Health Committee on March 24th, 2011

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

Our government is carrying out initiatives that have been in the works for a long time with the provinces and the territories. The 100 new residency spots will greatly support delivering health care. Particularly in rural and remote communities, it is always a challenge to get personnel into those sectors. This residency spot focuses on areas where there are huge gaps, so that is welcome news. Each jurisdiction has rolled out its plan.

In Budget 2011 we are providing assistance to medical students, doctors, and nurses to forgive up to $40,000 on their student loans. There are a number of other areas in which we are making huge investments to train more aboriginal people and provide more services to rural and remote communities, and each of those initiatives makes a huge difference. In fact, I just spoke on the “taming of the queue” today, and the conversation was that each of these steps makes a huge difference in getting more young people to enter the health field. Not everyone can afford to go to medical school, and we're trying to get more doctors. This is one of the initiatives that is welcome news to those individuals.

This is in partnership with the provinces and territories. This is an area in which there was a gap. We responded and are rolling that out. I'm quite excited about the outcomes and feedback we've received so far.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Then I'm really excited too. I think this is the first time anything like this has been done. It was inspiring to see what the committee saw up there and to see a response. I just want to thank you. It's a great response.

I also wanted to talk about cancer, because cancer affects far too many Canadians, each and every one of us, our families, our friends. The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer has been a highly effective tool in the fight against cancer. Could you give the committee an update on the status of the program?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

Thank you for that question.

The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer is an exciting organization. They're doing a lot of great work in Canada. Originally it was announced for five years, and within that time they've been able to pull together over 300 organizations in Canada that deal with prevention or with treating cancer. They have really built a first-class network of individuals and organizations just on that subject of dealing with and managing cancer.

They recently produced a report about some of the work they're doing, and I can say that Canada will be leading in fighting cancer. Recently I accompanied the Prime Minister when he announced a reinvestment of $250 million to support the Canadian Partnership in their important work.

The work they're doing is also going to involve following over 300,000 Canadians for their lifetimes to better understand how people get cancer, their lifestyles, the environment they live in, how that contributes to cancer. Collectively, the research that is being done through the partnership agency will help in shaping the direction of health care. How do we prevent it? How do we treat it?

So the work we're doing is one of its kind in Canada, and it will really help us to put our resources into cancer prevention. So it is quite exciting, as is the work around chronic diseases as well. They've done phenomenal work in a very short period of time.

I think our commitment to support them through the investment we announced, the Prime Minister announced, will lead to even more results in the next little while.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Thank you, Minister, for that very important announcement.

We'll put it over to Ms. Davidson now.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

And thank you, Minister and all the officials, for being here once again. It's great to see you back.

Minister, we've heard an awful lot in the media, and wherever we seem to go, about this aging baby boomer generation, which I guess I must be a part of these days, and about how Canada is going to be facing this huge burden in terms of the sheer numbers as we go forward. We've heard a lot about the devastation of Alzheimer's disease. With the numbers that are coming forward in the baby boomer generation, either of those having the disease themselves or who are going to be burdened with caring for family members, how are we preparing for this?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

Thank you. As the population ages and individuals live longer, we recognize an epidemic of Alzheimer's disease and dementia will challenge our health care system in Canada, and globally as well.

Canada is recognized internationally for its strength in areas of brain research, including Alzheimer's disease, and I stated before to the committee that through the leadership of Dr. Beaudet, we've been able to sign on with seven other countries in collective research in this area.

Our Budget 2010 goes even further towards advancing our understanding of brain disorder with the investment of $100 million in matching funds for the Canada Brain Research Fund. I have discussed this with the president of the CIHR, Dr. Beaudet, who is with us today, and our hope of meeting this challenge rests, in part, on a coordinated international research effort to hunt for the clues around the early events in Alzheimer's and dementia. I understand that slowing down the progression of the disease by just two years for each affected person would reduce the cumulative cost of Alzheimer's, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research is moving ahead on a plan to do just that.

As well, with the international collaborative research strategy for Alzheimer's disease, with the partnering funding, Canada is also playing a leading role in global work to address the costs of the disease and the research and treatment of it.

Unless there is more you want to add to that, Dr. Beaudet...Canada is leading in this area of research, in my view.

Thank you.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Are there other areas we're leading in or we're investing in, as far as health research goes, to make sure that our health care system is of the highest quality?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

What was the first part of your question?

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

It was whether there were other areas in which we're investing in research to ensure that our health care system is of the highest quality.

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

Thank you for that question.

We've made significant investments in the areas of research through CIHR. I can say for 2010-11, for the first time the budget of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research exceeds $1 billion. We've made ongoing investments of $15 million for health research in such areas as patient-oriented research, the brain, and MS.

In Budget 2010 we've also committed $10 million to the area of isotopes. We've been dealing with challenges in that area, so we've made investments to do that. As well, there will be $15 million in 2010 for new post-doctoral fellowship programs for health researchers.

Is there anything--

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

I think our time is just about up now, so thank you so much, Minister.

I'd like to go now to our second round of five minutes apiece, and I understand that Dr. Duncan and Dr. Dhalla are going to be sharing the five minutes.

Good luck.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

If I understood you correctly, there is going to be an investment in the pandemic budget. I think what you said earlier was that we don't know the details, but there's going to be a press release.

I know the minister is very interested in neurological research, so I want to bring to your attention new research. I would ask that the expert panel on MS do a comprehensive literature review on CCSVI, that it visit labs and operating theatres, that it go to the international conferences. I've been to four of them, and there has not been a government representative at any of them.

There is a new study, of which Canada is a part. It is a multi-centre study. It's the first one of its kind. There are 700 cases, and upwards of 86% of MS patients show evidence of CCSVI. In New York, Minister, 150 MS cases were looked at. They were assessed for quality of life, and the psychiatrist who did that study did not know that the patients had received liberation therapy. I'd be happy to provide all unpublished studies. I'd be happy to share them with you.

I'm really pleased to hear that we will have a registry for MS. I've been asking for this since the spring, and we're just thrilled that MS patients will be followed after having liberation therapy. I think the data is very important. I'd like to know the details. When is it going to start? Who's going to do it? What will the cost be?

I'm wondering why this wasn't possible in the spring but is somehow now possible.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Madam Minister.

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

There are lots of questions there, so I'll try to answer them very quickly.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Just answer the one on the registry, please.

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

The pandemic plan press release will be out tomorrow. You'll see that.

In terms of the registry, there was a great announcement yesterday in partnership with the MS Society, MS patients, and researchers. We're rolling that out this year. It's through CIHI, which, along with provinces and territories, is a partner in that.

As I said before, provinces and territories deliver health care. It's important for any national plan that there be a partner. So they are all onside with the work that went from last year to this.... We're working together. CIHI will be moving forward. The monitoring system is for all MS patients in Canada, not just the people who went for this particular procedure.

And Dr. Beaudet can--

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

I'm sorry, my colleague wants to get in. Could I ask that you table the details of that registry with the committee and how it will work?

I'm going to turn it over to my colleague, who's anxious to get in.

[Ruby Dhalla, Liberal, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

Minister, thank you for coming.

As the Minister of Health, do you visit hospitals across Canada? Do you go into any hospitals to visit them to see what some of the challenges are that patients are facing?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

Absolutely.

[Ruby Dhalla, Liberal, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

We were a little bit upset, because in my constituency of Brampton—Springdale, we have one of Canada's newest and largest hospital facilities, called the Brampton Civic Hospital. I don't know if you're aware as minister, but there has been a significant number of challenges at that particular hospital. We've had patients who have come in who have had the wrong leg amputated. I think it's been not only local news but also national news. We've had great frustration in the community, in all of Brampton, at the fact that they're having to wait hours and hours to be able to see the emergency room specialists. We have wait times that are at 17.5 hours for complex conditions, which is much, much higher than the provincial average. We have seniors who are having to wait for many months to get access to specialists. So there's a real state of crisis.

As their voice in Ottawa, I sent you a letter last year requesting that you come out and visit the hospital to see first-hand some of the challenges that were there. I can tell you that we were all very shocked in Brampton at the response. I don't know if you saw the letter personally, but it was signed by you, stating that you would not be able to attend. There wasn't even any attempt made by you, as minister, to say, “You know what? We'll take a look at the schedule and I'll see when I can squeeze it in.”

I understand that you would be busy, but there was absolutely no offer from you or anyone in your department to come in, to take a look at the hospital, to talk about some of the challenges. Even though you may say to me in your answer—

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

You're out of time, Ms. Dhalla, I'm sorry.

Minister, do you want to please go ahead? Thank you.

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

Again, for any provincial-related questions to a hospital, I would suggest you speak to the provincial health minister. Deb Matthews is responsible for Ontario.

Having said that, there are over 600 hospitals in Canada. I have visited a significant number of hospitals over the last two and a half years, but again, this is a partnership with provinces and territories. Minister Deb Matthews is responsible for provincial health ministries—

[Ruby Dhalla, Liberal, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

I know that.

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

The federal government provides health transfers to jurisdictions—

[Ruby Dhalla, Liberal, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

We can't keep pawning everything off to the province.