recommendation 12 – Canada Health Infoway should support health literacy by developing and maintaining an electronic health information base to link Canadians to health information that is properly researched, trustworthy and credible as well as support more widespread efforts to promote good health.
Recommendation 13 – The Health Council of Canada should take action to streamline technology assessment in Canada, increase the effectiveness, efficiency and scope of technology assessment, and enhance the use of this assessment in guiding decisions.
Recommendation 14 – Steps should be taken to bridge current knowledge gaps in applied policy areas, including rural and remote health, health human resources, health promotion, and pharmaceutical policy.
Recommendation 15 – A portion of the proposed Rural and Remote Access Fund, the Diagnostic Services Fund, the Primary Health Care Transfer, and the Home Care Transfer should be used to improve the supply and distribution of health care providers, encourage changes to their scopes and patterns of practice, and ensure that the best use is made of the mix of skills of different health care providers.
Recommendation 16 – The Health Council of Canada should systematically collect, analyze and regularly report on relevant and necessary information about the Canadian health workforce, including critical issues related to the recruitment, distribution, and remuneration of health care providers.
Recommendation 17 – The Health Council of Canada should review existing education and training programs and provide recommendations to the provinces and territories on more integrated education programs for preparing health care providers, particularly for primary health care settings.
Recommendation 18 – The Health Council of Canada should develop a comprehensive plan for addressing issues related to the supply, distribution, education and training, remuneration, skills and patterns of practice for Canada’s health workforce.
Recommendation 19 – The proposed Primary Health Care Transfer should be used to “fast-track” primary health care implementation.
Funding should be conditional on provinces and territories moving ahead with primary health care reflecting four essential building blocks – continuity of care, early detection and action, better information on needs and outcomes, and new and stronger incentives to achieve transformation.
Recommendation 20 – The Health Council of Canada should sponsor a National Summit on Primary Health Care within two years to mobilize concerted action across the country, assess early results, and identify actions that must be taken to remove obstacles to primary health care implementation.
Recommendation 21 – The Health Council of Canada should play a leadership role in following up on the outcomes of the Summit, measuring and tracking progress, sharing information and comparing Canada’s results to leading countries around the world, and reporting to Canadians on the progress of implementing primary health care in Canada.
Recommendation 22 – Prevention of illness and injury, and promotion of good health should be strengthened with the initial objective of making Canada a world leader in reducing tobacco use and obesity.
Recommendation 23 – All governments should adopt and implement the strategy developed by the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers Responsible for Sport, Recreation and Fitness to improve physical activity in Canada.
Recommendation 24 – A national immunization strategy should be developed to ensure that all children are immunized against serious illnesses and Canada is well prepared to address potential problems from new and emerging infectious diseases.
Recommendation 25 – Provincial and territorial governments should use the new Diagnostic Services Fund to improve access to medical diagnostic services.
Recommendation 26 – Provincial and territorial governments should take immediate action to manage wait lists more effectively by implementing centralized approaches, setting standardized criteria, and providing clear information to patients on how long they can expect to wait.
Recommendation 27 – Working with the provinces and territories, the Health Council of Canada should establish a national framework for measuring and assessing the quality and safety of Canada’s health care system, comparing the outcomes with other OECD countries, and reporting regularly to Canadians.
Recommendation 28 – Governments, regional health authorities, health care providers, hospitals and community organizations should work together to identify and respond to the needs of official language minority communities.
Recommendation 29 – Governments, regional health authorities, and health care providers should continue their efforts to develop programs and services that recognize the different health care needs of men and women, visible minorities, people with disabilities, and new Canadians.
Recommendation 30 – The Rural and Remote Access Fund should be used to attract and retain health care providers.
Recommendation 31 – A portion of the Rural and Remote Access Fund should be used to support innovative ways of expanding rural experiences for physicians, nurses and other health care providers as part of their education and training.
Recommendation 32 – The Rural and Remote Access Fund should be used to support the expansion of telehealth approaches.
Recommendation 33 – The Rural and Remote Access Fund should be used to support innovative ways of delivering health care services to smaller communities and to improve the health of people in those communities.
Recommendation 34 – The proposed new Home Care Transfer should be used to support expansion of the Canada Health Act to include medically necessary home care services in the following areas: Home mental health case management and intervention services should immediately be included in the scope of medically necessary services covered under the Canada Health Act; Home care services for post-acute patients, including coverage for medication management and rehabilitation services, should be included under the Canada Health Act; and palliative home care services to support people in their last six months of life should also be included under the Canada Health Act.
Recommendation 35 – Human Resources Development Canada, in conjunction with Health Canada should be directed to develop proposals to provide direct support to informal caregivers to allow them to spend time away from work to provide necessary home care assistance at critical times.
Recommendation 36 – The proposed new Catastrophic Drug Transfer should be used to reduce disparities in coverage across the country by covering a portion of the rapidly growing costs of provincial and territorial drug plans.
Recommendation 37 – A new National Drug Agency should be established to evaluate and approve new prescription drugs, provide ongoing evaluation of existing drugs, negotiate and contain drug prices, and provide comprehensive, objective and accurate information to health care providers and to the public.
Recommendation 38 – Working collaboratively with the provinces and territories, the National Drug Agency should create a national prescription drug formulary based on a transparent and accountable evaluation and priority-setting process.
Recommendation 39 – A new program on medication management should be established to assist Canadians with chronic and some life-threatening illnesses.
The program should be integrated with primary health care approaches across the country.
Recommendation 40 – The National Drug Agency should develop standards for the collection and dissemination of prescription drug data on drug utilization and outcomes.
Recommendation 41 – The federal government should immediately review the pharmaceutical industry practices related to patent protection, specifically, the practices of evergreening and the notice of compliance regulations.
This review should ensure that there is an appropriate balance between the protection of intellectual property and the need to contain costs and provide Canadians with improved access to non-patented prescription drugs.
Recommendation 42 – Current funding for Aboriginal health services provided by the federal, provincial and territorial governments and Aboriginal organizations should be pooled into single consolidated budgets in each province and territory to be used to integrate Aboriginal health care services, improve access, and provide adequate, stable and predictable funding.
Recommendation 43 – The consolidated budgets should be used to fund new Aboriginal Health Partnerships that would be responsible for developing policies, providing services and improving the health of Aboriginal peoples.
These partnerships could take many forms and should reflect the needs, characteristics and circumstances of the population served.
Recommendation 44 – Federal and provincial governments should prevent potential challenges to Canada’s health care system by: Ensuring that any future reforms they implement are protected under the definition of “public services” included in international law or trade agreements to which Canada is party; and reinforcing Canada’s position that the right to regulate health care policy should not be subject to claims for compensation from foreign-based companies.
Recommendation 45 – The federal government should build alliances with other countries, especially with members of the World Trade Organization, to ensure that future international trade agreements, agreements on intellectual property, and labour standards make explicit allowance for both maintaining and expanding publicly insured, financed and delivered health care.
Recommendation 46 – The federal government should play a more active leadership role in international efforts to assist developing nations in strengthening their health care systems through foreign aid and development programs.
Particular emphasis should be placed on training health care providers and on public health initiatives.
Recommendation 47 – Provincial, territorial and federal governments and health organizations should reduce their reliance on recruiting health care professionals from developing countries.