Good morning and thank you, Madam Chair, and members of the committee. It's a pleasure for me to be here with you once again. I see there are new faces around the table. It's nice to be here with you.
I won't go into the introductions of the staff with me today, as you've already covered that, Madam Chair, so I'll go right into my opening remarks.
I'm here to address both supplementary estimates (C) for fiscal year 2009-10 and the main estimates for the health portfolio for the next fiscal year, 2010-11.
With reference to supplementary estimates (C) for Health Canada, there is a net increase of roughly $38 million. For the Public Health Agency, there is an increase of $54 million. As you would expect, a large portion of those increases were due to expenses related to the second wave of the H1N1 pandemic. For the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, there was an increase of roughly $600,000.
With reference to the main estimates for 2010-11, there is an increase of $50.7 million over last year's budget for Health Canada, with $56.5 million for CIHR and roughly $30 million for the Public Health Agency.
The significant increases for Health Canada's main estimates are primarily going to first nations and Inuit health services at $304 million; the official languages health contribution program at $14.8 million; and the food and consumer safety action plan at $12.9 million. Because there are significant decreases from other programs that are coming to an end, the balance is $50.7 million.
Our priorities for the coming year are to continue making investments that will improve the health of Canadians. We have also identified areas for investments in first nations and Inuit health programs.
My last appearance before this committee was in December. At that time we were still in the midst of a national H1N1 vaccination campaign; that campaign has come to a conclusion.
By the end of the campaign, 15 million Canadians--nearly half of this country's population--had been immunized against the H1N1 flu virus. It was the biggest national immunization campaign ever undertaken in Canada. Nowhere was the campaign more successful than in first nations communities: more than 99% of on-reserve first nations communities held vaccination clinics. That success was thanks to the dedication of community volunteers who also helped organize those clinics and who took the lead in other preparations for the second wave of the pandemic.
Health Canada and first nations worked together in many ways to fight H1N1. In September I signed a joint communication protocol on H1N1 with Shawn Atleo, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, and Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl. As part of that joint protocol, Chief Atleo and I co-hosted the virtual summit on H1N1 in first nations communities, which was broadcast live on the Internet in November.
From a national perspective, we have continued to monitor reports of people with flu-like symptoms and at the moment those levels remain very low. One of the characteristics of the H1N1 virus is that it is easily transmitted from one person to another, but with almost half of all Canadians now immunized, the pathways to transmissions are blocked.
There are countless other valuable contributions from across the health portfolio. For example, CIHR mobilized the research community to support our response to H1N1. That research helped us understand the virus. CIHR also worked with PHA to establish a national network to evaluate the vaccine.
Now is the time to learn from our experience in responding to the H1N1 pandemic. Looking back and fully assessing how we managed this public health event will help to inform and improve future responses.
There is no greater priority for our government than the health and safety of all Canadians. It was our motivation for introducing consumer product safety legislation. We know that stronger product safety is what Canadians want. Our government made a commitment in the Speech from the Throne to reintroduce this important legislation in its original form. When passed, the safety of toys and hundreds of other consumer products available in the Canadian marketplace will be greatly improved.
We continue to work to help improve the health of Canadian aboriginal people. Budget 2010 committed $285 million over the next two years for the continuation of aboriginal health programs.
Those programs have proven to have a very positive effect on the lives of thousands of Canada's aboriginal people. For example, the aboriginal diabetes initiative has funded prevention programs on 600 reserves and trained 300 community workers who can now teach others about how to prevent this disease.
The national aboriginal youth suicide prevention strategy has already funded 200 community-based programs. The maternal child health program has served 2,500 families and trained 250 workers who can keep on helping new mothers. The aboriginal head start program helps aboriginal children with their school work. It has helped 9,000 children in first nations communities and another 4,500 living in urban centres.
The aboriginal health human resources initiative is designed to get young aboriginal Canadians to become doctors or nurses or to pursue careers in the health care field. So far it has supported 62 aboriginal medical students, 436 nursing students, and nearly 2,000 others in a long list of careers in health care.
It is worth noting that our commitment to improving health in Inuit communities and first nations will also be supported through budget initiatives funded by other departments. For example, budget 2010 commits $45 million towards making healthy foods more affordable and more accessible to people living in northern and remote communities. We know that healthier food can lead to better overall health, and we have to make the healthy foods available if we want to see better results.
Budget 2010 has also extended funding for a program that was due to come to an end. Another $60 million has been allocated to fund the territorial health system sustainability initiative for another two years. By continuing on, we will be able to consolidate the progress made in reducing reliance on outside health care systems and medical travel.
Our work in improving health is always guided by the understanding of the positive and negative influences on the human body. That understanding is based on science, and in order to make greater improvements, we must continue to fund scientific health research. In the year ahead, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research will receive an additional $16 million in funding. It will expand the CIHR base budget and build in flexibilities to respond to the new and emerging health priorities. Investments in health research will pay dividends in many ways. A better understanding of the factors that affect health will help guide our policy in the years to come.
A health priority for the Government of Canada is to accelerate the development of a safe, effective, accessible, and affordable HIV vaccine. It is a goal we hope to achieve in part through collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. An essential element of that development is to have facilities to test new vaccines. A study to evaluate vaccine manufacturing capacity was commissioned by the Gates Foundation. The results of this study demonstrated that there is now sufficient vaccine manufacturing capacity in North America and Europe to meet research needs.
With that knowledge, the Government of Canada and the Gates Foundation jointly decided not to proceed with construction of a new vaccine manufacturing facility, because it is no longer needed. However--and I want to be absolutely clear on this--the money that was earmarked for the new facility is still committed to the cause of preventing HIV and developing an HIV vaccine. Given the importance of our objective, we are examining all options and will take the time needed to ensure the direction we take and the activities we choose to support yields of the best possible results.
Addressing the global disruption in the supply of medical isotopes will continue to be a priority for Health Canada, its portfolio partners, and other departments. This commitment is reflected in budget 2010. In the last year, we have seen incredible resourcefulness and creativity in managing the existing supply. It is a credit to Canada's health professionals, provinces, and territories that supply disruptions have not had a greater impact on our health system. For our part, Health Canada will continue to work with stakeholders to optimize the use of medical isotopes in the health care system.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research will fund a clinical trial network to help get research on isotopes and imaging technologies into clinical practice. Health Canada has expedited the review of alternate sources of supplies to mitigate the impact of the shutdown of the reactor at Chalk River. Most recently, Health Canada authorized a new source of medical isotopes from the Maria reactor in Poland. While this is a small source of isotopes, it will also bring additional supplies to Canada.
In the year ahead, we must continue the work that is already under way. We are in the process of making the improvements with regard to food safety recommended in the Weatherill report. To accomplish those goals, we are working with stakeholders in the provinces and the territories so that all of the recommendations become reality as quickly as possible. Budget 2010 renewed our commitment to invest $500 million in Canada Health Infoway. We know that modernizing our health records system by bringing it into the electronic age will reduce a number of burdens on the health system.
As members of the committee know all too well, 2009 was an important year in terms of health legislation. We moved to remove flavouring from tobacco that would entice young people to smoke. We passed a bill to promote safety and security with respect to human pathogens and toxins. And of course, as I have already mentioned, we drafted new consumer protection legislation that we will reintroduce in its original form in the weeks to come.
In the year ahead we will stay focused on our long-term health goal while being ready to address any emerging issues. I know that all members of this committee and all members of the House share a common vision of a healthier nation. We must continue to make improvements wherever they are needed in order to continue to be one of the healthiest countries in the world.
Thank you. I look forward to your questions this morning.
