Bill C-229 ADHD Framework
C-229 An Act to Establish a National Framework Respecting Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Short Title: National Framework on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Act
Bill Type: Private Member’s Bill
Bill Sponsor: Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona)
Status: Outside the Order of Precedence — First Reading September 18, 2025. This Bill hasn't passed yet.
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WHO GAINS POWER
- The Minister of Health gains a mandate to develop a national ADHD framework in consultation with provinces, Indigenous governing bodies and other stakeholders
- Individuals with ADHD and their families gain formal recognition in federal health policy — with a requirement that resources, training and equitable access be addressed
- Indigenous governing bodies are explicitly included in consultation — a notable inclusion for a health framework Bill
- Parliament gains a reporting requirement — the framework must be tabled within two years and reviewed within five years
WHO LOSES POWER
- No existing authority is directly removed by this Bill
- Provinces retain jurisdiction over health and education — the federal framework is consultative, not binding on them
WHO GAINS MONEY
- No direct funding or financial commitments in this Bill
WHO LOSES MONEY
- No direct financial provisions in this Bill
THE CATCH
- ⚠️ This Bill is unlikely to pass — it is an opposition Private Member's Bill introduced outside the Order of Precedence
- ⚠️ The Bill creates a framework — not services — there are no funding commitments, no treatment guarantees and no requirement that any new supports actually be delivered to Canadians with ADHD
- ⚠️ Health and education are primarily provincial jurisdiction — a federal framework requires provincial cooperation that cannot be compelled, making implementation dependent on political goodwill across 13 jurisdictions
- ⚠️ Two years to produce a report is the only hard deadline — after that, implementation is entirely open-ended with no binding obligations on any level of government
- ⚠️ "Equitable access" is not defined — the Bill requires measures to facilitate equitable access but sets no standard, no benchmark and no mechanism to measure whether access has actually improved
- ⚠️ The five-year review is the only accountability mechanism — a report with conclusions and recommendations but no enforcement, no penalties and no requirement that recommendations be acted upon
- ⚠️ ADHD medication shortages are not addressed — Canada has experienced significant shortages of ADHD medications in recent years. This Bill contains no provisions addressing supply, coverage or affordability of treatment