Health Committee on March 4th, 2014

[The Chair, Conservative, Ben Lobb]

We're over time.

Mr. Lunney, please.

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Thank you, Chair.

Thanks to all of our witnesses for your participation in this study. It is, of course, one of the purposes of this study to examine barriers to effective teamwork and collaboration.

The challenge I want to throw out to each one of you is, when you hear those packages put together of collaborative interdisciplinary approaches, and the third-largest primary care provider in Canada—that would be chiropractors—is not included, there is a gap there. When you're talking about bringing in and training other people to fill gaps as medical technicians, it's past time for that to be remedied. You're going to find that there are tremendous opportunities for more cost-effective care.

Colonel and Dr. MacKay, it was 1985 when a medical champion—if you will—in Saskatoon, Dr. Kirkaldy-Willis, published the first study on spinal manipulation and low back pain along with a chiropractor. It was the first time a chiropractor's credentials were recognized in a Canadian medical journal. The evidence has been there for 30 years, so it's time that we find better ways of collaborating.

I put that on the table as a challenge to everyone at the table here, not just for chiropractors but for naturopaths, because there are more promising avenues and more effective opportunities there that are being missed.

Now back to Ms. Gillis.

You're talking about the north here. “Health Canada funds or directly provides public health, health promotion and disease prevention, addiction and mental health, and home and community care on all first nation communities, and primary care services in 85 remote and isolated communities.”

I wonder if you have heard of a program based in Alberta called Pure North S'Energy. Pure North S'Energy started with an oil company executive's own foundation treating his oil workers with EDTA chelation therapy to take the heavy metals they're exposed to in that environment out of their systems. They also provide vitamins and minerals. They have maybe 100 health professionals working with them: doctors, nurses, and naturopaths. They'll do an analysis to determine what nutrients they're short of, he will provide the nutrients to these people in that remote northern environment—he's working with Inuit communities—and they will send the nutrients to them for life as long as they agree to a blood test a couple of times a year to monitor their progress.

It's been going on for almost 10 years now and they're accumulating—last time I talked to them—17,000 people on the program with amazing results. One of their primary strategies is to get vitamin D levels up. They're not getting vitamin D in the north; they're clothed all the time. Naked at noon is the buzzword for vitamin D, 20 minutes when the sun's high in the sky. It's not happening for most Canadians, especially in the north. Anyway, stay tuned; we hope to have them here as witnesses in this committee.

There are opportunities, and one last one would be preventing fetal alcohol spectrum disorder; it's a huge issue in the north. There's compelling evidence now that trace amounts of methanol in alcohol is what crosses the placenta and does this devastation to the developing nervous system. A simple folic acid supplement—a penny a day for the average person at risk—would mitigate that risk. Isn't it time we looked at measures like those that could be implemented in the north? There are promising models out there, and that's a challenge for all of us to move ahead.

[Debra Gillis]

First of all, I've never heard of the Pure North S'Energy, so we will look into it.

In terms of folic acid, we encourage all pregnant women in first nation communities to take folic acid. This is something that we have been doing for many, many years, and we continue to do that.

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Well, good.

I suspect that a pregnant woman's taking 400 micrograms might help with spina bifida, but frankly you need.... A milligram is a penny a day, and we could probably make sure they get at least a couple of milligrams a day to help mitigate the risk of fetal alcohol syndrome while we're encouraging them not to engage in alcohol. But of course before they know they're pregnant is when they're most at risk, in the early stages.

Thank you for that.

Thank you all of you for showing up here today. We have an interesting challenge ahead of us and great opportunities, so we're hoping to develop those together.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Ben Lobb]

Thank you very much, Mr. Lunney.

We're going to head in camera for a few minutes to discuss some committee business. The only thing I would ask witnesses today is—we've had a great discussion—if there's anything else that you think of that comes to mind or your staff's minds, please put it forward to the clerk and the analysts so that we can have it for our report. I think you hear passion and concern from all MPs here for this scope of practice study. Thank you very much.

We're going to suspend.

Yes?

[Dany Morin, NDP, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

I just want to make sure that I will have a written answer to my question.

[The Chair, Conservative, Ben Lobb]

Oh, yes.

[Debra Gillis]

Yes. If you could please send the specific question to Health Canada, we would be happy to provide a written answer.

[The Chair, Conservative, Ben Lobb]

You'll have that by the end of the day.

[Debra Gillis]

The question?

[The Chair, Conservative, Ben Lobb]

The answer.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[The Chair, Conservative, Ben Lobb]

No, no, I'm just....

We'll now suspend the meeting and move in camera.

[Proceedings continue in camera]