Health committee  The question?

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

Health committee  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.

Health committee  Let me try to answer the three questions that—

Health committee  Absolutely. We have been working very closely with, in particular, provinces in which first nations live, and are finding significant success in working very closely with them in a number of different areas and breaking down some of those barriers between the first nation commun

Health committee  As I mentioned earlier, we have not put forward through the first nations and Inuit health branch a recommendation around midwifery, at this point; however, what we are doing is.... Because of the recognition that midwifery services or services for birthing closer to home are rea

Health committee  I really can't provide you with the timing around that.

Health committee  Right now we are looking at our options to provide birthing services closer to home.

Health committee  That's why we're looking at our options around birthing closer to home. Some of the first nation communities, especially in the remote areas, are very small. In many cases, we operate, for example, a two-nurse nursing station. Given our ability—or lack of ability sometimes—to att

Health committee  With respect to the work we are doing, like my colleagues, there isn't any one province we can point to. It's with respect to the nurses who are working in an advanced scope of practice that we've been working with provinces. I've been working with first nations and Inuit health

Health committee  Our primary principal challenge is recruiting nurses in our remote areas. It's not as much of a challenge for nurses who are working in public health. The majority of nurses working in public health are working directly for the first nations. In remote areas the isolation is defi

Health committee  I think right now we would need to take a look to see if they are eligible to begin with. Right now I'm not quite sure if midwives are eligible or not.

Health committee  What we could do is provide, Mr. Chair, the name of the area within Employment and Social Development Canada that manages this program. That perhaps would then allow someone to get in touch with them.

Health committee  The program is actually managed through Employment and Social Development Canada and not through Health Canada. We would have to check with them to see the scope of health professions that are eligible.

Health committee  I think midwifery is becoming more and more recognized. In fact Health Canada has been working quite closely, at the first nations and Inuit health branch specifically, with the National Aboriginal Council of Midwives. We have provided them with funding over the years to promote