Evidence of meeting #40 for Health in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was million.
A recording is available from Parliament.
11:45 a.m.
Conservative
Tim Uppal Conservative Edmonton—Sherwood Park, AB
No, this is good. I will move on now.
One of the shortcomings identified in the Weatherill report was on public communications following an outbreak. What has been done to resolve this shortcoming?
11:45 a.m.
Chief Public Health Officer, Public Health Agency of Canada
I now live in Ottawa. The irony of listeria was that I was on the phone every day, all day, but I happened to be in Manitoba at the time, so it was not on television. The image was that I wasn't as involved as in fact I indeed was, and once I got to Ottawa they stopped broadcasting them live.
The point is that what we saw on H1N1 was part of the reflection of the importance of a consistent, visible presence. Whether it's me or whoever is not so much the point; Canadians need to hear, they need to hear directly, and they need to see that the political part of the organization, meaning the deputy, and the chief public health officer, in this case, are working closely, are transparent, and are clear in their messaging. At the end of the day people need to know what we know, what we do not know, what we are doing to find out, what we are doing to address it, and what they themselves can do to reduce their risk.
On H1N1, we've applied many of those lessons and will continue to do so. We actually have a risk communications framework and a number of things in place. We are working with not just other departments; we are also, as you saw during H1N1, working very closely with provinces, territories, the WHO, and others to make sure we all have the information and are able to share that information publicly.
11:45 a.m.
Conservative
Tim Uppal Conservative Edmonton—Sherwood Park, AB
Very good, thank you.
I'd like to hear more about the investment in patient-oriented research. Is this affected by clinical research discoveries made in other countries, and if so, how?
11:45 a.m.
President, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
It's certainly affected by discoveries made in other countries, but I think what we're trying to achieve with the patient-oriented research strategy is to take full benefit of the discoveries that are made in this country and ensure they do impact the health of Canadians. We have a clinical research infrastructure that attracts clinical trials from the private sector, which we are losing to an alarming extent to other countries, particularly Asia and eastern Europe, on one hand, because their prices are not competitive--and I'm not sure how much we'll be able to change that--but also because we're not sufficiently organized, we're over-regulated, we're not sufficiently networked, so we're slow to recruit patients.
It's extremely important to have these investments, if only because they give rapid access to Canadian patients to the newest drugs and they also give the opportunity of maintaining a culture of scientific excellence and evidence-based practice in the milieu of care. Part of the strategy is to increase our competitiveness internationally to attract these contracts from the private sector as well as to ensure that innovations made in this country actually benefit Canadians.
11:45 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joy Smith
Thank you, Dr. Beaudet.
We'll now go into our second round of Q and A's and we'll begin with Dr. Duncan.
November 25th, 2010 / 11:45 a.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to everyone for coming.
I'm concerned that $100 million has been allowed to lapse from vaccines, and I'm wondering if there's going to be another $100 million investment, as there was in 2003 and 2007.
11:45 a.m.
Chief Public Health Officer, Public Health Agency of Canada
There have been two rounds where there was an initiative recognition federally, some contribution to help the provinces to implement vaccines: the first tranche for a number of childhood vaccines and then the last tranche for HPV that facilitated rapid uptake of vaccines by the provinces and territories.
Moving forward, again this is a provincial responsibility. It was felt it was useful at the time, it certainly did assist, and now we're working with the provinces and territories in terms of the overall frame as we continue to fund and support the Canadian immunization strategy to understand how best to move forward. What the future will bring at the moment is hard to say.
11:50 a.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
In the past the federal government took a leadership role. You can't comment on whether there will be $100 million put back and whether that would be kept separate from the Canadian health transfer to ensure funds are specifically available for immunization at this point?
11:50 a.m.
Chief Public Health Officer, Public Health Agency of Canada
Those were both trust funds specifically targeted to provide support for implementation of those vaccines. Those were not ongoing funds. No funding was withdrawn, there was no ongoing commitment at the time. It was for a specific purpose, and that purpose has been completed.
11:50 a.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
I understand that. Thank you.
Dr. Beaudet, I'm going to ask about the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, which called on the government to provide $10 million for research into CCSVI and MS. Mr. Savoie, president of the MS Society of Canada, said:
The safety and health of people living with MS is our primary concern. The Government...can play a leadership role in addressing the needs of Canadians living with MS by funding research, including clinical trials in CCSVI and MS. Doing so will both advance research and provide safeguards to those seeking treatment.
I am wondering if that $10 million has been appropriated to the budget of CIHR and earmarked for CCSVI research. I asked about it in the spring. I know we talked about the $16 million. I want to know, please, if $10 million is earmarked for this.
11:50 a.m.
President, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
As you know, we're monitoring ongoing diagnostic clinical trials very closely to determine whether the condition referred to as CCSVI exists, and whether there's an association and an increased prevalence between CCSVI and patients with MS. We're monitoring that closely, not only the studies that are being carried out in Canada but also the ones in the States and international trials as well.
11:50 a.m.
President, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
As soon as we have the evidence that it is indicated and ethically advisable to carry out a clinical trial, as I said, CIHR will have a request for applications for a pan-Canadian clinical trial when and if the conditions are appropriate to do that in a manner that's safe for Canadians.
11:50 a.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
I appreciate that the process has been established. The question is whether the $10 million that the MS Society has asked for is there.
11:50 a.m.
President, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Currently there is not $10 million that has been specifically appropriated for that, but as you know, we have a base budget with money for clinical trials. Should the conditions prevail for such a trial to be indicated, obviously then we would take a step with our partners, including the MS Society and also the provinces, to ensure we had the proper resources to fund it.
11:50 a.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you.
I'm going to pick up on my colleague's questioning about tobacco. I'm wondering if Health Canada has established a research work plan policy or a development work plan around tobacco products--information and regulations--for this year. And if so, what are its objectives, and what is the cost? I'd like to compare it with--
11:50 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joy Smith
Your time is up, Dr. Duncan.
Who could answer that question for Dr. Duncan?
11:50 a.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Health
As I mentioned earlier, Madam Chair, we'll bring back the details on the amounts for our tobacco strategy. When we have that, we can outline the answer to this question as well.
11:50 a.m.
Conservative
Patrick Brown Conservative Barrie, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I have a few questions. Kirsty mentioned MS, but obviously there's a lot of interest around this table in neurological conditions. We have the subcommittee that continues to meet.
Glenda or Alain, maybe you could tell us a little bit about the current efforts in Canada with regard to neurological disorders and the investments we've seen in this fiscal year.
11:50 a.m.
Chief Public Health Officer, Public Health Agency of Canada
Yes, I'll start, because actually part of it is through us and CIHR, in terms of surveillance and getting a better understanding. The government has invested some $15 million towards getting a better sense of what is going on in terms of neurological diseases. CIHR--and actually Canada--has a tremendous reputation in terms of research in this area. I'll leave that to Alain to speak to.
But it does fit when you think of all that we do in public health more broadly and the clinical services that are provided, not only with an aging population but generally with respect to the impacts of mental health and various neurological disorders, towards better understanding them and being able to address them, including appropriate treatments as well as prevention, for even simple things such as Alzheimer's. As people become more educated, we see the rates of Alzheimer's falling. Numbers of people are affected because of the age, but in fact fewer people at a given age get Alzheimer's today than they did ten years ago. And there's a clear relationship between education and mental activity and reduced risk of Alzheimer's.
I'll turn it back others.
11:55 a.m.
Conservative
Patrick Brown Conservative Barrie, ON
That's very interesting. I have just a quick follow-up question on that point. Has that been established through Health Canada research, CIHR research? Are we confident that mental activity is a preventative measure for Alzheimer's?
11:55 a.m.
Chief Public Health Officer, Public Health Agency of Canada
Actually, it's not only in Canada but also internationally. Study after study is finding that people who learn languages, who read, who are engaged in their community.... It is not an absolute protectant, but if you look at those with greater than high school education, their risk of Alzheimer's is substantially less than that of those who never make it past grade 10. Those who are engaged in mental activities, as I said, whether they are learning languages, doing puzzles.... And again, in a broad range of things, their risk of developing Alzheimer's is less than that of those who don't keep mentally active. So again, that's a good reason for a good debate around this table.
11:55 a.m.
President, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
If I may, I would add, first of all, that I think you're right. I think brain research is the last frontier. I think we're dealing, in this country, as in many developed countries, with major issues of mental health and also neurological disorders. And with an aging population, a number of these disorders, and particularly neuro-degenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's and Alzheimer's-related dementias, have an increasing prevalence.
We're currently investing over $211 million annually in research linked to the brain. Since 2006 we've invested $88 million in research on Alzheimer's and dementia. As you know, a major emphasis of CIHR is Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. We've signed a number of MOUs with a number of countries to increase our research capacity in that area, to go further faster, as I like to say, by doing it in collaboration with other countries that face the same problems rather than being in competition with other countries. And some of the moneys given to us through the supplementary estimates were actually used for that purpose.