What kind of new funding are we talking about here?
Evidence of meeting #4 for Health in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was meeting.
Evidence of meeting #4 for Health in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was meeting.
11:15 a.m.
Bloc
11:15 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy, Communications and Corporate Services, Public Health Agency of Canada
I don't have the figures with me.
11:15 a.m.
Bloc
Christiane Gagnon Bloc Québec, QC
Could we possibly be talking about $404 million or $685 million? Somehow these two figures come to mind. As I understand it, these sums were initially earmarked for Health Canada, but were later transferred to the Agency. Regardless, the additional funding totals either $404 million or $685 million.
11:15 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy, Communications and Corporate Services, Public Health Agency of Canada
I can provide committee members with an analysis of the budget and staff increases at the Agency since its inception. This analysis was prepared to assist the committee in its review of the Agency's budget. Details are provided of the largest increases.
11:15 a.m.
Bloc
Christiane Gagnon Bloc Québec, QC
The Naylor report referred to additional funding in the order of $200 million per year. It was also mentioned that funding levels would continue to increase along with the Agency's overall responsibilities so that it could continue to meet expectations and fulfill its mandate. What kind of inspiration will you draw from these recommendations?
11:20 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy, Communications and Corporate Services, Public Health Agency of Canada
That's correct.
11:20 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
Thank you very much.
Thank you to the department for coming in and for helping us through this piece of legislation. Although it passed quite quickly, with lots of consent, we certainly appreciate your being here and answering some of the questions that followed.
We want to move into the next stage of our meeting. It's up to the committee as to whether we would like to go in camera or not on this. We want to talk about future agendas. I don't really see the need to go in camera.
I've asked the clerk to pass out some of the issues and items that you have put forward to the clerk with regard to future business. Remember, we talked about that, that we would come to some determination prior to rising in June so that the team could prepare for the fall for whatever study it is that we feel passionate about.
We also have a calendar, and maybe we should look at that first. There's one decision we might want to make on June 1, because I understand....
11:20 a.m.
Conservative
11:20 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
Okay. Then there would be a change in the calendar. The minister will be here on June 6--if you have your calendar in front of you--so then we would move the breast implant day to June 8.
What's that?
11:20 a.m.
Liberal
11:20 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
The clerk is not sure she can get the people that quickly. That's the consideration there. We certainly could....
First of all, on May 18 we have the Australian Prime Minister here, so we don't have a committee. That's Thursday. Then we have the break week. When we come back we have May 30, which is fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, we have the officials coming...well, you see them there, Health Canada, the Public Health Agency, and the Institute of Health Research.
On June 1 we have a decision. This is coming off some of the long-term agenda items. We're looking at a one-day topic or issue. A number of individuals had talked about wait times. We could look at the Alberta experience, which is reducing wait times from 47 weeks to 4.7 weeks. I don't know if many of you were able to attend the nurses' breakfast, but they had a similar presentation. We could have Dr. Cy Frank here presenting that--hopefully we could--and we could ask him, drill down to some more detailed questioning...that might be of value.
Also, as part of the presentation at that meeting there was a video, a small clip, as I understand it. It was in English, and I don't know if that's going to cause some problems. I know the committee has seen a small clip before in English. I refer to members from the Bloc if that's going to be a problem.
11:20 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
I think it was just a small part. Most of it is bilingual, but I think there was one small clip. I'm not even sure of that. If it's a problem, let us know, if it's not....
11:20 a.m.
Bloc
11:20 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
Yes, some.
That's one option for the first. The second is the tobacco control study. I mean, we're open to other options on that day. It's not that I'm trying to direct the committee; it's that I'm trying to make that day a productive one for the committee.
Mr. Fletcher.
11:20 a.m.
Conservative
Steven Fletcher Conservative Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, MB
Christiane mentioned that she had met with the tobacco people yesterday. I bumped into one this morning. They seem to be keen to come to the health committee. Wait times is a pretty broad issue. It seems that it might be a good day to bring in the tobacco people. I don't know; I'm easy.
11:25 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
It's really the will of the committee. It's what we want to come out of the tobacco meeting that would be my concern, where we want to go with it. All I was thinking, with wait times, was that we could get a snapshot of what actually is happening out there on wait times. Perhaps there are some other witnesses we could look at as well to fill out that day, to determine whether there is a productive study for us to go further with. Perhaps the same could be said about tobacco. So I'm not against the tobacco either.
Really, we need some direction. You have to give us the direction of the committee. That's not a problem.
11:25 a.m.
Liberal
Bonnie Brown Liberal Oakville, ON
There's also the update we require on the reproductive technology agency. We don't know where that is.
In fact, we're just getting briefings as potential hooks. Do we want to do a further study on something? It seems to me you could do two or three things in that meeting.
11:25 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
That is possible, depending on how extensive the briefings are. We could try to fill it up, and we could have the clerk determine that. Maybe we can do the tobacco and the wait times. I don't know.
11:25 a.m.
Liberal
11:25 a.m.
Liberal
