Health committee  I think the attention given to health human resources, the fact that the federal government provides $38 million ongoing to the provinces for health human resources, indicates that, yes, we understand there are pressures, and the provinces do what they feel is best in terms of health human resources.

Health committee  I'm not sure I exactly understand the question.

Health committee  Well, the discussion we've had this morning and the information that a variety of parties have tabled indicate that wait times are getting shorter and shorter.

Health committee  I would like to raise two points. The first is there is an initiative and funds for bringing back to Canada and recognizing the internationally educated health care professionals. The latest statistics I'm aware of are that recently more Canadian-born physicians have returned to Canada than have left Canada for the United States.

Health committee  The A's indicate that 80% to 100% of the population is getting treatment within the benchmark.

Health committee  Again, each province has set a specific priority area, and we do believe they will meet their commitments by 2010. For example, in Ontario, the priority area is cataract surgery, and the timeframe is 26 weeks. Quebec has four priority areas. For cancer, radiation therapy, eight weeks is the timeframe.

Health committee  The data would indicate 4% of Canadians.

Health committee  Our colleague at Finance has done the math and says it's 1.3 million.

Health committee  We wouldn't have that number. I don't think we'd have a way of getting that number.

Health committee  I'll start with your question about health innovation and research. The Government of Canada has provided, since 2004, $440 million in new funding for health-specific innovation and $1.6 billion in new funding for innovation with a health component. They have focused on four pillars of research innovation.

Health committee  I'll start. I'll take them in the order in which you put them. Dr. Bennett suggested that the attention on wait times in specific areas could be having a negative impact on other areas. Indeed, information from the Canadian Institute for Health Information indicates that is not happening, that the attention on wait times in certain areas is not then extending wait times in other areas.

Health committee  The action plan builds on the pan-Canadian health human resource strategy, which was established in 2003. One of the most successful aspects of that strategy has been ongoing collaboration that occurs through an FPT process and includes stakeholder engagement. Collaborative efforts are being used to share and centralize data, identify barriers, and share best practices among participants.

Health committee  If you want specific information across Canada, the Health Council of Canada has an annual report and the Canadian Institute for Health Information has a 2007 report on wait times.

Health committee  That would have been provided by the committee, not by us.

Health committee  I can give you a few specific or concrete examples, and I will start with Quebec. Long waits for cataract surgery and hip and knee surgeries have declined very sharply. In Ontario, between November 2004 and April 2007, wait times for hip replacements dropped by 27%, or 94 days, while waits for knee replacements fell 30%, or 133 days.