Health Committee on Nov. 22nd, 2007

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North, MB]

Is any part of that previous agreement and the strategy implemented today?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

No.

But in terms of some of the other issues you raise, I think I'm the first health minister to have raised the issue of generic prices, which tend to be higher in our country than elsewhere, and it does impede our ability to put new drugs on the formulary when we're paying 15%, 20%, 25% higher in this country than some of our trade partners.

So that is an issue. A lot of the levers, though, are held by the provinces, I must say. When you talk about kickbacks at pharmacies and whatnot, as you may know, Ontario has taken a run at this and other provinces are following suit. So I certainly am commending provinces that are taking this seriously because I think in the end, as these blockbusters come off patent over the next 10 to 15 years, that will provide us with the savings we need to reinvest in catastrophic drugs and expensive drugs for rare diseases.

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North, MB]

Thank you.

I have two other questions, if time permits. There is just one more on drugs. As a committee, we've been talking about post markets—

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Madame Wasylycia-Leis, I just want to tell you that you have about a minute and bit left.

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North, MB]

Thank you.

I just want to know quickly how much money your department puts into approving drugs versus monitoring drug safety after the product is at the market? Are you prepared to restore the federal drug research laboratory that was cut by the Liberals in 1997? And thirdly, with respect to recent studies around gender differences and wait times, can we be assured that the evidence-based benchmarks for medically acceptable wait times address the needs of both women and men?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

I think we'll have to get back to you on some of that. Do you have an answer—

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

We have less than a minute.

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

I think we'll get back to you on those. Obviously those are serious questions, so we'll get back to you with fulsome answers on those.

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North, MB]

Do I have more time, then? Can I put in one more question?

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

You have just a matter of seconds, Mrs. Wasylycia-Leis.

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North, MB]

I have one more question then related to this question of gender differences, which I think was surprising to us when we heard the reports. Do the terms of access to the trust fund require that statistics be collected on the basis of sex?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

I believe not, but we'll get back to you on that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Fletcher.

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, MB]

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Minister for coming today, and thank you to your officials as well.

I was at that CIHR event last night honouring the great Canadian, Dr. Alan Bernstein, and your remarks, Minister, received some of the greatest applause of the night. I just wanted to make that clear.

My question actually deals with the chemicals management plan, Minister. Chemicals are all around us. They're in our environment, they're in our food, they're in our clothes, and they're making their way into our bodies. Can you tell us what is being done to protect the health of Canadians and the environment from these harmful chemicals?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Thank you very much for the question. First of all, our government has invested $300 million in this chemicals management plan, and it indeed makes Canada a world leader. Certainly many other countries have contacted us and expressed an interest in emulating our chemicals management plan, and are actually signing agreements with Canada to take advantage of our leadership in this issue so that they can dovetail in to all the work that we have already done in this area.

There were 23,000 substances considered—legacy substances, chemicals that had already been added to our marketplace before more stringent guidelines and rules had been put into place. Of those, 19,000 were found to cause no concern whatsoever. About 4,300 required further action. We've reversed the onus. We've said to industry—and this is the critical part—that they have to show us that these chemicals are safe to use in their manufacturing process or to use around the house or to use in somebody's garden. If they can't show us that something is safe, they have to phase it out and have an action plan to make sure that Canadians are safe in this regard.

We have already proposed prohibition of some 60 substances, and we're rolling out, every quarter, new substances that come on the list to be reviewed, and in some cases phased out. So I'm quite proud of this program. I think it will help have a huge impact on the toxicity levels in our bloodstreams, and Canadians can be rightly proud that we're taking a world leadership role.

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, MB]

Thank you, Minister.

Minister, Canadians are sick and tired of illicit drugs on our streets. What is the Government of Canada doing to crack down on gangs, combat illicit drug production such as grow ops and methamphetamine labs, prevent illicit drug use, and treat illicit drug dependency?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

As you may recall, I was in Winnipeg with the Prime Minister—and you and the chair of the committee were there too—for the announcement of our national anti-drug strategy.

I believe this is an excellent approach. Two-thirds of the new money is going into prevention and treatment, which is of course important for those who are unfortunate enough to be hooked on drugs or to have had drugs imposed upon them and who now have an addiction problem. They need help. They need our concern as a society, and that's what the treatment and prevention programs are all about.

But we also have to get tougher with the bad guys, and I'm pleased to see this week in Parliament that we introduced legislation for mandatory jail time for meth lab operators and for grow op operators and for the bad guys in the drug world who are pushing these drugs into our communities. You know, and I know, any urban area...and I come from a rural area, Parry Sound-Muskoka, and we have grow op issues. We have meth lab issues. There's no part of this country that is not affected by this. We need to do more, and that's why our government is acting.

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, MB]

That announcement in Winnipeg was very well received there and across the country.

Our government has taken action on trans fats, but sodium seems to be the new trans fat. Sodium is recognized as one of the most important factors in cardiovascular disease—the number one cause of death worldwide. Recent estimates indicate that over half of Canadians have high sodium intakes. Many come from commercially prepared foods, putting Canadians at risk for high blood pressure.

In light of the link between sodium intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease, what actions are being taken by Health Canada to lower the level of sodium in the Canadian diet and make Canadians aware of this important issue?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Thank you very much. This is indeed a challenge and a problem area. There's no question about the relationship, based on the scientific method. There are two things I would like to report to the committee.

First, Canada's food guide has been revised for the first time in 13 years, and it now advises Canadians to use the nutrition facts table to help choose products that are lower in sodium. So again that's consumer awareness and consumer empowerment.

Secondly, I was able to announce the establishment of an expert working group that will develop plans and oversee the implementation of a strategy to reduce overall consumption of sodium by Canadians. So I think that's a step in the right direction. I'm quite looking forward to the expert advice of this sodium panel. Hopefully we can assist Canadians in dealing with this health matter.

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, MB]

Madam Chair, I don't know how much time I have left.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Mr. Fletcher, you have about four minutes.

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, MB]

Great.

Obesity is becoming an epidemic in the western world, and Canada is experiencing this epidemic as well. This committee has spent an awful lot of time already in this session looking at the issue of obesity, and I wonder if you could share with the committee what the government is doing to address the rising rate of obesity across the country.

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Thank you.

I think our government has been acting quite forthrightly in this area and taking action. There are several things.

First, I was pleased to announce, with Secretary of State Guergis, the relaunch of the ParticipACTION initiative under the Public Health Agency and Sport Canada. We are putting $5 million into an overall advertising and awareness campaign to make sure our kids and all Canadians are aware that there are options in order to pursue a healthier and more active lifestyle.

Second, let me return to Canada's food guide. I think this is an important food guide. We have a tailored food guide for first nations, Inuit, and Métis, by the way. That resource will help Canadians make the right choices for their families.

We have the children's fitness tax credit. Sometimes we don't talk about this very much, but by helping parents enrol their kids in sports activities, we are helping Canadians ensure that their kids have that level of metabolism and activity that is necessary. It really is a world-leading thing. When I told some of my counterparts in the U.K. and France about this tax credit, they were in awe that we were able to do this because it is so leading-edge.

When I look at that and at the research we do through CIHR—for instance, $87 million in the area of obesity—I think we are helping to make a difference in real terms in Canadians' lives when it comes to tackling this issue.

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, MB]

I really like the ParticipACTION initiative. I think we all have fond memories of ParticipACTION from our youth, and I look forward to future generations having that experience.

My last question—and this is a very important but taboo issue—is around mental health and mental illness. It affects so many Canadians in so many different ways under so many different circumstances. Up to a quarter of Canadians are affected by mental health issues at some time in their lives.

Given the recent findings pointing to high rates of depression and other related mental health issues in the Canadian population, what is the federal government doing to effectively address mental health and mental illness in this great country?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

I think the Prime Minister's announcement on the Mental Health Commission of Canada is a signal announcement. It means we are finally going to be able to work with our provincial and territorial counterparts on a pan-Canadian strategy to tackle mental health. Mike Kirby's report, Out of the Shadows At Last, was obviously the genesis for this. It illustrates that Canadians generally have turned the corner on this file. They want to see action. They want to reduce the stigma. They want to elaborate on knowledge exchange and get right into the workplace on this issue.

This commission already has eight advisory committees that will assist the commission in its work. They'll focus on such things as aboriginals, seniors, children, and youth. The workplace, for instance, is going to be a huge focus. If I can say, parenthetically, the federal government also needs to take some leadership in this area. We have carriage over certain first nations and Inuit issues, we have the Canadian Forces, we have penitentiaries and prisons, and a huge number of people are employed by us in the public service. Each of these areas could benefit from some focused activity on mental health, and certainly that's my aspiration.