Debates of June 14th, 2010

Mauril Bélanger Ottawa—Vanier, ON

Mr. Chair, I certainly do support Aileen, my colleague and friend. I am glad that she has stepped up and has written to her minister of health, and perhaps her premier as well, to get the Ontario government on side. There are no problems there.

The beauty of a federation is that we have 10 provincial partners and three territorial partners. Not all of them will do things the same and not all of them will come to the same conclusions. There will be best practices.

The power of convening, which I have talked about, rests in the fact that these 10 or 13 players can be brought together and learn from each other, bounce ideas and practices off each other, all of this to the benefit of our fellow citizens. In that sense, the responsibility of the Government of Canada goes beyond just the research. It goes into ensuring that the federation works for the benefit of its citizens, Canadians.

Jim Maloway Elmwood—Transcona, MB

Mr. Chair, the fact is that there was no action plan mentioned at all in the member's speech. I think people watching television and those in the gallery tonight want an action plan from the government. They want to hear that the minister will take an aggressive stance and position, call the provincial ministers to a meeting and establish a plan to proceed, not let this whole issue carry on for another six months or year, which is what will happen.

We will be having this debate a year from now with all kinds of excuses from the minister and the government as to why they could not do this or that. If they could run a successful H1N1 program, show some direction and get the job done with the provinces, why can they not do the same thing with MS?

Peter Braid Kitchener—Waterloo, ON

Mr. Chair, indeed, there is an action plan. We are, of course, having this very important discussion this evening. The Minister of Health has indicated that she will be convening a meeting of leading scientists and researchers, not only from across Canada but from around the world to advance and fast-track this important process and procedure.

The Minister of Health has also indicated that there is funding available for research in this important area and that groups need to apply.

James Bezan Selkirk—Interlake, MB

Mr. Chair, I thank the member for Kitchener—Waterloo for his intervention and, indeed, all members who participated in this take note debate tonight. I think it was done, for the most part, with respect and passion. Everyone is willing to ensure that we find a solution, not just a treatment but the cure to MS.

I appreciate the situations that so many members have, including the member for Kitchener—Waterloo and the member for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, who have immediate family members who are impacted by multiple sclerosis. I have an aunt, some very close friends and a cousin who suffer from MS and I know they are hopeful that CCSVI will be all that it has been made out to be.

The member alluded to the need to ensure that the treatment is effective and that we do our diligence in an expedited manner to do that research. I want him to comment on the hope that is out there with patients.

I know his own personal experience is an emotional case. He said that his wife can still work part time. Could he talk about what she hopes and what other patients are hoping will be accomplished with the new research and the leadership that is being shown by the Minister of Health to get all provinces co-operating so that we can get this implemented across the country from coast to coast to coast?

Peter Braid Kitchener—Waterloo, ON

Mr. Chair, it is clear from the attention that CCSVI treatment has received in the media, from the debate this evening and from the interventions by my colleagues on all sides of the House that this treatment does provide hope. It has provided more hope than I have seen in the 10 years that I have been familiar with this disease.

That is why we do need to move and why the Minister of Health has committed to mobilizing resources. That is why we are having this discussion tonight and that is why we need to continue to apply pressure, both federally and provincially, to ensure that we continue to make progress in this very important area.

Kirsty Duncan Etobicoke North, ON

Mr. Chair, the money for CIHR must be allocated to research that includes a treatment arm. Again, the MS Society has asked for $10 million. It would be terrific to hear that the $10 million is coming, but again, it must include a treatment arm.

The MS societies in Canada and the U.S. did not give any money to studies with a treatment arm of the $2.4 million announced last week. How will we know if it is effective if we do not have a treatment arm? We are encouraged that there will be this conference. I would like to know if Dr. Zamboni has been invited from Italy.

Peter Braid Kitchener—Waterloo, ON

Mr. Chair, I am not aware of whether Dr. Zamboni has been invited to participate in this important meeting in a few weeks' time. I understand the importance of providing treatment options as we advance this important discussion. Clearly, because of the hope that exists around this new treatment, Canadians are counting on us to make progress as quickly as we possibly can, which is why we need to mobilize resources. We need to gather the best and most capable minds and we need to work collaboratively with our provincial counterparts to advance this very important issue.

Colin Carrie Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health

Mr. Chair, the member for Kitchener—Waterloo mentioned the importance of facts. At the end of the night, one of the things I would like to see achieved is misinformation put aside because we are all on the same team here.

We have heard that $5.2 million are already on the table and that over $10 million are on the table if researchers want to submit applications for research.

There are things out there called levels of evidence. We have heard Canada being compared to Bulgaria. I am proud to say that there is a different level of evidence between Canada and western democracies. People and patients expect it. I believe Dr. Zamboni has only done about 121 patients. I would love to see research on some treatments. Angioplasty has been mentioned. It has been done for over 20 years but it is a brand new procedure for veins. There is so much more that we need to know.

With the Minister of Health taking this leadership role in getting the facts so that provinces know which treatments they should be funding, insurance companies and patients would be aware of the facts, how important is it to have those levels of evidence and the facts out there so patients and doctors can make these decisions?

Peter Braid Kitchener—Waterloo, ON

Mr. Chair, as I mentioned in my remarks, it is important for us to find a balance between research and treatment and between science and compassion. It is important that we know the facts. It is important that we advance our research in this area as quickly as we possibly can so that those facts can be known.

As I indicated in a previous response, people who suffer from MS are counting on all of us to move as quickly as we possibly can. This government and all governments also have a responsibility to all citizens to ensure that treatments are safe and effective. We need to find the right balance between those two very important public policy goals and proceed down this track as quickly as we possibly can.

Kirsty Duncan Etobicoke North, ON

Mr. Chair, I thank the member for saying that we need to get there as quickly as possible. One hundred patients have had the treatment in Bulgaria and they have all had improvement in their symptoms. Their disability score has improved by 1.5 points on average.

We need a compassionate route to treatment for patients who have no other options. It is really important to point out that this is not a new procedure for veins. Venoplasty is done for venous stenosis in dialysis patients all the time and it has been done for several years. If a patient had a venous problem in the liver or the leg it would be diagnosed and treated. We know how to do this.

We do have to move this along as quickly as possible--

The Chair Andrew Scheer

I must stop the member there because her time has expired. I will allow the member for Kitchener--Waterloo a very brief moment to respond before I go on to the next speaker.

Peter Braid Kitchener—Waterloo, ON

Mr. Chair, I am aware that venous treatments for other conditions for other parts of the body are well established. We need to continue to keep that in mind, as does the medical establishment, as we continue to push this important public policy issue along as quickly as we possibly can.

Peter Julian Burnaby—New Westminster, BC

Mr. Chair, members from all four corners of this House have referenced members of their families and friends who are victims of multiple sclerosis, and I am no exception. I am speaking in memory tonight of Julie Serle and the Lillos family.

She was my cousin. She was born in 1949. In her mid-twenties, after starting a successful career as a master teacher for the Vancouver School Board, she became ill with multiple sclerosis. She never plateaued at any time. Very quickly over the subsequent 10 years, she lost her motor control and her ability to work, although her colleagues helped her for a time, as there was not access to the classroom, by carrying her up her classroom to teach her students. She was a phenomenal teacher.

She eventually had to give up teaching and ended her days in a convalescent home. At that point she was blind and speechless. I remember visiting her in the final stages, as did members of my family and the Lillos family throughout her illness. She died in October 1985.

Every member who has spoken tonight has referenced loved ones, family members and friends who have been victims of multiple sclerosis. I have no doubt in the sincerity of anyone who has spoken tonight. There is no doubt that we are talking about an epidemic, an illness that kills and one that afflicts 75,000 Canadians as we speak. It is nothing less than a crisis. That is the fundamental issue we are trying to grapple with and deal with. Seventy-five thousand Canadians are living through a crisis, an emergency situation. As parliamentarians, we have the responsibility to go in with all means possible and with all due diligence and assist those 75,000 Canadians and their families.

If there were a flood or a fire tonight, none of us would say that we will put in partial funding and partially address the issue, that we will try to provide some funding in order to quell the fire, in order to save the homes from the flood. The Canadian tradition has been that we go in with all means possible. We resolve the crisis. We provide the resources necessary to get the job done.

That is what we have to do in the case of MS sufferers. Given the breakthrough, the potential around angioplasty as a treatment for CCSVI and the correlation between CCSVI and multiple sclerosis, I believe we have the responsibility to move forward as quickly as possible, to fast-track funding and ensure that while we are doing it in the most professional way possible, we leave no stone unturned to resolve this crisis.

The reality is that because of the amplitude of this crisis, there are Canadians tonight who are flying out to eastern Europe, to Poland and Bulgaria, because they cannot get that treatment here at home. If that does not show the size and scope of the impacts that multiple sclerosis sufferers and their families are having to deal with, I do not know what does.

We have a crisis on our hands. We need resources now. Although I have been listening attentively, as we all have, I must say that I do not believe the government is addressing the issue as quickly as possible and with the resources that are needed at this time in order to go through the stages, to ensure the treatment is available, to ensure that the due diligence is performed. It has to be done in such a way, fast-tracked so that Canada can turn from being one of the countries in the world with the highest rate of MS to the country in the world that provides the greatest support for victims of multiple sclerosis.

We have to do that immediately. I do not accept the idea that the resources are not available, that we have to accept partial funding and that partial funding is adequate. We have seen the amount of money and resources that are being allocated for the G8 and G20 summits.

What people are talking about, the MS sufferers who cannot be in the House tonight, in terms of funding and fast-tracking is half of 1% of what we are providing in the G20 in Toronto, so the resources are there very clearly. When we talk about the money that is allocated to corporate tax cuts, the hours that we have spent tonight debating this important question that members from all parties have spoken to and all members have spoken with sincerity and conviction, the amount of money that we provide in corporate tax cuts just over this four hour period that we have had the debate, would address that need for fast-tracking of funding. The funding is very clearly there; it is just being allocated in the wrong place and it needs to be allocated to provide that support to MS sufferers.

Those who are victims of MS cannot be in the House tonight, but we have all been receiving the letters that talk about the size and scope of this crisis and the importance of dealing with it with full resources, with full funding immediately. I wanted to read a few of the letters that I have received from right across the country. We have received letters from Newfoundland, Ontario, Quebec, the Prairies, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia. I want to read briefly some of the letters I have received.

One letter is from Domingos Fernandez who lives in Inwood, Ontario. He talked about his symptoms and said, “Before all this happened with MS, I was a short-order cook, a cab driver and a general labourer. Now having MS I am forced to rely on an Ontario disability support as an income. It is very hard. I used to be able to cook, bathe and dress myself. None of this I can do now”.

We heard from Tesha Rushton of Calgary, Alberta, who said very simply, “What we are asking for is justice. We are asking to be treated as equals, not as untouchables. We are asking for help”.

These are the voices that all of us are hearing from MS sufferers and their families and supporters across the country. These are letters that we must respond to. We have to respond tonight with that allocation of resources that addresses the crisis. Nothing less will do. All members are speaking with conviction. We seem to have unanimous agreement tonight that this is a crisis that must be met with the resources that Canadians traditionally provide. To address crises we provide the resources necessary. That has not happened yet. It has to happen following this debate.

If we are to properly address the memories of those who died from MS and those who are suffering now and those who may suffer if we do not move to put in place the best treatment programs and the best supports possible, if we do not do that, then tonight's debate does not have the impact that MS sufferers and their families across the country would like to see. They hope to see this issue addressed substantively and fully. That is what we have to have coming out of the debate this evening.

In closing, I want to mention the motion that we put before the House, which states:

That, in the opinion of the House, the government should take immediate action to: (a) accelerate a greater and broader participation of multiple sclerosis (MS) sufferers in pilot testing and treatment programs by providing fast-track funding for surveillance, research and dissemination of findings, including providing urgent prescreening imaging services of MS sufferers; (b) work with the provinces and territories through the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health to obtain advice and evidence-based information about the effectiveness of chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency treatment without delay; and (c) take a leading role, on the basis of this evidence, in encouraging the swift adoption of the procedure in territories and provinces.

That is what I think all members of Parliament, those particularly who have members of their family or close friends who have suffered from MS would want to see happen.

Let us, coming out of this debate, put in place that funding, pass this type of support and direction to the government. Let us ensure that the government does by all means necessary and with the appropriate due diligence bring new hope to those who suffer from MS across this country. Nothing less will do. Their voices have spoken through all of us tonight. We must meet the challenge. We must provide the support so that Canada leads the world in addressing MS and providing support and therapies for MS sufferers.