Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says the federal government will commit another $2 billion to help provincial health systems work through their surgical and diagnostic backlogs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The money, included in the newly tabled Bill C-17, follows a $4-billion top-up to the federal health transfer last summer and is expected to be a one-time payment, distributed equally based on population. Throughout the pandemic hospitals across the country had to delay non-emergency procedures to make way for urgent COVID-19 cases. That has led to delayed care for millions of Canadians, on top of already lengthy wait lists for many procedures and diagnostic tests. In a report released last month, the Ontario Medical Association estimated the pandemic had delayed 21 million patient services in that province alone, including surgeries for preventative care, cancer screenings and diagnostic tests. In addition, it said doctors are reporting that patients “who would have …