Thank you, Chair, and thank you to the esteemed members of this committee for having me here today.

My name is Kayla Scott, and I'm the senior director of advocacy at the Canadian Physiotherapy Association. Our association proudly represents over 16,000 physiotherapy professionals and students across Canada. Our members embody our mission to enhance health, mobility, rehabilitative care and treatment to enable Canadians to live well and actively in their communities.

Physiotherapy professionals demonstrate unwavering commitment to their patients and their communities, and they have a pivotal role in our health care system, providing invaluable services across diverse settings. In emergency departments in select provinces, they offer critical care, ensuring timely and effective treatment for acute conditions. Their expertise allows them to rapidly assess and treat patients, reducing wait times and alleviating pressure on our health care system. Their interventions can often be the difference between recovery and long-term complications, which underlines the importance of their work.

In long-term care facilities, physiotherapy professionals deliver essential rehabilitation therapy as part of their home care services. They create personalized care plans to improve residents' mobility, strength and overall well-being. This approach not only helps physical recovery and injury prevention but also strengthens mental and emotional health, promoting patient autonomy, positivity and resilience.

Additionally, physiotherapy professionals play a crucial role in prenatal care, offering specialized pelvic floor physiotherapy for expectant parents. This service supports prenatal health, prepares parents for childbirth and promotes postnatal recovery. The role of physiotherapy professionals in this area is often overlooked, yet it is essential in ensuring the health and well-being of both the parent and child.

Today I stand before you to express my gratitude for the recently announced expansion of the Canada student financial assistance program in budget 2024. This expansion, which now encompasses physiotherapists working in underserved, rural and remote communities, marks a significant step towards achieving health care equity and alleviating pressures from our health care system across Canada.

This pivotal decision announced in budget 2024 is the result of CPA's persistent advocacy and pre-budget recommendations and the unified voices of physiotherapy professionals and students. It represents a major achievement for all Canadians, especially those seeking equitable care in rural and remote areas.

The expansion of the CSFA program will yield a threefold benefit.

First, it will attract more Canadians to the physiotherapy profession by reducing the financial barriers to education. With the average student debt for physiotherapy students standing at $40,000, this assistance will provide significant relief, making the profession more accessible to a broader range of individuals.

Second, it will increase health service access and delivery in communities that face the barrier of long travel times to access care. By encouraging more physiotherapists to serve in these areas, we can ensure that every Canadian, regardless of their location, has access to high-quality health care.

Last, it will enhance the recruitment of students from rural communities and help promote a workforce that includes students from under-represented populations.

Our partners in health echo our sentiments. The Canadian Nurses Association applauded this expansion, as it supports team-based care that enables diverse health care professionals to collaborate and provide comprehensive, patient-centred services. The Canadian Orthopaedic Association also firmly supported this inclusion, recognizing its potential for patient recovery and strengthening our health care system at its core.

As National Physiotherapy Month ends today, we are firm in our commitment to build on this momentum. We will continue to advocate for policy changes that allow the profession to fully exercise its expertise through the optimization of scope of practice across the country, enabling physiotherapists to provide high-quality care at their optimal potential.

Our unwavering mission remains to ensure that every Canadian, irrespective of their location, has access to the quality of care they deserve.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your questions.