Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin this week announced the Canadian government would allocate CAN $700 million (US $540 million) over five years for an aboriginal health fund to increase the number of health practitioners serving Native communities and to promote disease prevention. Martin was addressing Canada's First Ministers Meeting on Health, which met from September 13 through September 15. Native leaders told CBC news that they welcomed the planned budget, but that it will not resolve the disparity in health care coverage that exists between aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadians.
