Bill C-356 (Historical)

National Strategy for Dementia Act

An Act respecting a National Strategy for Dementia

This enactment requires the Minister of Health to initiate discussions with the provincial and territorial ministers responsible for health or health promotion for the purpose of developing a national strategy for the health care of persons afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia-related diseases.

National Strategy for Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias Act

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for the work he has done on this extremely important file, which was also very dear to the heart of one of our former colleagues, Claude Gravelle.

Claude introduced a similar bill in 2012, Bill C-356, which sought to create a national strategy for dementia. Unfortunately, the bill was defeated by a single vote in 2015. Those who opposed it were mainly Conservative and Bloc Québécois members. In the end, because one Liberal member forgot to stand up and vote, the bill that Claude had been working on for a long time was defeated.

I would like the Liberal member to tell me why he wanted to introduce this bill. What is the difference between this bill and the bill that our colleague introduced a few years ago?

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Then I think it should be removed from the legislation.

I want to get on to another issue. Unlike Bill C-356, the national strategy for dementia act, this legislation doesn't contain any provisions to augment the capabilities of the voluntary sector. Can you explain why you chose to exclude any mention of the voluntary sector from Bill C-233?

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Thank you, and thank you to our witnesses today.

I spent many years volunteering for an organization that provided respite. A large number of the families that I worked with were dealing with dementia. I would either support the person with dementia or support the family in different ways. I have a great amount of compassion for the significant impacts this has on communities and the families.

My first question is going to you, Mr. Nicholson. You mentioned thanks earlier to Claude Gravelle, who introduced Bill C-356, a national strategy for dementia. Unfortunately, that bill was defeated. It was a very close vote: 140 said no; 139 said yes. The majority of the Conservative MPs, including you, did not vote positively for this bill.

Given how similar your legislation is to the last bill, why did you choose to narrow its focus?

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

First, I want to thank you all so much for your amazing work. A special thank you to those of you who are in B.C. I am a B.C. MP, and I know exactly what time it is there, so I thank you so much for being here with us so early in the morning.

I want to first mention that in 2012, former NDP MP Gravelle introduced Bill C-356, a national dementia strategy, in Parliament. Unfortunately, his bill was defeated in May of 2015 by a single vote. It was a vote of 140 to 139. I think it was a really sad day for many of us. The Canadian Medical Association called this defeat “a lost opportunity to make lasting progress in the serious and growing problem of dementia in Canada”. The bill was opposed by a majority of Conservative MPs, including the member for Niagara Falls, who is the sponsor of today's bill, Bill C-233.

New Democrats, we will support Bill C-233, but it is less ambitious in its scope and implementation provisions than the former Bill C-356. Some of the concerns we have are around the establishment of the advisory board. In Bill C-233 there's a statement that says: “The board is to advise the Minister on any matter related to the health care of persons living with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia.” But unlike Bill C-356, the legislation offers no remuneration for the work of the advisory board members, nor any reimbursement for travel costs.

I come from a very rural riding, and I understand that the experiences of people across the country are very different. In your view, could this impact the formation and work of a national advisory board?

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last month, I joined my community in Nanaimo on the walk for Alzheimer's where our community walked in support of Alzheimer's patients and their families.

The honoree this year was the late Dale Horn. She was born in 1933 in Australia and she came to Canada at the age of 24. She was such a strong part of Nanaimo's community boards and the life of its community spirit.

At this Alzheimer's walk a month ago, her son, John Horn, honoured her at the walk for all the hundreds of participants ready to get started, saying: “Dale was a fantastic companion, fully engaged, witty and keenly observant. She drew you in and made you feel lucky to be included in her world.” With “a steely resolve and genuine grit,” Dale was unfazed by her disease, said John. “When affected by Alzheimer's, she insisted on helping others with the disease. She retained a wicked sense of humour and immense grace, right up to the end of her life.”

This year's Nanaimo Alzheimer's walk raised $18,000. This is to promote critical research to reduce the effects of Alzheimer's, but also to provide services for those living with, or assisting with Alzheimer's. This is really to ease the personal circumstances that exist for the people suffering and for their families every day.

It is in that spirit that I am pleased to stand and speak today in favour of the bill at hand and to speak about Canada's responsibility to improve care for the hundreds of thousands of Canadians suffering from dementia, and to give better support to their families and caregivers.

Bill C-233, which calls for the development and implementation of a national and comprehensive strategy to improve health care delivered to persons suffering from Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia is something we can and should all support. Canada has fallen behind other countries such as the United States, the U.K., Norway, France, the Netherlands, and Australia. All of these countries have coordinated national dementia plans in place already.

Past president of the Canadian Medical Association, Dr. Chris Simpson, spoke to this when he said:

We have the dubious distinction of being one of the few G8 countries without a national dementia strategy. Meanwhile, our acute care hospitals are overflowing with patients awaiting long term care placement and our long-term care facilities are understaffed, underspaced and underequipped to care for our most vulnerable seniors. This leaves patients and their families in limbo, struggling to fill these gaps in our system.

He also said:

The reason your father has to wait nine months for a hip replacement is that the beds are being used by dementia patients.... That is the single biggest reason why elective surgery wait times are so long.

Now, it was the NDP that first introduced a proposal to the House to create a national strategy for dementia. In 2012, former NDP MP Claude Gravelle introduced Bill C-356 in Parliament, prescribing a national dementia strategy. Unfortunately, that bill was defeated at second reading a year ago by a single vote. The bill was opposed by a majority of Conservative MPs, Bloc MPs, and, critically as it turned out, a single Liberal MP who failed to stand for the vote. I was watching it on CPAC. It was heartbreaking because it would have made a big difference in our communities.

Inexplicably, the member for Niagara Falls, the sponsor of the bill before the House today, voted against the national dementia strategy just a year ago. If the House had followed New Democrat leadership in the last Parliament, Canadians would have a national dementia strategy in place right now. Canadians would not have lost precious time, and that is something that is so precious to people suffering from a degenerative illness.

This has had real human impact. I have heard countless stories in my riding about the impacts of Alzheimer's disease and dementia on my constituents. Many cannot afford quality home care for their parents and it is especially shameful that the Liberals abandoned their election promise to invest $3 billion in home care.

I have heard stories from personal care workers, nurses, and physicians who report emergency wards overwhelmed with patients, long-term facilities that are understaffed, and long gruelling hours for caregivers. These are very often offering low-pay work in the homes of dementia patients.

These stories underscore the need for real leadership in this chamber. So many are affected. Three-quarters of a million Canadians were living with dementia in 2011. That is 15% of Canadian seniors. That might double by 2031. This costs our country $30 billion a year in medical bills and lost productivity. Left unchecked, that number could skyrocket to $300 billion within 25 years.

As Canada's population ages, we must prepare our health care system and our communities for the inevitable rise in the number of Canadians suffering from dementia.

To paraphrase Tommy Douglas, the father of medicare and a New Democrat, only through the practise of preventative medicine will we keep health care costs from becoming excessive.

The need is pressing. The burden for caring for patients with dementia and Alzheimer's falls primarily on family members. In Canada, family caregivers give millions of unpaid hours each year caring for their parents and family. That is $11 billion in lost income and a quarter million lost full-time equivalent employees from the workforce.

If nothing changes by 2040, it is estimated that family caregivers in Canada will be spending 1.2 billion unpaid hours per year providing care, and a quarter of family caregivers are seniors themselves.

Dementia also has a disproportionate impact on women. Women are two and a half times more likely to be providing care. Women themselves represent 62% of dementia cases and 70% of new Alzheimer's cases. That puts them at the epicentre of a growing health care crisis. Also, women are nearly twice as likely to succumb to dementia.

Another group of vulnerable patients are affected by another bill in the House, and that is the government's physician-assisted dying bill. We keep hearing arguments again and again that people with a dementia diagnosis should have a real choice over how their lives end. The federal government's legislation for assisted dying would not allow Canadians with a dementia diagnosis, while they were still of sound mind, to make an advance request for physician-assisted dying. This puts up an enormous barrier for thousands of Canadians with dementia or other degenerative illness.

Without the right to make advance requests for assisted dying, Canadians with a dementia diagnosis are faced with what the courts call a cruel choice between ending their lives prematurely or, potentially, suffering immeasurably and unbearably. This is completely unacceptable. To us it looks as if those who most need physician-assisted dying may inexplicably be excluded from it. We remain optimistic that amendments will be made to ameliorate that very serious flaw.

Let us go back to the national Alzheimer's strategy.

The New Democrats believe that the bill must be crafted correctly to ensure the best outcome for patients, their families, and their caregivers. While we support Bill C-233, it is less ambitious in its scope and implementation provisions than last year's New Democrat bill.

We will work constructively at committee stage to bring about meaningful and substantive amendments to strengthen the final version of the bill. Canadians deserve no less than the best national Alzheimer's strategy possible. The New Democrats have a long and proud history of advocating for federal leadership on health care issues.

In fact, as my colleague, the member forVancouver Kingsway likes to remind me, we invented it. The New Democrats stood alone in the House unanimously for a national dementia strategy in 2015. We stand in the House in 2016 and work so every Canadian, every Canadian family, every caregiver, can have a world-class dementia strategy, as the New Democrats have fought for in the last five years.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today as health critic for the New Democratic Party, to speak to Bill C-233 and the urgent need to address the impact of dementia and Alzheimer's disease on patients, families, communities, and our public health care system.

Dementia disease is a progressive degenerative disorder that attacks nerve cells in the brain, resulting in loss of memory, thinking, language skills, and behavioural changes. The disease forms lesions in the brain cells of patients causing nerve connections to sever and nerve cells to die.

Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, which is a general term used to describe a group of systems, such as loss of memory, language, motor skills, and other brain functions. Alzheimer's is not part of the normal process of aging, and currently has no cure.

Bill C-233 calls for the development and implementation of a national and comprehensive strategy to improve health care delivered to persons suffering from Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

This legislation prescribes a number of elements that must be included in a national strategy, including greater investment in research, the establishment of national objectives for care, coordination with international bodies that fight dementias, assistance to provinces and territories to improve treatment, strengthening of prevention and early intervention, and disseminating best practices. As prescribed in the bill, the details and benchmarks for these elements would be determined at a conference convened by the minister with multi-stakeholder representation.

New Democrats have long believed that Canada needs an ambitious and comprehensive national dementia strategy to improve care for the hundreds of thousands of Canadians suffering from forms of dementia, and to better support their families and caregivers.

As Mimi Lowi-Young, CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Canada, has said:

By implementing a strategy, we will be able to enhance research efforts, raise awareness about the disease, provide support for people with dementia and their care givers, identify best practices for care and improve surveillance of the disease.

Particularly as Canada's population ages, we must prepare our health care systems and our communities for the inevitable rise in the number of Canadians suffering from dementia. To paraphrase Tommy Douglas, the father of medicare and a New Democrat, “Only through the practice of preventative medicine will we keep health care costs from becoming..excessive..”, and the need is pressing.

Recently, the former head of the Canadian Medical Association, Dr. Chris Simpson said:

our acute care hospitals are overflowing with patients [often dementia patients] awaiting long term care placement and our long-term care facilities are understaffed, underspaced and underequipped to care for our most vulnerable seniors. This leaves patients and their families in limbo, struggling to fill these gaps in our system....

The need for national leadership is urgent. Few Canadians are untouched by these diseases that often have shattering impacts on families. The struggle to cope with the deterioration of mental faculties and the loss of memory can be overwhelming and heartbreaking.

According to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, that disease and other dementias now directly affect 750,000 Canadian patients. This number is expected to double to 1.4 million by 2031. Current dementia-related costs, both direct medical costs and indirect lost earnings, have reached $33 billion per year in Canada, and they are projected to soar to $293 billion by 2040.

Currently the burden of care for patients with dementia and Alzheimer's disease falls primarily on family members. In Canada, family caregivers spend an estimated 444-million unpaid hours per year caring for dementia patients, representing $11 billion in lost income and 227,000 lost full-time equivalent employees to our workforce. If nothing changes by 2040, it is estimated that family caregivers in Canada will spend over one billion unpaid hours every year providing care. These numbers are staggering. Taken alone, they make the case for our desperate need for national leadership. Canadians overwhelmingly agree. A recent Nanos survey revealed that 83% of Canadians say that they want Canada to develop a national plan to address these diseases.

We must not forget that dementia also has a disproportionate impact on Canadian women. According to the Women's Brain Health Initiative of Canada, women represent 62% of dementia cases and 70% of new Alzheimer's cases, putting them at the epicentre of a growing health issue. In addition to this, women are nearly twice as likely as men to succumb to dementia, and two and a half times more likely to be providing care to someone with the disease.

Unfortunately, Canada is now one of the last developed countries in the world without a national strategy to address dementia. We have fallen behind countries such as the U.S., U.K., Norway, France, Netherlands, and Australia, all of which have coordinated national plans in place.

In Vancouver Kingsway, I have heard countless heartbreaking stories about the impacts of Alzheimer's disease and dementia on my constituents. Many cannot afford quality home care for their parents or face long delays in accessing long-term care facilities. Many do not even have access to the resources or information they need to make important decisions, as they witness the cognitive degeneration of a loved one. I have heard stories from personal care workers, nurses and physicians, who report emergency wards that are overwhelmed with patients, long-term care facilities that are understaffed, and long, gruelling hours for caregivers, often working for low pay in the homes of dementia patients. These stories underscore the need for leadership in this chamber.

As New Democrats, we are proud of our long history of leadership on health care, and specifically dementia care. In fact, it was the NDP that first introduced a proposal to this House to create a national strategy for dementia. In 2012, former NDP MP Claude Gravelle introduced Bill C-356 in Parliament, prescribing a national dementia strategy. That bill provided a comprehensive and cutting edge plan for a national strategy to deal with Alzheimer's and dementia. Unfortunately, that bill was defeated at second reading in May 2015 by a single vote. It was 140 to 139. The bill was opposed by a majority of Conservative MPs, Bloc MPs, and, critically as it turned out, a single Liberal MP who failed to stand for the vote. Conversely, our New Democrat caucus voted unanimously in favour of Mr. Gravelle's bill.

I must again mention that the member for Niagara Falls, the sponsor of the bill before this House today, inexplicably voted against that national dementia strategy just one short year ago. Most charitably, I might say that wisdom comes so seldom that it ought not to be rejected because it comes late. Less diplomatically, I might say that the hon. member owes Canadians an explanation and an apology for defeating the very concept that he proposes be adopted here today. What is indisputable is that if the House had followed New Democrat official opposition leadership in the last Parliament, Canadians would have a national dementia strategy in place right now. Canadians would not have lost precious time, something that is especially important to those suffering from a progressive illness.

New Democrats do not take lightly the opportunity to move forward with a national strategy for dementia. We believe this bill must be crafted correctly to ensure the best possible outcome for patients, their families, and caregivers. While we support Bill C-233, it is less ambitious in its scope and implementation provisions than the former bill, Bill C-356, the New Democrat bill. Important differences between those bills include the following: an absence of any provision to augment volunteerism for dementia and Alzheimer's-related causes, no remuneration of advisory board members, and only one public report required from the minister versus the yearly progress reports prescribed in the former NDP bill.

New Democrats will work at committee stage to bring about meaningful and substantive amendments to this bill to strengthen the final product. Canadians deserve no less than the best national Alzheimer's and dementia strategy possible. New Democrats have a long and proud history of advocating for federal leadership on health care issues. In fact, we invented it. It is critical that in a country like ours, the federal government works to ensure that all Canadians have access to the health care they need, no matter where they live, no matter what their income, and no matter their background.

New Democrats stood alone in this House unanimously for a national dementia strategy in 2015. We will stand unanimously in this House in 2016 and work so that every Canadian, every Canadian family, and every caregiver can have a world-class dementia strategy, as the NDP has fought for in the last five years.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Speaker, as my hon. colleague points out in his speech, it was the NDP that first introduced in the House a proposal to create a national strategy for dementia.

In 2012, former NDP MP Claude Gravelle, the great member for Nickel Belt at that time, introduced Bill C-356, prescribing a national dementia strategy in Parliament. That bill provided a comprehensive and cutting-edge plan for a national strategy to deal with Alzheimer's and other dementia.

Unfortunately, that bill was defeated at second reading in May 2015 by a single vote; 140 to 139. The bill was opposed by a majority of Conservative MPs, Bloc MPs, and critically, as it turned out, a single Liberal MP who failed to stand for the vote.

I must mention that, inexplicably, the member for Niagara Falls, the sponsor of the bill before the House today, voted against the the NDP bill to establish a national plan for dementia. I wonder if the member could stand in the House and explain to Canadians why he opposed a bill that would have brought such a great plan to Canadians a year earlier than his bill.

Alzheimer's Disease and Other Forms of Dementia

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House today and speak on Motion No. 575, which I think is one of the most important motions that has come before the House in some time. This motion would create a pan-Canadian strategy for dementia.

Alzheimer's and other dementia diseases are a major health care, social and economic issue with enormous negative consequences for seniors, the baby boom generation and younger Canadians who are either living with the disease or living with family members and perhaps working as their caregiver. Some 15% of those affected by this suite of diseases are younger people. The number of Canadians with dementia is expected to double by 2031.

To date, the government has only supported a national research strategy. As important as research is, we on this side of the House believe that there is not the same comprehensive approach in this motion that the bill introduced in the House by my hon. colleague from Nickel Belt would have obligated the government to pursue. That would have been a national strategy to broadly help patients, support caregivers, help the dementia workforce, provide a strategy for early diagnosis and prevention, and provide a continuum of care for people in their homes, the community and formal care.

We in the New Democratic Party believe that respecting provincial and territorial jurisdiction is important in health care delivery and any other matter of provincial jurisdiction. We believe that the federal government needs to lead a pan-Canadian dementia strategy than can immediately help the millions of Canadians who are affected by Alzheimer's and related dementias, including the patients, families, caregivers, the dementia workforce and so on. We believe that this will have the additional benefit of freeing up scarce acute care beds in hospitals and helping caregivers who often must give up work to care for loved ones, as well. There is a very important economic and health care resource aspect to this motion.

I will not belabour this point, but it is important for Canadians to know that the Conservatives voted down a bill that would have required the Canadian government by law to implement a national dementia strategy just weeks ago. Instead, we are tabling a private member's bill by the Conservative member that would not obligate the government, because a motion is not obligatory on the government at all. We have replaced a New Democrat proposal that would have provided a mandatory legislative framework for a national dementia strategy, which was voted down by the Conservatives, with a discretionary motion that obligates the government to do nothing, only weeks ahead.

The member for Nickel Belt's bill, Bill C-356, would have gone much further than the present motion to guarantee Canadians that the federal government would finally take action to help their loved ones who are suffering from dementia. Despite being disappointed that the Conservatives rejected that opportunity to take decisive action, as the New Democrats' bill would have done, we will support this motion because we support all efforts to move on this important issue, even if they are not all that is needed.

The statistics and the real face of dementia are sobering. According to the benchmark Rising Tide study by the Alzheimer Society of Canada, the number of Canadians living with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias now stands at 750,000 people and will double to 1.4 million by 2031. Canada's health care system is presently under-equipped to deal with that staggering number and the costs associated with it. The combined direct medical and indirect costs, including lost earnings, of dementia total some $33 billion per year. By 2040, this figure is expected to skyrocket to an almost unbelievable $293 billion per year.

Pressures on family caregivers, however, are mounting today. In 2011, family caregivers spent 444 million unpaid hours per year looking after someone with dementia, representing some $11 billion in lost income and 227,000 lost full-time equivalent employees in the workforce. By 2040, they will be devoting a staggering 1.2 billion unpaid hours per year.

Lost in these numbers, perhaps, is the human face of this disease, the moms, the dads, the brothers, the sisters, the friends, the neighbours, the work colleagues, the grandfathers and the grandmothers who are involved in this disease.

While an elderly face typifies most people dealing with dementia, as I said, 15% of those people living with Alzheimer's or related dementia diseases are under 60, so it is important to note that dementia is not an issue that only affects people in their aging years.

The Canadian Medical Association estimates that patients who should be elsewhere occupy about 15% of the acute care hospital beds across Canada, one-third of them suffering from dementia, so we can see that not dealing with this disease in an appropriate national strategic sense is extremely expensive because it is causing us to spend unnecessary health dollars when we could be dealing with it in a better way.

The NDP history on this issue is well documented. At the 2012 NDP convention, delegates from across this country passed a resolution calling for a national dementia strategy. I want to pause and say that this shows the health of our Canadian political party structure. I can speak particularly of the New Democratic Party, whose delegates come to a convention every two years and put forward ideas from their communities that then make their way into the New Democratic caucus and into this House. I want to congratulate the New Democratic delegates from across the country who played such an important and visionary role in this issue here today.

We have also found strong support, however, among labour members, among seniors, and in all aspects of civil society. Inevitably, the interest is personal. It comes from the direct knowledge or experience of someone living with the disease or burdened and often economically suffering from caring for a loved one with the disease. It comes from personal experience. I think that informs this issue in a very real and direct way.

Internationally, many countries are moving forward with their own national strategies. The Paris declaration in 2006 lists among the political priorities of the European Alzheimer movement the call for national governments to recognize Alzheimer's disease as a major public health challenge and develop national action programs.

It is interesting that this was in 2006. Here we are, nine years later. The current government was first elected in 2006, and nine years after international calls for a national dementia strategy, the government has yet to act.

We are here in the dying days of the 41st Parliament with a backbench motion coming forward that does not obligate the government to do anything. To me, that does not speak of a responsible governmental response on an extremely important medical issue facing our population at this time.

There was also a G8 summit on dementia in the United Kingdom in December of 2013. The call for a national dementia strategy was made there as well. It is clear that Canada today has no national plan and has been lagging behind our closest economic partners—the United States, the U.K., France, and Australia—all of whom have national dementia plans.

Here is what the New Democrats propose. We want Canada to develop a national dementia strategy with leadership from Ottawa. We want a national plan that can and must respect provincial and territorial health care jurisdictions. We want one plan to be developed, a plan that coordinates all of the provincial priorities and is tailored to meet the needs of each province or territory. We think that would be far better than 13 separate plans carried out in isolation from one another. We want a national dementia strategy that includes but goes beyond research to help those now living with the disease, their caregivers, and the dementia workforce.

Quoting some of the many people who work with this issue every day is the best way to close my remarks today.

The Canadian Association of Retired Persons said this about the NDP's Bill C-356:

[The NDP plan] calls for a national strategy that includes increasing funding for research into all aspects of dementia, promoting earlier diagnosis and intervention, strengthening the integration of primary, home, and community care, followed by enhancing skills and training of the dementia workforce and recognizing the needs and improving supports for caregivers, all of which CARP advocates for and supports.

The Alzheimer Society of Canada has said that “83% of Canadians reported they believe Canada needs a national dementia plan.”

The society stated:

As our population ages, Canadians will be at an increased risk of developing dementia or caring for someone with it.

“Everyone owns this disease.”

It says:

The approach we're proposing has worked for the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and the Mental Health Commission of Canada. It can work for dementia and ensure that we get the best return on investment and available resources.

The Canadian Medical Association, every single major group across the country that works with seniors, and the medical profession support the cause of a national dementia strategy. The New Democrats support that, and when we are the government in 2015, after October, that is exactly what our government will deliver for Canadians.

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am always humbled by the privilege of standing in the House to represent the people of Nickel Belt. On this motion, on this issue of a national dementia strategy, I realize I stand to represent not only the people of Nickel Belt but also the millions of Canadians who are demanding a credible, real, national dementia strategy.

What is at play here is self-evident to many Canadians. This motion perfectly captures the Conservatives' politics, which have been on display here in Parliament time and again on issues vital to Canadians. This motion is more a child of spin and politics than a commitment to the leadership we are looking for. It gives the appearance of doing something to really help Canadians while staying the course on their own priorities.

Members will know that this motion appeared out of the blue a week before debate on my bill, which proposed a real, credible, national dementia strategy. It was a plan that would be anchored in a law, with leadership mandated from Ottawa. Canadians clearly wanted that.

The minister indicated that while initially opposed to the legislation, she had a change of mind. I believe the change of mind had something to do with the dozens of petitions being tabled in the House in support of a national dementia plan, the hundreds of municipal resolutions backing Bill C-356, and the growing number of provincial governments seeing the value of leadership from Ottawa that still respected provincial jurisdiction.

Canadians changed the government's mind. During many discussions with the minister and her representatives, we on this side of the House accepted all the amendments proposed to address their reservations. However, in the end, the government showed its true colours and abandoned its leadership and any legislative measure that it would be required to implement. This government's ideology and practice is to disregard authentic national strategies containing real measures that make things easier for Canadians.

This brings me to the vote held on May 6. Despite the fact that the government is now opposed to the bill and even though it has a majority in the House, the bill was defeated by one vote, 139 to 140. The media first talked about the confusion at the time of the vote. One Conservative member voted twice before withdrawing his support for the bill. Let me quickly say that the vote of 140 to 139 is a sharp reminder of the importance of every member's vote. Yes, bills can be passed or defeated by a single vote. The Conservatives have also heard about what their vote means since that night.

However, the vote was also a clear reminder of how we need to listen to the will of Canadians. Nine members of the Conservative caucus did so, voting for the legislation. I have recognized their votes in public comments. There were nine government MPs who joined our party and other parties to support real help for the 747,000 people now dealing with Alzheimer's or related dementia disease, plus the millions of people caught up in providing care and health services.

This motion cleverly includes so many elements from my bill and what is needed for a genuine national strategy, but this motion will not here and now help any of the people who are so in need of help.

This motion recognizes the important research initiatives that we on this side of the House enthusiastically applaud. It recognizes the federal-provincial discussions under way, while deploring the fact that they are painfully slow. The motion includes many of the basic elements of a strategy, but it makes no commitment to accomplish what that it sets out.

The real problem of the motion before us not being as binding as legislation is that, in the words of my colleague the member for Victoria, it risks being a “feel-good, do-nothing motion”. I will say more about motions versus legislation later, but in terms of recognizing what Canadians really need from the current government, we need to hear what they said in the wake of the defeat of Bill C-356 by one vote. Some of what they said, I cannot repeat. “Shame” and “disgrace” were some of the more polite words.

The Canadian Medical Association lamented the lost opportunity. Dr. Chris Simpson, president of the CMA, said:

The defeat of Private Member's Bill C-356 Wednesday night represents a lost opportunity to make lasting progress in the serious and growing problem of dementia in Canada. We remain one of the few industrialized countries to be without a national dementia strategy.

... Bill C-356 would have called on the government to set up a national dementia strategy. Canada would have been able to get to work making sure the health care system has the right resources to deal with this problem before it becomes overwhelming.

However, a national strategy would involve all levels of government and introduce benchmarks, standards of care as well as timeframes. It would also give other levels of government and stakeholders a forum to point out the need for resources. Instead of a series of ad hoc initiatives, a national strategy is a long-term solution for a problem that will be with us for a long time.

Canadians want a real national strategy enshrined in law. That is what we have heard from municipalities, doctors, people with dementia, their caregivers, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, other religious leaders, CARP and other seniors' organizations, unions and many others.

The motion moved in the House reproduces, almost word for word, many of the provisions in Bill C-356. There is heavy emphasis on research, something we have always considered essential to any strategy. That is something that will only contribute to other aspects of a well thought-out strategy.

However, when we unpack this motion, and all its phrases, again we see that it will stay the course on what Ottawa has been doing, slowly and with so few results. There will be research. There will be discussions with the provinces. There is a nod to sharing of best practices and reports to the public, but with no real accountability or timelines.

There is little evidence of a comprehensive plan that also provides for early diagnosis and treatment. I do not see the continuum of care for people to remain at home and in the community, which is critical as our scarce acute care beds have many people who do not need to be in hospitals.

A real credible national dementia strategy would also now help those overwhelmed in the dementia workforce. For example, the motion mentions support for caregivers, but nothing about how and when. What resources will be given to these people now?

We on this side know the difference of a motion versus legislation. In another Parliament, we saw the passing of Mr. Broadbent's motion to end child poverty by the year 2000. It was unanimous. There was good will on all sides, but we know what happened with that motion. What will happen to this motion when there is no will of governments to follow up with real action and leadership.

We are reaching the end of this Parliament next month. We or others representing our parties will all have to face the voters in our ridings. Organizations like the Canadian Medical Association, CARP and others are advising voters to remember their MP or party votes on dementia. We are pleased on this side for having done our part in education, advocacy and building the momentum for a genuine national dementia strategy. There is no turning back.

Through Bill C-356 and our debate on this motion, Canadians will not be fooled by words any longer. They want a national dementia strategy to actually show up in their community to help their loved ones, their neighbours, their work colleagues, now. Canadians will not stomach more press releases, motions, promises or explaining of votes.

I will support this motion because I like mom, apple pie and everything that is said in Motion No. 575. Speaking of mom, the story of my mom and my family connected me to the millions of Canadians struggling with this health care crisis that dementia represents. She was a straight shooter. She would figure out fact from fiction about what the government says it does or will do.

We on this side are committed to continue the real work required to make this happen. I look forward to the new government in Alberta being part of that work. I look forward to a new government in Ottawa, a government led by my leader, that will lead on this file. Canadians deserve better than what we have.

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Nickel Belt brought forward a private member's bill, Bill C-356, not long ago. It contained much of the same material that this expression of opinion, which is what a motion is, contains. Why did the member vote against that initiative. Why did the government defeat the private member's bill that would have created a national dementia strategy in Canada rather than simply, as in the motion before us tonight, an expression of the opinion of the House?

National Strategy for Dementia Act

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill C-356, under private members' business.

The House resumed from May 5 consideration of the motion that Bill C-356, An Act respecting a National Strategy for Dementia, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to participate in this discussion, but I find it unfortunate that I have so little time to speak about such an important issue.

Obviously there are many issues where partisanship should be set aside so that a broad consensus can be reached. Clearly, one of those issues is dementia and treatment for those who are living with one form or another of this disease. For that reason, I am proud to be part of this discussion and to support Bill C-356, which was introduced by my colleague from Nickel Belt.

I wanted to provide some background and statistics to show how serious this situation is, but since I already know that I will not have enough time, I would like to instead focus on something extraordinary that was achieved in my riding of Trois-Rivières and that has now spread outside the riding, outside Quebec and even outside Canada. The knowledge and skills developed by Maison Carpe Diem, under the direction of Nicole Poirier, have made this organization an international source of expertise. Clearly, the national strategy that my colleague wants to establish with his bill could help Maison Carpe Diem and this organization could use its expertise to help with this strategy.

This organization, known as Carpe Diem, comprises a home and a foundation. My colleagues probably remember the well-known film Dead Poets Society, which popularized this expression. Carpe diem is usually translated as “seize the day”, in other words, seize the present moment and make the best of it. With its home and its foundation, the organization is a perfect example of the efforts that the Trois-Rivières community has already devoted to supporting and helping people living with Alzheimer's.

Maison Carpe Diem's mission is to provide services and resources tailored to the specific needs of people with Alzheimer's disease and their loved ones. Maison Carpe Diem has decided to take a bold, innovative approach. The organization realizes that research results are rarely conclusive. That is not to take anything away from the importance of research and the need for investments in research, but simply to say that from the moment a study begins until conclusive results are reached, it is important to find ways to make life bearable for those living with this disease. With that in mind, members and administrators at Maison Carpe Diem decided to focus their approach on supporting patients and their families during these difficult times.

The approach taken by Maison Carpe Diem is so effective because of its perspective on those living with this disease. More specifically, the staff uses language in such a way as to ensure that residents there do not feel like simple patients. Instead of defining them as patients or clients, the staff creates an environment in which people living with this disease are able to feel comfortable and feel at home. This approach is original in that Maison Carpe Diem views and addresses this disease from a social perspective. Internationally renowned neurologists have validated the methods used by this organization.

On February 12, 2015, a conference focusing on supporting people with Alzheimer's was held at the Trois-Rivières conference centre. More than 400 people attended, including foreign scientists who are interested in the approach taken by the staff at Maison Carpe Diem. The founder of this organization, Nicole Poirier, drew the interest of participants because of her novel approach to the disease. The organization takes an overall perspective that helps staff identify the different aspects of Alzheimer's and that focuses on both the disease and the person living with it. This organization and its approach are now seen as a model, both within the grassroots movement and in the public health network.

What I want to say is that by being part of a national strategy, this organization could easily share its best practices and more effectively assist those suffering from dementia and their family members. My hope is that a national strategy will lead to an increase in the number of organizations like the one in my riding across the country and around the world. Furthermore, public health networks could further benefit from this expertise and share what they learn with their partners.

I was going to cite some statistics, but it seems to me that 100% is the most convincing one.

In my opinion, at some point, when we cannot remember an expression we want to use, 100% of us will wonder if that is the onset of Alzheimer's. Even though we often joke about it, these words are always on our lips.

I will conclude with a quote from the website of Maison Carpe Diem, the organization I spoke about:

If Alzheimer's is marked by forgetfulness, the discussion around it often forgets about those most concerned, the people suffering from it.

[Rathika Sitsabaiesan, NDP, Scarborough—Rouge River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I stand today to support Bill C-356, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia, introduced by the member of Parliament for Nickel Belt.

This is proof that the NDP is standing for our future. Right now, the increased cases of dementia among older Canadians is having a huge impact in Canada. Our current system needs support if it is going to grapple with the social, health and economic impacts of dementia, which affect patients, their caregivers and their communities.

We know this is a growing crisis because if we do not develop a comprehensive set of supports to address this issue now, it will then be 10 times worse as the baby boomer generation enters the senior years.

I remember being a delegate at the 2012 NDP convention, and our delegates passed a resolution calling for a national dementia strategy. We found strong support among organized labour, seniors and our NDP members in electoral districts across the country.

Their interest is personal, coming from knowing someone who is living with the disease or a caregiver who is caring for a loved one with the disease. We introduced Bill C-356 in late 2011. Since then, over 75 petitions supporting this idea have been tabled here in Parliament. Over 300 municipalities have passed supporting resolutions.

There is strong support from seniors, heath care, labour, faith and many other networks. A national dementia strategy also links well to the NDP seniors strategy. Our seniors need our support, especially when dementia makes them vulnerable and disoriented, and in need of care.

According to the benchmark study, Rising Tide by the Alzheimer Society of Canada, the number of Canadians living with Alzheimer's disease and other dementia now stands at 747,000 and will double to 1.5 million by 2031.

Canada's health care system is ill equipped to deal with the staggering costs. The combined direct medical and indirect lost earnings costs of dementia total $33 billion per year. By 2040, this figure will skyrocket to $293 billion per year. Pressures on family caregivers continue to mount.

In 2011, family caregivers spent 444 million unpaid hours per year looking after someone with dementia, representing $11 billion in lost income and 227,760 full-time equivalent employees in the work force. By 2040, they will be devoting a staggering 1.2 billion unpaid hours per year. Lost in those numbers, perhaps, is the real human face of the disease, the moms, dads, brothers, sisters, friends, neighbours and work colleagues. While an elderly face typifies most people living and dealing with dementia, 15% of all who are living with Alzheimer's or related dementia diseases are actually under 60 years old. Dementia cuts across every demographic in our communities.

I want to share an example. Matt Dineen, who is 44, is a Catholic high school teacher in Ottawa whose wife, Lisa, 45, is already in secure long-term care with frontal-temporal dementia. Matt is helped by grandparents and siblings in looking after the three children he has with Lisa.

We need increased support for informal caregivers. Caregivers need to be recognized as individuals with rights to their own services and supports. This could take several forms. On financial support, the non-refundable family caregiver tax credit of up to $300 a year introduced in 2011 is really not enough. This does not adequately reimburse the cost of a caregiver's time, which studies have shown is much higher.

Programs are needed to relieve the stress experienced by caregivers. This can include education and skill-building, and the provision of respite care and other support services for the caregivers.

I want to read an account from Tanya Levesque, who lives here in Ottawa, which reflects the experience of many caregivers in Canada. Ms. Levesque states, “We need a national dementia plan to help caregivers. Following is a list of financial barriers I have experienced during my journey as my mother's caregiver: Unable to access my El benefits; I've been unable to qualify for social assistance; unable to claim the caregiver amount on my income tax, since my mother's net income is a few thousand more than what is listed; lack of subsidies for expenses which keep increasing (i.e. property tax, parking fees at hospitals for appointments, gas for travelling to appointments, hydro, water and sewage fees ... etc); I've changed my eating habits to save money, due to the increased cost of food, so my mother can eat well; and because of a lack of future job security, my retirement security is in question, I can't save, because I've chosen to care for my mother, who took care of me. Other difficulties I've encountered: No one-stop shop for information; lack of education of front line emergency room workers regarding the difficulty of long waiting times for a person with dementia; lack of funding for organizations that provide Day Program services .i.e. not being able to provide various activities to clients due to associated costs (i.e. pet therapy). I not only provide love, a peaceful environment, stability and familiarity to my mother - who has now stabilized with her disease - I also provide the government with health care cost savings.

She is clearly doing a lot for our community by helping her mother.

Supporting a national condition-specific strategy is something I think that we should look into for dementia. It is not a new thing. It is not a new idea for the federal government. It is just an an idea that the Conservative government is actually really dragging its feet on.

The Canadian diabetes strategy, for example, supports collaborating and developing community models to raise awareness, invest in tools and share information.

The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, in 2011, received a renewal of funding totalling $250 million over five years. CPAC is implementing a coordinated, comprehensive approach to managing cancer care in Canada.

Using the Canadian heart health strategy and action plan as a guide, Canada is addressing cardiovascular disease through investments in health promotion and disease prevention.

Clearly, we know how to do this. It has been established. Dementia should be a disease, a condition for which we can have a specific strategy nationally.

In 2007, the Government of Canada established the Mental Health Commission by providing $130 million over 10 years, with a mandate to facilitate the development of a national mental health strategy.

Instead of a national strategy, what we are seeing is that the Conservative government has proposed research.

As important as research is, it is not the same as the comprehensive approach that the bill would promote: help for patients, caregivers, the dementia workforce; early diagnoses and prevention; and a continuum of care for people in their homes, in the community and in formal care.

The national dementia strategy proposed by my colleague from Nickel Belt, in Bill C-356, would provide leadership from Parliament that would work with and respect the lead jurisdiction for health care delivery for the provinces and territories; increase funding for research into all aspects of dementia; promote earlier diagnosis and intervention; strengthen the integration of primary, home and community care; enhance skills and training of the dementia workforce; and recognize the need and improve support for caregivers.

We respect that provinces and territories have jurisdiction over health care delivery; however, municipalities, patients and caregivers are calling upon Ottawa to show some leadership. Ottawa needs to take the lead on a pan-Canadian dementia strategy that could immediately help millions of Canadians affected by Alzheimer's and related dementia diseases: the patients, families, caregivers and the dementia workforce. This would free scarce acute-care beds in hospitals and help caregivers, who often must give up their work in order to care for loved ones.

I shared the example of Ms. Levesque with members earlier.

Also, Mimi Lowi-Young, the CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Canada, stated the following:

In a recent Nanos survey, 83% of Canadians reported they believe Canada needs a national dementia plan. As our population ages, Canadians will be at an increased risk of developing dementia or caring for someone with it. Everyone owns this disease.

The approach we're proposing has worked for the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and the Mental Health Commission of Canada. It can work for dementia and ensure that we get the best return on investment and available resources.

The Canadian Association of Retired Persons, CARP, and the Canadian Medical Association both echo the sentiment of Ms. Lowi-Young.

In conclusion, instead of putting forward a non-binding motion, Motion No. 575, the government brought forward that would not lead to a study in committee and support research when our country is actually calling out for a plan, a real plan, a strategy, the government needs to really take action to build a national strategy for dementia and and support Bill C-356 proposed by my colleague from Nickel Belt.

[Judy Foote, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to rise today in support of Bill C-356, An Act respecting a National Strategy for Dementia.

The Liberals have long called for federal leadership in establishing a pan-Canadian dementia strategy and we believe the federal government must work with the provinces to establish such a strategy.

Families throughout our country are having to deal with loved ones who have dementia and they need our help and our support. They need that national strategy so they can cope, and this private member's bill aims to do that.

According to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, in 2011, 747,000 Canadians were living with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. That means, 14.9% of Canadians 65 and older were living with cognitive impairment. Without intervention, the society projects that figure will increase to 1.4 million Canadians by 2031.

The demographic population of Newfoundland and Labrador is aging at a faster rate than the rest of Canada, which means this increase will hit my home province particularly hard. In 2011, 16% of the population was 65 years or older, a number expected to increase to 20% by 2016. Unfortunately, as the age of the population increases, research has shown that the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia does as well.

The Canadian Medical Association raised this issue in its 2013 paper, “Toward a Dementia Strategy for Canada”. It said:

Given the terrible toll that dementia currently takes on Canadians and their health care, and given the certainty that this toll will grow more severe in coming decades, the CMA believes that it is vital for Canada to develop a focused strategy to address it.

Clearly this is a pressing problem requiring urgent action. Yet, despite pledging in 2013 to find a cure or treatment for Alzheimer's by 2025, we remain one of the only G7 countries without a strategy. Australia, Norway, the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom all have national strategies to address this growing problem, but Canada does not. This is unacceptable, especially given our aging population.

Alzheimer's disease puts enormous emotional stress on millions of families in Canada. One in five Canadians 45 and older provide some sort of care to seniors living with long-term health problems. In 2011, that amounted to 444 million unpaid hours spent by family caregivers looking after someone with cognitive impairment such as dementia.

From an economic perspective, this amounts to $11 billion in lost income and a loss of 227,760 full-time equivalent employees in the Canadian workforce. The impact to the Canadian economy is matched only by the enormous strain on those family members who provide care for their loved ones.

The emotional stress caregivers face was highlighted in a recent report by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, as well as a report from the World Health Organization, which stated that between 15% and 32% of caregivers would experience depression and up to 75% would develop psychological illnesses as a result of caring for others. These family members are doing what they can, but they need our help.

One of the major reasons patients end up in long-term care is because their caregivers are simply overwhelmed. According to Dr. Roger Butler of Memorial University Faculty of Medicine, “If you’ve got a well-educated, trained caregiver feeling supported in their community they won’t burn out as quickly as if they’re left to their own devices.”

A comprehensive strategy that supports caregivers is essential for the well-being of both the patient and the caregiver. A truly comprehensive pan-Canadian dementia strategy would not only have a positive impact on patients and their families, but delaying onset of Alzheimer's by two years could save our health care system $219 billion over a 30 year period.

Patients with dementia often occupy acute care hospital beds, while waiting for placement at long-term care facilities. This only serves to exacerbate the problem of waiting lists and increased health care costs. Without action, this problem will continue to grow.

During the 2011 federal election, the Liberal Party of Canada laid out a clear, comprehensive dementia strategy, including support for research, families, patients and communities. The plan called for increased funding for research to target new treatments and therapy, and to accelerate our progress in understanding, treating and preventing brain diseases.

It called for increased awareness, education and prevention programs to support families and combat the social stigma of dementia. It also called for stronger support for home and long-term care, as well as protection of income security for families struggling to cope with the cost of caring for a loved one with dementia.

Another key element of that strategy was the introduction of legislation that would prohibit denial of life, mortgage and disability insurance, and rejected employment based on genetic testing that showed risk of future illnesses.

Canada is the only G7 country without legal restrictions on access to genetic test results. This forces many Canadians to make an impossible choice: obtain genetic testing results for illnesses, including Alzheimer's, and face discrimination, or avoid testing and taking steps that could prevent or mitigate illness in the hope of obtaining things like life insurance.

This regulatory void perversely promotes the avoidance of potentially life-saving tests. Action is needed urgently, yet despite pledging action in the 2013 throne speech, the only action the Conservative government has taken is to block efforts on this front in the Senate.

Despite government inaction, individual Canadians are working together to develop treatment and prevention protocols and to improve the lives of patients and their families.

This year, volunteers across Newfoundland and Labrador will be participating in seven “Walks for Alzheimer's” to raise money for support programs and services for those living with dementia in their communities.

Families are also helping other families by participating in province-wide family support groups, accessible by phone and Skype, reducing isolation and providing much-needed support to caregivers in remote communities like those in my riding of Random—Burin—St. George's. This is one way of ensuring that families are able to cope. We need to ensure more of that happens.

The things is that it needs to be part of a national strategy so it is not left to those who are caregivers to do things to help those who they and others love who are hit with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.

I take pleasure in raising awareness of the important work being done on dementia treatment and prevention in my home province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Dr. Anne Sclater, professor of medicine at Memorial University, has done incredible work on the development of provincial strategies on healthy aging and Alzheimer's disease, as well as on the prevention of elder abuse.

Elders with dementia have the highest incident of mistreatment and abuse in long term care, and the prevention of this sort of terrible abuse is a topic on which Dr. Roger Butler, associate professor of family medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland, has worked extensively. He is also currently engaged in a new project using telegerontology as a novel approach to optimize health and safety among people with dementia in Newfoundland and Labrador. For his work as a teacher, family physician and on behalf of the Alzheimer's Society, he was recognized by the College of Family Physicians of Canada as Newfoundland and Labrador's family physician for the year in 2013.

Drs. Sclater and Butler, along with some of their colleagues throughout the country, are making incredible progress on this important and increasingly prevalent issue. Imagine what they could do with more resources and support.

What we need is coordinated support from the top. Federal leadership is needed to develop a truly pan-Canadian dementia strategy to support the important work of these individual researchers.

[Terence Young, Conservative, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to participate in the debate on Bill C-356, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia.

I want to begin by commending my hon. colleague, the member for Nickel Belt, for bringing this important issue before the House. The member has spoken about his family's personal connection to Alzheimer's, and we can all acknowledge the good work he has done to bring attention to what is a very pressing health issue for many Canadians.

Dementia is not a normal part of aging. It knows no social, economic, ethnic, or geographical boundaries. The effects of dementia are wide-reaching, affecting those diagnosed with it, their families, friends, and all of our communities.

While evidence about the causes of dementia is limited, we are learning that risks may be reduced through early diagnosis and by promoting healthy living. Research has pointed to possible risk factors, such as physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, environmental, genetic and gender factors, as well as traumatic brain injury. Some of these possible risk factors are things we can change in our lifestyles, such as physical inactivity and unhealthy eating. This is one of the reasons that our government has been so focused on encouraging healthy, active lifestyles.

No family should have to lose a parent or another loved one to a terrible disease like Alzheimer's, so it is important we are working to raise awareness of these things as the research continues to evolve. That said, we know that we cannot be focused on prevention alone. We must also consider those who have already received the devastating diagnosis of dementia. We must prepare for the future while also providing support for those currently living with this disease.

Over the past year and a half, we have seen unprecedented international attention focused on dementia. Last fall, the Government of Canada co-hosted the Canada-France Global Dementia Legacy Event. This event was built upon the momentum that began with our Minister of Health's participation in the 2013 G8 dementia summit. The focus of the legacy event was on developing new approaches to research, working with both the public and private sectors to bring all efforts together.

It was at this event that the Minister of Health announced work under way with the Alzheimer Society of Canada to implement a program called dementia friends Canada across our country. I would like to provide some further details on this program as it is an international model that is proving to be very successful and is highly supported by key stakeholders.

This unique program was originally launched in Japan as Dementia Supporters and more recently in the United Kingdom as Dementia Friends.

The idea behind the program is a community-based awareness and training program that would help to build dementia-friendly communities.

For individuals living with dementia, simple routine tasks such as shopping for groceries or paying bills become increasingly challenging over time. These individuals need understanding and patience. People living with dementia want to carry on with their daily lives and feel included in their communities, but they may need a bit of help and sometimes may not know how to ask. They also need support so they can continue to be engaged in their communities comfortably and confidently.

We believe that dementia friends Canada would help individuals, communities, and businesses better understand the needs of those living with dementia in order to take action and make a difference in their quality of life. It would empower communities, large and small, to create a positive change.

Through this program, the government would support those living with dementia today by removing the stigma surrounding this devastating disease and creating a culture of understanding, tolerance, and patience.

I am sure we can all agree that supporting these attributes is essential in helping those living with dementia stay connected to their communities.

Members may be interested to know that when the United Kingdom launched its Dementia Friends program just one year ago, it set a goal of one million dementia friends. Becoming a dementia friend is not as simple as a Facebook click. These one million residents of the U.K. have taken training to better understand the needs of people living with dementia and have committed to supporting them in the community.

The U.K. program is working to go even beyond one million registered participants and has now set a new goal of three million dementia friends by 2020. I know that Canadians will be just as excited to make a real difference for those here at home when we are able to bring this program to Canada.

Through a partnership with the Alzheimer Society of Canada, our government is adapting the United Kingdom's successful initiative to the Canadian context, and we would implement our dementia friends Canada program nationally. As part of this program, we are developing a national website which would provide information on dementia, suggest simple ways people can help someone living with dementia, and encourage Canadians to sign up to become dementia friends.

Canadians of all ages would be able to turn their new understanding into action. By learning a bit more about what it would be like to live with dementia and what they can do to help, Canadians would be able to better support those living with the disease.

Dementia champions are another important component to this program. These volunteers would be trained and equipped with resources to answer people's questions about dementia, suggest sources for further information, and support and provide training to dementia friends.

We have heard today about the alarming rate at which dementia is affecting Canadians and we know that sadly over time that rate will increase. It can make a huge difference to the people living with this disease if the people around them know what dementia is and how it may be affecting them. While we remain committed to research on prevention and a cure so that fewer Canadians ever have to struggle with this disease in the long run, I am proud we are also taking real action to make a difference for those who need our help here and now. I believe that dementia friends Canada would complement the significant investments our government is making in research.

I hope that my remarks today demonstrate the commitment of our government in taking action to make a difference for Canadians and their families. As I am sure members are already well aware, our government is already committed to developing a national dementia plan. In fact, it was included in this year's economic action plan, and we will continue to work with the provinces and territories to do exactly that.

When it comes to research, we have been taking undeniable leadership through our participation in G8 and World Health Organization efforts. We have been supporting Canadian expertise focused ultimately on finding a cure, and would also be taking real action to better support those who are living with the disease.

Importantly, all of these activities have been done while respecting provincial and territorial jurisdiction over health care. As I said at the beginning of my remarks, I know that the member for Nickel Belt is well intentioned with this bill, but unfortunately, it does infringe on provincial jurisdiction in a number of areas. I think it would be unfortunate to have federal legislation interfere in an area where we already have such strong co-operation.

Members have also mentioned a motion which was brought forward by my colleague, the member for Huron—Bruce. I look forward to debate on that motion, as it calls on the government to take strong action while respecting the jurisdiction of the provinces over health care delivery.

It is clear that Canadians living with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia need our support. Our government recognizes this and has taken a number of steps already. We are committed to doing even more through the dementia friends program and our co-operative work with the provinces on a national plan. We will get the job done, working within our federal role.

The House resumed from March 13 consideration of the motion that Bill C-356, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Dementia

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to rise again in the House to present more petitions on my private member's bill, Bill C-356. I have 32 pages, some of them double-sided, of signatures from hundreds of people from my riding of Nickel Belt, Verner, Field, St. Charles, Cache Bay, North Bay, Sudbury, Guelph and other parts of Ontario.

The petitioners ask the government to support Bill C-356, which calls on the Minister of Health to help implement the national strategy on dementia.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition today from several dozen residents of Burnaby and Richmond, British Columbia. They call upon the Minister of Health and the House of Commons to pass Bill C-356, An Act respecting a National Strategy for Dementia, which was introduced by the member of Parliament for Nickel Belt.

While I am on my feet, I move, seconded by the member for Compton—Stanstead:

That the House do now adjourn.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition today from dozens of residents of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia from Delta, Richmond, Surrey, and Burnaby.

These petitioners call on the Minister of Health and the House of Commons to pass Bill C-356, sponsored by the member of Parliament for Nickel Belt, to put in place a national dementia strategy, including a comprehensive national plan to address all aspects of Alzheimer's disease and to ensure that we have national objectives to fight what for many people is one of the profound health issues in our country.

National Strategy for Dementia Act

[Leon Benoit, Conservative, Vegreville—Wainwright, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss Bill C-356, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia. I thank the member, my friend from Nickel Belt, very much for bringing this bill forward.

It is unfortunate that he is a little late in the cycle, because the government has been very active on this file in the last couple of years. However, I want to commend him for doing it and say that he has performed a very useful service for people with dementia by bringing the public's attention to this issue, as he has managed to do through this private member's bill. I commend him for that.

Bill C-356 states that research remains the key to finding a cure and that early diagnosis and support for treatment can lead to positive health outcomes for persons with any form of dementia. In turn, this can have a positive impact on the family and friends who provide care for people affected by dementia.

I could not agree more, and our government could not agree more. In fact, Canada's commitments, both domestically and internationally, have led to our being recognized as a global leader in dementia research.

The member mentioned some of these recent commitments in his speech. The commitments are driven by the fact that between 6% and 15% of Canadians over 65 currently suffer from Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. As our population ages, the number of Canadians with dementia is expected to double by 2031. This will have great impact on the families and caregivers of Canadians living with this disease.

To accelerate research efforts, the government is working in close collaboration with the provinces and territories, external organizations, universities, researchers, international experts, and patients and their families to improve our understanding of these conditions in order to help those affected and their families and caregivers.

As an example of global collaboration in this area, the Minister of Health represented Canada at the world's first global summit on dementia in London. This global meeting resulted in G8 ministers committing to work toward a cure for dementia by 2025, an extremely laudable goal, and I pray that they meet that goal.

Canada is upholding these promises through various international and domestic research initiatives that will bring together a variety of stakeholders toward meeting these important goals. For example, in September of 2014, nearly 200 industry leaders, academics, and policy-makers from across Canada and around the world met in Ottawa for a global dementia legacy event. This event was co-hosted by Canada and France as a follow-up to the global summit.

The Ottawa legacy event focused on finding ways to support and develop joint public-private international approaches to dementia research. A report of the discussions was presented to G7 dementia leaders. It will contribute to the development of a global action framework that aims to promote international collaboration and share ideas, data, platforms, and discoveries related to dementia.

At the global legacy event, the health minister released the coordinated Government of Canada approach to address dementia in the national dementia research and prevention plan publication. The plan outlines the government's investments, partnerships, and key initiatives related to dementia research and prevention. The research portion of the plan consists of activities that fall under the dementia research strategy led by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, or the CIHR.

I am not one who is fond of acronyms, but, quite frankly, I am going to have to use them in this speech or I simply will not be able to cover the material I would like to cover.

This strategy supports research on the latest preventive, diagnostic, and treatment approaches to Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. It consists of an international and a national component. Together, these two components work toward three common goals related to primary prevention, secondary prevention, and quality of life.

Our government, through CIHR, has increased its investments in dementia research by over 67% since we took office in 2006 for a total of $220 million. Last year alone, CIHR supported close to 400 research projects related to dementia, representing a federal investment of almost $38 million. Most of this research is funded under the CIHR dementia research strategy.

In September 2014, the Minister of Health launched the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging, or the CCNA. The CCNA is the national component of the CIHR dementia research strategy. It is Canada's premier research hub for all aspects of research involving neurodegenerative diseases that affect cognition in aging, including dementia. It represents a $22.6-million federal investment and is supported by an additional $9.9 million for important external public and private partners.

The CCNA brings together the very best researchers in Canada to achieve a unified objective. Together, they are working toward addressing the challenges posed by neurodegenerative diseases so that they can stimulate Canada's innovation, increase our competitiveness and lead us to solutions faster.

Currently, the CCNA is composed of over 300 researchers and 13 partners and stakeholders, all of whom are working to tackle dementia by understanding the root causes and how it progresses.

The CCNA is also integrating the perspectives of research users, policy-makers, industries and of course patients and their families to identify targeted achievable challenges that can be delivered in relatively short order. For example, CCNA researcher Dr. Sylvie Belleville brings expertise in recognizing the early signs of Alzheimer's disease. Her approach is to use a simple test of memory, attention and perception to identify those with Alzheimer's disease and ideally, slow the rate of damage to the brain.

Another CCNA researcher, Dr. Sandra Black, is interested in determining the causes and progression of dementia. Her team's approach focuses on taking pictures of the brain to see how dementia physically affects it over time. This research has already revealed important information about the connection between cardiovascular health and dementia.

CCNA is also proud to have on board Dr. Debra Morgan from the University of Saskatchewan. Her team designed a rural and remote memory clinic in Saskatoon, a one-stop shop for people with dementia and their families to get tested, treated and talk with dementia experts. This clinic reduces stress, difficulty and cost of travelling to access multiple services.

Using the new clinic model, the team has drastically decreased the time required to provide diagnosis and treatment, doing in a single day what could ordinarily take more than a year. To families and caregivers, this makes a big difference, as of course it does to the individual affected.

As is called for in the bill, research is already including populations at high risk of dementia, those less likely to receive care and more likely to be affected by its associated burden, such as women and aboriginal populations.

I once again want to commend the member for bringing forth this private member's bill. A lot of the benefit of private members' bills can be the attention they bring to issues. I want to thank my friend from Nickel Belt for bringing much needed attention to the issue and I think adding to what the government is doing in this area already. I wish him all the best in continuing with these efforts.

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I must start by acknowledging the enormous amount of work that my college from Nickel Belt has done on such an important initiative. It has been three and a half years since this initiative first came forward. He has been all around the country. He has heard, not from statistics, but from real Canadians who are living with Alzheimer's and dementia and the tragedy that they entail, not just for the individuals, but for the caregivers. They are always forgotten in these discussions, and they must be acknowledged. I do so today.

I heard the parliamentary secretary stand in this place a moment ago to say that the government could not support this bill due to “technical issues”. This is why we have committees to which we send bills. It is for them to be discussed and for evidence to come forward, and to fix problems that may or may not exist with this initiative.

It is passing strange that two days ago, a motion from the member for Huron—Bruce, the chair of the health committee, was brought forward that would do virtually the same things that this bill would do, but, of course, it would not have the force of law.

Technical objections were suggested by the parliamentary secretary. She referenced, for example, the royal recommendation as somehow being a problem. It is clear that the modifications at committee could have addressed that problem. Moreover, the Conservatives have themselves given royal recommendation to a private member's bill. I speak specifically of Bill C-838.

There is no technical problem that stands in the way of doing what so many Canadians want. There are some 750,000 of us who are living with this disease. We want a law, not a feel-good motion of no force and effect.

The parliamentary secretary talked of the provinces and the strides that have been made to work together. She said that the government is already ahead of Bill C-356.

We can work with the provinces. We can fix things in committee. That is what committees are for. That is how we fix legislation. We give a voice to Canadians, and we work on making the legislation better. To suggest that it must be thrown out, despite enormous effort in going through clause-by-clause with the government to try to do what all Canadians want, in the health field in particular, is not right.

She talks about how fantastic the work is at the international level. I agree there have been some strides made, although interestingly, Canada was not among the countries at the G8, now G7, that had a national dementia strategy, the pan-Canadian, if they want to call it that, dementia strategy. That is very upsetting. If they want to work with the provinces and work internationally, why do they not want to work with this side of the House in a non-partisan way to produce a law that Canadians so desperately want?

When I say “Canadians”, I should start with Dr. Chris Simpson of the Canadian Medical Association, with whom I had the pleasure to meet two days ago. He told me how much he looked forward to a bill of this sort. He said, “our acute care hospitals are overflowing with patients awaiting long term care placement and our long-term care facilities are understaffed...”

He suggests that the cost of looking after people in hospitals is enormous. I think my colleague from Nickel Belt made a suggestion that a health care bill, in today's terms, would be $33 billion, but by 2040, it would soar to $293 billion.

People want a health care strategy. This has to be seen as part of a national aging strategy, which our party is trying to address. This would be part and parcel of a strategy to deal with aging. People need care at home and in the community instead of overflowing expensive hospital beds. It is more humane, and it would cost radically less to treat people better.

The concern about cost is only one part of the tragedy at the human level that my colleague has signalled needs to be addressed. I am told that over 75 petitions on this topic have been tabled here. I am told that over 300 municipalities have passed supporting resolutions. There is a pent-up demand for Parliament and government to show some leadership on this issue.

I respect the initiatives that have been made for research, which are fabulous, and I salute the government for them, but it is not just about finding a cure. This bill would provide leadership, with Ottawa working with the provinces, and it would also promote earlier diagnosis and intervention.

The bill would strengthen the integration of primary home and community care. It would enhance skills and training for the dementia workforce. It would recognize the needs of and improve the supports for caregivers. They are the ones I wish to address. The plight of caregivers, the millions of unpaid hours that are given for free by loved ones for loved ones, is staggering. They do not have enough economic support as people age in our society.

In my community of Victoria, I asked my office to tell me what their experience was in dealing with people living with dementia. They said that there are so many people in a community like Victoria who are living with the disease. I think everyone in the House knows someone who is living with or is connected to someone living with the disease.

There have been so many cutbacks in government agencies in my community, my staff informed me, that people with dementia are unable to access services the way they did before. They need to have face-to-face contact. They are often unable to deal with the processes and roadblocks that have been put in the way as we cut services in the CRA, as we are now about to get rid of postal home delivery, and as we deal with no immigration office in our community.

In our community, people are already suffering from cutbacks. That is having a disproportionate impact on people living with this terrible disease. The boomer generation, of which I am a part, is going to be living with the disease in greater numbers as we go forward. It will be something like 1.4 million people in the next few years. It will increase dramatically.

It is not just a seniors issue, as my colleague from Nickel Belt so passionately demonstrated. It is people he gave examples of, people here in Ottawa who are living with early onset at a much earlier age. He did an excellent job in putting a human face on this crisis we are facing.

Apparently a Nanos survey done recently said that 83% of Canadians believe that Canada needs a national dementia plan. We have had great success with these kinds of plans, such as the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. The Canadian Medical Association make reference to its excellent work as an example of what could be done here if the government was willing to work with us to achieve that result.

The former executive director of the Alzheimer's Society of Sudbury, Patricia Montpetit, said this:

It's so pressing that a national strategy be adopted by the government so they don't suddenly wake up one day and say we're overwhelmed with the demands of care.

That is something we all have reason to fear.

I like the expression Dr. Frank Molnar, a professor at the University of Ottawa, uses in describing Alzheimer disease. He calls it “the godfather of all chronic diseases”.

With the gray tsunami, with the aging Canadian population, we are facing a crisis if we do not get our hands around this problem. I respect that the provinces are working now with the federal government to begin this dialogue. We need to go much, much further. We need a strategy that takes into account the skyrocketing economic costs, the social costs, and as I continue to say, the costs for caregivers, because the pressure on family caregivers is only mounting.

I have a statistic here that is quite remarkable. In 2011, family caregivers spent 444 million unpaid hours per year looking after someone with dementia. That represents $11 billion in lost income and 228,000 lost full-time equivalent employees in the workforce. By 2040, they will be devoting a staggering 1.2 billion unpaid hours per year to this initiative.

We have had strategies and partnerships to deal with other devastating diseases, like cancer and heart disease. Why can we not work together to deal with one that we all know is going to be something in the future that will occupy all of us in the country? As the Canadian Medical Association says, it is time to roll up our sleeves and face the epidemic head on.

It is time for the government to work with parties on both sides of the aisle on a pan-Canadian strategy. It is time to put aside partisan differences. Coming up with an alternative motion two days before this debate makes us feel good, but it does not allow a forum for Canadians to come and testify to this tragedy and to provide a law with teeth that would actually do something to address this crisis.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak today to Bill C-356, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia.

According to the World Health Organization, there are roughly 35.6 million around the world who are currently living with dementia. This number is expected to double by 2030 and more than triple by 2050.

In 2011, 14.9% of Canadians aged 65 and older were living with cognitive impairment, including dementia. By 2031, this figure is expected to increase to a shocking 1.4 million people. Today we face the combined costs of dementia totalling $33 billion per year.

This is not something that Canadians can afford, both economically and socially, to continue to occur. We need to enact change by putting in place a national strategy for dementia.

The Liberal Party supports the need for a national plan to address Alzheimer's disease and all other forms of dementia. Canada today has almost as many diagnosed dementia patients as the United Kingdom does, at 847,000, despite a difference in population of 30 million. In B.C., more than 70,000 people have this disease, while another 15,000 people are diagnosed each year.

Canada pledged in 2013 to find a cure or treatment for Alzheimer's by 2025. As one of the only G7 countries still without such a strategy, our time to do so is running out.

The Alzheimer Society of Canada as well as the Canadian Association of Retired Persons and other related organizations are united in calling for stronger political leadership to battle this debilitating disease. They recognize society's need for our current government to support Canadians in their difficult battle against dementia, and to find a treatment for it.

Another associated organization, Baycrest Health Sciences and its' Rotman Research Institute (RRI), is also working to accelerate scientific research regarding dementia. This institute recognizes that a person's risk for dementia doubles every 5 years after age 65.

Their strong focus on the relationship between brain health and aging helps them to understand that as fewer people live to see these older ages, the number of Canadians with dementia could be cut in half if its onset were to be delayed by just five years. With the implementation of Bill C-356, such research could be carried out with promise for viable results.

Unfortunately, however, federal leadership is required for any such action on a pan-Canadian dementia strategy to occur. Once again, the current government is not doing enough.

In October 2014, Minister of Health announced she was in the “early stages” of discussions with the provinces to establish a national dementia strategy. The 2014 federal budget also promisingly committed new funding for research into age-related neurodegeneration. Sadly, this only represents a fraction of the resources truly necessary to even begin to focus on approaching this disease.

Alzheimer's disease puts enormous emotional stress on millions of families in Canada and costs our health care system billions of dollars every year. Delaying the onset of Alzheimer's by 2 years can save our Health Care system $219 billion over a 30 year period. A national strategy for dementia may be able to make an astounding difference in advancing research in order to work toward achieving this goal, which would diminish this enormous economic hardship and subsequently and, most important, improve the lives of affected Canadians.

As recently published in the Toronto Star, another possible solution has been proposed by the Alzheimer Society. This organization is recommending that an arm's-length not-for-profit organization be funded through the Public Health Agency of Canada at a cost of $30 million over five years. It would be responsible for research coordination, training for health care providers, delivery of health care services and education, including how to recognize early signs of the disease that affects people in their 40s and 50s. Such a program may provide a possible approach to relieving such aforementioned pressures.

In our last election platform, the Liberal Party of Canada laid out a clear, comprehensive strategy for tackling the issue of dementia. Along with directing attention towards economic issues, we focused on awareness, education and prevention to support families and combat the social stigmas of dementia.

The social implications of this disease are in equal need of many support services as related economic ramifications. Coping with the effects of caring for a loved one with dementia is exceptionally difficult.

The Mental Health Commission of Canada recently issued a report of mental health indicators that showed caregivers are facing enormous emotional stress caring for elderly parents and sick children. Many women are leaving the paid workforce in order to care for a loved one, their mother, their mother-in-law, their aunt. There are so many stories that we all know. Some end up having to take a lower-paying job in order to be able to meet the needs of the loved one and family member.

It is therefore necessary that we disseminate proper knowledge and the best practices possible in order to foster improvements in the quality of treatment and support for patients and families coping with these brain disorders, as we also work to ensure their economic security.

I commend Mount Sinai Hospital and the Reitman family for funding a unit there that supports the families of those suffering from Alzheimer's in order for them to give the best possible care. It is sometimes so difficult and frustrating for families to have to provide care without really understanding the frustration and how normal it is to feel that way.

The bill would require the minister to initiate discussions with provincial counterparts within 30 days of its coming into force in order to achieve its objectives of developing a national plan with national objectives.

I do not believe there is any strategy that can just be a laundry list of things the government is already dabbling in, which seems to be what the government thinks is a strategy. The strategy has to be what, by when, and how, and actually be able to identify the partners necessary to make the strategy work. Such a process would help to establish a method of receiving input from affected Canadians and would continue to support greater research and implementation of related technology.

Bill C-356 would also work with the international community in improving clinical guidelines in order to produce the best available practices for care, support and prevention of dementia.

By investing in both research and prevention of Alzheimer's we can delay its onset for as long as possible so all Canadians can live their lives to the fullest potential. We need the research and practice-based evidence in order to determine what is the best possible support we can give to the families of those affected.

We must work together to support the bill and most importantly, bring necessary aid to those so desperately in need.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I apologize. I have been here in the chamber long enough to recognize that this should not be done.

The provincial ministers have begun planning a pan-Canadian dementia strategy. From a federal perspective, the initial focus of this collaboration will be on the coordination of research to advance the collective knowledge base on dementia. The provinces and territories will continue their own work on identifying best practices and on stakeholder engagement. An update on the strategy will be presented to Canada's health ministers for consideration and further direction at their next meeting.

This is truly important work. The crux of this bill is to require discussions with the provinces to set up a national strategy. Our government has already successfully negotiated with the provinces to begin working on exactly that. The work is under way, and we will continue to make progress.

The spirit and intent of this bill is also supported by current federal investments and activities on Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Many of the specific elements proposed in Bill C-356 that are within the federal role are currently being addressed. Research is needed to learn more about what causes dementia and the most effective ways to prevent, identify, treat, and ultimately, by 2025, cure it.

Since 2006, the government has invested over $220 million in research related to dementia, including $37.8 million last year. Our economic action plan announced ongoing investments of $15 million for the Canadian Institute of Health Research, CIHR, for the creation of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging and other health research priorities. Launched in 2014, the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging is the national component of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research dementia research strategy. It is a prime example of how we are encouraging greater investment in dementia research and the accelerated discovery of treatments and solutions. Through the consortium, more than 300 researchers from across the country will forge ahead with their work to improve our understanding of dementia, how we can prevent it, and how we can improve the quality of life of Canadians living with dementia, and their caregivers.

Another significant piece of work is the national population health study of neurological conditions. In 2009, our government invested $15 million over four years in this study to better understand Alzheimer's disease and other conditions and their impact on Canadians and their families. Findings from the study were released in September 2014. This groundbreaking work fills gaps in information concerning the burden of neurological conditions, their impact on Canadians, risk factors, and the use of health care services.

Research on dementia and other neurological conditions is also being funded through the Canada brain research fund.

However, research for the future is not enough. We are also working to improve the lives of Canadians living with this disease now. In September 2014, the minister announced our intention to work with the Alzheimer Society Canada to establish a new program called Dementia Friends, which will be launched this year. It is an exciting program, and I think it will make an enormous difference. It was originally launched in Japan and the U.K. It will provide education and training to help Canadians learn the facts about Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and how these diseases affect the people who live with them.

As members can see, we are making substantial investments to address the issue of dementia. While many are federal initiatives, there are also many examples of collaboration with the provinces and territories, not to mention the fantastic work being done at the international level. It is apparent that the federal government has addressed many of the themes in Bill C-356 and even some of the specific elements.

As I mentioned earlier, the minister has already secured an agreement with the provinces and territories on beginning to plan for a pan-Canadian dementia strategy that would guide our collective efforts. As I said at the beginning, I think we can all agree that this bill is very well intentioned. We have been taking action in a number of the areas laid out in it. However, with the provinces having already agreed to begin work on a strategy, many of our actions have progressed beyond what is called for in the bill, making some areas redundant.

There are also a number of technical issues with the bill. The Speaker has indicated that it would require a royal recommendation. As all members in the House know, those are extremely, if rarely, ever provided. In addition, some clauses in this bill needlessly infringe on provincial jurisdiction in areas such as health human resources and diagnostic capacity. From my understanding, conversations have not resolved all our concerns with these issues.

For these reasons and in order to respect the agreement the minister was able to secure in a co-operative fashion with the provinces, the government will not support the bill. Bringing in federal legislation to control discussions that have already happened in such a collaborative fashion is not respectful of the good work already being done.

Our government remains committed to taking strong action that will improve the lives of Canadians living with dementia, but we will do so in a way that respects provincial jurisdiction and continues to work on a pan-Canadian strategy to which they have agreed.

With that in mind, I would also like to note that my friend and chair of the health committee, the member for Huron—Bruce, has recently introduced a motion calling on the government to take continued action on dementia. This motion is yet another sign of how seriously our government takes the issue, and I look forward to debate on that motion. We will have to wait for the debate to occur, but I know my colleague fully respects the role of the provinces when it comes to health care. Perhaps it would be an opportunity for Parliament to make some further progress on this issue.

I know we are talking about something that is incredibly important to Canadians. We are talking about something with which the international community, the federal government and the provinces are grappling. I know there was a lot of conversation back and forth, but my understanding is the unresolved issues were too much of a challenge in terms of continuing at this time.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and for Western Economic Diversification]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity to speak to Bill C-356, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia. This bill speaks to the important issue of dementia, which not only affects Canadians living with dementia, but their families, friends, and caregivers.

We can all agree that the member for Nickel Belt is well-intentioned with this bill. He has done great work raising awareness of the challenges faced by all Canadians with dementia, and indeed in his very heartfelt speech that clearly articulated personal stories, and personal stories of families who have been impacted.

I want to highlight some of the areas where we have been taking action along the lines called for by this bill, before getting into consideration of what I think are some technical issues within it.

As we all know, Alzheimer's disease and related dementia most commonly affect seniors. However, dementia can also affect younger individuals. Younger people in their forties and fifties have been diagnosed with the early-onset form of the disease.

Our government recognizes the devastating impact that this disease has on Canadian families and the help they need to be able to care for their loved ones. By supporting research and data gathering, we are improving our understanding of Alzheimer's disease and related forms of dementia and how they are affecting Canadians.

Many countries around the world are facing similar issues, and we certainly are committed to working internationally to address the health and economic challenges of dementia and how to reduce the burden of this condition. That is why we have joined our G7 partners in addressing this growing challenge.

Together, at the 2013 summit on dementia in London, Minister Ambrose worked with international leaders to coordinate efforts with the aim of finding a cure by 2025.

Mr. Speaker, can you imagine a cure for this terrible affliction?

The momentum of the G8 dementia summit has been incredible, and we are investing in ongoing efforts to accomplish our goals. Canada participated in a series of international follow-up legacy events, and co-hosted one of these events here in Ottawa last September.

Beyond this international leadership, we have also been taking strong action here at home. While our federal focus on dementia is on research, data gathering, and awareness training, we have always tried to recognize the key role of co-operation with the provinces and territories, which are the primary providers of health care.

It is important to note that in a crucial way, we are actually already ahead of Bill C-356 when it comes to working with the provinces. At the federal, provincial, and territorial health ministers meeting in October of last year, Minister Ambrose was able to secure agreement from the provincial—

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

moved that Bill C-356, An Act respecting a National Strategy for Dementia, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Mr. Speaker, I have been waiting a long time for this. I count it a privilege to stand in the House today to speak on my bill, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia.

I am aware of the millions of Canadians who are directly caught up in the web of Alzheimer's or dementia. I have also become aware of many Canadians and groups who, like me, want a national dementia plan.

It was over three years ago that I stood to introduce this legislation. I shared how this bill came to be by telling the story of my mother's seven-year battle with Alzheimer's, from 1997 until her death in 2003.

The Sudbury Star had profiled my family's experience and had in the headline the following comment: “I didn't know enough”. Truer words have never been spoken. Many others who have caregiving responsibilities thrust on them tell me that those words ring true.

In the past three years, I have learned plenty. First was the staggering statistic on how many people are affected, which is reflected in the “Rising Tide” report by the Alzheimer Society of Canada. There are 740,000 people with the disease. This number will double in a generation. The health care cost of $33 billion will soar to $293 billion in 2040.

Providing millions of hours of unpaid caregiving has forced people to cut back or leave work altogether, which harms them and our economy. I want to talk about that this afternoon.

I learned from the Canadian Medical Association that 15% of scarce acute care beds are occupied by people who could be placed elsewhere, and half of those are dementia patients. Beyond those important statistics, I have learned the real face of the problem.

Fran Linton, in British Columbia, wrote to tell me about her experience and that of her husband in dealing with Lewy body dementia. She wrote:

I am writing in the hope that what I present to you will enable people to see the person with dementia and their family as real people and not just statistics and numbers. We hear the staggering statistics of how many people in Canada have dementia and we hear that dollars are being invested in research. What needs to be heard is the daily impact of being a person living with dementia and those supporting the person with dementia. Our Canadian government needs to hear the reality of their world.

I have met these real people from coast to coast to coast in our communities. They are struggling with this enormous challenge.

I have learned that the real face of dementia is not just older people. Matt Dineen is one of the biggest champions for this bill and an actual plan. He could not be here today, but he is listening in. He is a 44-year-old high school teacher here in Ottawa. He and his relatives are now forced to raise three young children as his wife and their mom, Lisa, at 45 years old, is already in secure long-term care with frontotemporal dementia. Matt has met the Minister of Health.

I learned that 15% of dementia patients are under 60 years old. I have learned that we have a health care crisis and a social and economic crisis that we must address.

My legislation calls for leadership from Ottawa, working with the provinces and territories, which, of course, have primary jurisdiction duties for health care delivery.

I want this leadership from Ottawa to tackle five main elements: early diagnosis and prevention; research; a continuum of care for people and families in the home, the community, and institutions; real help for caregivers; and training for the dementia workforce.

On that last point, help for the dementia workforce, Michael Alexander shared with me the horrific story of his father's death in a nursing home at the hands of another Alzheimer patient. CTV, in a special report, said that there have been 60 such deaths in 12 years, a figure that is growing. Michael Alexander and his family want a real and national dementia plan.

I said I wanted to speak about the challenges caregivers face. Tanya Levesque is a woman in Ottawa looking after her mom. Here are some of the life and financial issues she has met with as a caregiver.

To take care of her mom, Ms. Levesque first had to take leave without pay so she could care for her at home. She will only have the option of leave without pay for five years. Money gets tighter and tighter as they try to keep her in her home and care for her. They draw on savings that were meant for later years.

She writes the following:

Following is a list of financial barriers I have experienced during my journey as my mother's caregiver: Unable to access my El benefits; I've been unable to qualify for social assistance; unable to claim the caregiver amount on my income tax, since my mother's net income is a few thousand more than what is listed; lack of subsidies for expenses which keep increasing (i.e. property tax, parking fees at hospitals for appointments, gas for travelling to appointments, hydro, water and sewage fees and more); I've changed my eating habits to save money, due to the increased cost of food, so my mother can eat well; and because of a lack of future job security, my retirement security is in question — I can't save, because I've chosen to care for my mother, who took care of me

Ms. Levesque, her mom, and others are watching today. Let us pass a real dementia plan as law to help those overwhelmed caregivers.

As I said, I introduced this bill over three years ago. I want to recognize the progress made by Canada since then, through the government working with a G8 initiative and also with our provinces and territories. Many would like that progress to be quicker, but it does deserve recognition.

Canada had come to the G8 summit called for by the U.K. prime minister without a national dementia plan. Several allies from leading economic nations had national plans. Canada has made several significant announcements on research that we support. Research will be the key part of any plan or response to this health care crisis.

Even though research can have an impact on other parts of the dementia challenge, research alone cannot help those with the disease, their caregivers, or the workforce. That is why our party has been insistent on a full, comprehensive strategy.

Canada needs a national strategy for dementia that comes from Ottawa, but one that respects provincial and territorial jurisdiction over health. One strategy tailored to the needs of each province or territory will be far better than 13 separate strategies implemented in isolation of one another. We want a national strategy that goes beyond research, to also help those now living with the disease, their caregivers, and the dementia workforce.

The Canadian Medical Association estimates that patients who should be elsewhere occupy about 15% of the acute care hospital beds across Canada, and one third of them are suffering from dementia. Lost in those numbers perhaps is the real human face of the disease—the moms, dads, brothers, sisters, friends, neighbours and work colleagues.

While an elderly face typifies most people dealing with dementia, 15% of those living with Alzheimer's or related dementia diseases are under 60. At every meeting we had on this bill, we found people who know someone directly affected as a patient or caregiver. It is a health challenge. It is a health care challenge. Given the current lack of money and resources for health care, it is a big problem for us to solve.

I have noted the work that the government is doing with the provinces and territories through the Council of the Federation.

In the past year, I have enjoyed several conversations with the current Minister of Health. I have respected her work on this file. I have been communicating with the minister and her department over the past month and have discussed possible amendments to the bill in committee to work collaboratively on changes that all parties could support. We have identified a way to have this legislation passed.

I look forward to hearing the government's position regarding possible support for a national dementia plan. I know she and all MPs have been hearing loud and clear from so many Canadians who want this to happen. We now have over 300 municipalities passing resolutions in favour of the bill. We have over 90 petitions tabled in the House of Commons in support of it.

There are so many people who say it makes sense. There is support from seniors, health care professionals, labour, and faith communities. Yes, the faith communities are very responsive to the bill, and they are very interested in seeing it pass.

In talks across the country, I have often talked about the non-partisan nature of this disease, how it strikes our loved ones, our mums, dads, siblings, grandparents, friends, neighbours, and work colleagues. Everyone, on all sides of the House, knows the story. I am astonished that wherever I go, everyone knows someone with Alzheimer's or dementia-related disease, or someone caring for them.

Let us do this for them. Let us do this for our country. Let us make history.

Dementia

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present several copies of one petition to support my bill on dementia, Bill C-356. I have petitions from Brant, British Columbia, Ottawa, Ottawa—Orléans, Kitchener—Waterloo, Port Moody, South Surrey—White Rock, and Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.

Yesterday I held a press conference on my private member's bill that we are going to hear later today. One of the comments from the journalists was—

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to present in the House a petition signed by nearly 100 residents from the constituency I represent, Burnaby—New Westminster, as well as residents from Delta and Surrey, British Columbia.

The petitioners call upon the government to address the deplorable fact that we do not have a national strategy for dementia. They call upon the House of Commons to pass Bill C-356, which was introduced by the NDP MP for Nickel Belt.

The strategy would require the Minister of Health to initiate discussions within 30 days of the bill coming into effect, develop national objectives, provide an annual report, and also ensure that there is greater investment in research, discovery and development of treatments for dementia and dementia-related diseases that would prevent, help or reverse all of those dementia-related diseases.

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions that I would like to present today.

The first petition has signatories from Kitchener, Ontario, and Yorkton, Saskatchewan. They call on the Minister of Health and the House of Commons to pass my bill, Bill C-356, an act respecting a national dementia strategy.

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to table a petition calling for a national dementia strategy. The petitioners are asking the government to call on the Minister of Health and the House of Commons to pass Bill C-356, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia, which was introduced by the member of Parliament for Nickel Belt.

The bill calls on the minister to initiate discussions with provincial and territorial ministers to develop a comprehensive national plan to address all aspects of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia, and to provide an annual report based on an annual assessment of Canada's progress to meeting the various objectives that this calls for.

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition has been signed by petitioners from right across Ontario. It is from area codes 902, 613, 506, 516, 905, and 705. It calls on the government to adopt my private member's bill, Bill C-356, calling for a national strategy on dementia.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition signed by Canadians in the Ottawa area who are urging the government and the Minister of Health to support Bill C-356 presented by the member for Nickel Belt, which would call for a national strategy to fight dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

[Craig Scott, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from several hundred people from the greater Toronto area calling for support for Bill C-356, an act respecting a National Strategy for Dementia, which has been introduced by our colleague, the member for Nickel Belt.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from constituents who wish draw the attention of the Minister of Health and the House of Commons to the fact that the federal government does not have but needs a national strategy for dementia and for the care of persons afflicted with Alzheimer's and other dementia-related diseases.

The petitioners call on the Minister of Health and the House of Commons to pass Bill C-356, standing in the name of the MP for Nickel Belt, and to indeed move ahead on a comprehensive national plan to address all aspects of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

Business of the House

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The Chair would like to take a moment to provide some information to the House regarding the management of private members' business.

As members know, after the order of precedence is replenished, the Chair reviews the new items so as to alert the House to bills which at first glance appear to impinge under financial prerogative of the Crown. This allows members the opportunity to intervene in a timely fashion to present their views about the need for those bills to be accompanied by a royal recommendation.

Accordingly, following the December 8, 2014 replenishment of the order of precedence with 15 new items, I wish to inform the House that there are two bills that give the Chair some concerns as to the spending provisions they contemplate.

These are Bill C-356, An Act respecting a National Strategy for Dementia, standing in the name of the hon. member for Nickel Belt, and Bill C-640, An Act respecting VIA Rail Canada and making consequential amendments to the Canada Transportation Act, standing in the name of the hon. member for Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine.

I would encourage hon. members who would like to make arguments regarding the need for a royal recommendation for these bills, or any of the other bills now on the order of precedence, to do so at an early opportunity.

I thank hon. members for their attention.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dave MacKenzie]

Is everyone satisfied?

Very well. Thank you.

Mr. Gravelle's bill, C-356.

Dementia

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is in support of Bill C-356, to create a national strategy for dementia.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to present a petition from about 100 residents of the Lower Mainland in British Columbia, everywhere from the north shore right through to White Rock and Surrey, and, of course, including my constituency of Burnaby—New Westminster.

These petitioners are calling on the government to support Bill C-356, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia, which was introduced by the member of Parliament for Nickel Belt. The bill calls upon the minister to put in place a national action plan to fight the incredible challenges that come with Alzheimer's and related diseases, to produce an annual report that shows Canadians how action is being taken to fight Alzheimer's disease, and to put in place research and development funding and resources to fight Alzheimer's and other diseases related to dementia.

These 100 Canadians are asking for the government to take action very soon on this public health issue, which is Alzheimer's disease and related dementia disorders.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in the House with petitions from people across the country who are pushing for the House of Commons to support Bill C-356, put forward by my colleague, the member for Nickel Belt, regarding the need for a national dementia strategy.

As we deal with an aging population, issues of Alzheimer's and dementia can have very profound and dramatic effects, not just on the person suffering it but the families and loved ones as well. There needs to be a better system in place. We need to work with the provinces and have a national discussion on the issue of dementia and Alzheimer's.

Petitioners are hoping Parliament will take this matter seriously and support this New Democratic Party bill.

[David Wilks, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by many people from my riding calling on the government to pass Bill C-356, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia.

Dementia Strategy

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting two petitions signed by people in the Ottawa area asking the Minister of Health and the House of Commons to support Bill C-356, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia, tabled by the member for Nickel Belt.

The petitioners are asking also for a national strategy to be designed for the health care of persons afflicted with Alzheimer's and other dementia-related diseases.

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to present a petition signed by hundreds of members of my great riding of Sudbury. They too are calling upon the federal government to create a national dementia strategy. These citizens would very much like this House to pass Bill C-356, an act respecting a National Strategy for Dementia, moved by my colleague from Nickel Belt. Therefore, I am happy to present this petition.

Dementia

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I very honoured to rise today and present petitions on behalf of citizens from the great city of Sudbury and also from my great riding of Sudbury.

The petitioners are calling on the government to look at a national dementia strategy. There are many points that are highlighted in this petition.

The petitioners are calling for the Minister of Health and this House to look at passing the private member's bill from my hon. colleague from Nickel Belt, Bill C-356.

[Craig Scott, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is calling on the government to support the bill from my colleague from Nickel Belt, Bill C-356, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia.

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House with respect to petitions from St. Charles, Chelmsford, Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury. The petitions are with respect to Bill C-356, An Act respecting a National Strategy for Dementia, which was introduced by my colleague from Nickel Belt.

The recommendations in here are quite impressive. Having a sister who was diagnosed just 10 years ago, at the age of 50, with Alzheimer's, the bill is quite important.

[Robert Chisholm, NDP, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from several Nova Scotians who support the MP for Nickel Belt's national strategy for dementia, contained in Bill C-356. It is a national scourge that needs a comprehensive strategy to address it.

I am proud to present the petition in support of this action.

[Nycole Turmel, NDP, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour as well of presenting a petition from a number of people from Pembroke, Petawawa, Gatineau and Hull—Aylmer concerning the implementation of a national strategy on dementia and health care for persons afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. This petition calls on the House to pass Bill C-356. Many of us have acquaintances, family members or friends who have Alzheimer's or dementia, and it is very important to have a national strategy to protect people suffering from these diseases.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition calls for a national dementia strategy. The petitioners are asking the Minister of Health and the House of Commons to support Bill C-356.

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am quite pleased today to rise to present two petitions.

One petition is calling on the Minister of Health and the House of Commons to pass my bill, Bill C-356, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia. As members know, we have an epidemic right now of seniors who have dementia, and we would like the government to take action on this unfortunate illness.

[Rathika Sitsabaiesan, NDP, Scarborough—Rouge River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this morning I have the honour to present petitions on behalf of people from all over the greater Toronto area who draw the attention of the Minister of Health and the House of Commons to the fact that the federal government needs a national strategy for dementia and the health care of persons afflicted with Alzheimer's disease or other dementia-related diseases.

The petitioners call for the passage of Bill C-356, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia. They outline multiple points, and I would like to read a few of them, if I may, Mr. Speaker.

They call for the initiation of discussions, within 30 days of the act coming into force, with the provincial and territorial ministers to develop a comprehensive national plan to address all aspects of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia, ADRD. Furthermore, they ask for the encouragement of greater investment in ADRD research, discovery, and the development of treatment that would prevent, halt, or reverse ADRD.

[Chris Charlton, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition today with hundreds of signatures calling on the government to urgently implement a national dementia strategy. The petitioners know that Canada has a crisis looming in the number of people afflicted with dementia illnesses. It is a huge cost for health care budgets and a big challenge for caregivers. In fact, according to a new study commissioned by the Alzheimer Society of Canada, the number of Canadians living with Alzheimer's disease and other dementia now stands at 747,000 and will double to 1.4 million by 2031.

As the petitioners point out, Canada's health care system is ill-equipped to deal with the staggering costs, which will skyrocket from $33 billion per year today to $293 billion per year by 2040. Additionally, the pressures on family caregivers are mounting. In 2011, family caregivers spent 444 million unpaid hours per year looking after someone with dementia, representing $11 billion in lost income and 222,760 lost full-time equivalent employees in the workforce. By 2040, they will be devoting a staggering 1.2 billion unpaid hours per year. It is clear that Canada needs a dementia plan now. Let me say that I share the petitioners' hope that our NDP Bill C-356 will be passed expeditiously.

[Craig Scott, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions that I would like to present today.

The first petition supports Bill C-356, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia, put forward by my colleague from Nickel Belt, with the ultimate goal of the government being able to make recommendations on ways to support and strengthen Canada's capacity to care for persons with dementia.

Most of the signatories are from the greater Toronto area.

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today I have two sets of petitions to table.

The first petition is from Canadians supporting Bill C-356, which provides for a call for a national strategy on addressing dementia in consultation with the provinces and territories. It calls for the creation of a standing round table and for greater investment to address Alzheimer's and dementia.

Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, before I start, I just want to tell the House that this is not a protest speech, even though I am a member of the NDP. If the member for Calgary Centre wants to see a protest, she should go outside on the front lawn. That is a protest.

I am happy to rise to speak to the latest federal budget. There are few subjects as important to an MP as a government budget. After all, the budget is the document that best expresses the government's true priorities and ideology.

Like all budgets, this one is about choices. In this budget, the government makes it clear that its one and only priority is getting re-elected next year instead of delivering now on the urgent needs of Canadians.

Tim Harper of the Toronto Star put it best. With the Olympics still on, he said that the Conservatives would get a gold medal for illusion in this budget. It is a David Copperfield budget, magically making the government appear to care and appear to act on decisive national issues.

In 2015, the NDP will make the Conservative government disappear for real. We plan to make the Senate disappear as well. A New Democratic government will put an end to the many scandals the Conservative government has been caught up in, including Bev Oda, Mike Duffy, Nigel Wright, Patrick Brazeau, Pamela Wallin, and the MP for Peterborough. The list goes on and on.

Until that time, we have budget implementation acts like this to talk about. The proof of the gold medal for illusion is in the fine print, when we do the math and realize the fact the Conservative government has punted incredibly important decisions to 2015, the election year. One would think it would be smart for a government to go to the voters next year with a real record of accomplishment rather than with a list of promises of what it intends to do. One would think that a government would go to the voters with real accounting on balanced books and not with this shell game, with figures on when it will actually balance the books.

This is another omnibus budget bill designed to ram through hundreds of changes with little study or oversight. Worst of all, there is nothing in the budget to get the almost 300,000 more unemployed Canadians than before the recession back to work or to help replace the 400,000 manufacturing jobs lost under the Conservative government.

There are some good measures in this bill to recognize. They are the ones the NDP promoted. The bill would reverse the government's move to make Canadians pay taxes on parking at hospitals while visiting their loved ones. Boy, did my office hear from folks on this cash grab.

The bill would adopt our party's call to cap wireless roaming fees.

During my time today, I will refer to my own national caucus's responsibilities in the mining sector and to my campaign for a national dementia strategy to demonstrate what an illusion this budget is.

I also want to talk about how this budget fails the people of Nickel Belt. First, though, I would like to say a word about the extreme politics of this budget.

In all my years as an elected official, first on the Rayside-Balfour municipal council and, as of 2008, in Parliament, I have always believed that the work of public elected officials is about one thing and one thing only: serving the public good and constituents. Still, since a budget is about choices, let us look at the choices this government has made.

New Democrats know that there would be money in the federal coffers if we put an end to government's spending scandals, absurd advertising extravaganza and tax breaks for its rich corporate friends.

I was happy at first to see recognition for the dementia health care crisis looming in Canada. The budget quotes the Minister of Health's comments at the U.K. G8 summit last December. By 2031, in just one more generation, the number of Canadians suffering from Alzheimer's or dementia disease will double to 1.4 million. The bill for Canada then will be at $300 billion, so we might conclude that the government is recognizing the problem and might also act on a solution.

The Conservatives try to pull the wool over Canadians' eyes by noting they will now flow the research money that had already been announced last year.

Then, there appears to be a bit of a shell game on brain research money, which begs the question of whether this is new money or money moved from another envelope. I know that the research is important and that funding for it is a good thing. However, Canada is lagging behind its major economic partners in not having a national dementia strategy.

The bill that I introduced in this Parliament would implement a national plan involving research, early diagnosis, training for caregivers, help for beleaguered caregivers, and leadership from Ottawa in partnership with the provinces, territories and municipalities.

Dozens of petitions calling for a national plan are being tabled in the House. Some 200 municipalities have passed resolutions in support of Bill C-356 and the development of a national strategy. Those cities are on the ground, where the crisis is evident. Sadly, this budget could not even find the modest $3 million dollars requested by the Alzheimer Society of Canada to launch a national plan.

However, the Conservatives put a nice box in the budget report with a quote from the minister and are playing the reannounce funding game to make it appear as though they are doing something. This government is doing nothing when it comes to the dementia tsunami in Canada.

I am the chair of a 20-MP NDP mining caucus, the only such caucus in any party here. We knew that, in these tough economic times, the junior mining companies would be happy to see the flow-through share credit extended. That is a good move we can applaud from here. Capital and other financing challenges can block important projects in the boom and bust cycle of mining.

However, like many of my colleagues from Ontario and northern Canada, I had great hopes that the government would take action on the mega Ring of Fire project in the James Bay lowlands.

However, once again, this government is all illusion and neglect, blaming Ontario or economic conditions for its failed leadership on this issue, after briefly announcing last spring the appointment of the President of the Treasury Board as the minister responsible for the Ring of Fire. That minister promised to reopen talks on the Ring of Fire. He was the new quarterback in town. Well, the quarterback got sacked and the Ring of Fire went nowhere under his leadership.

A few weeks ago, I led an NDP delegation of six MPs to the Ring of Fire, where we visited both the Matawa Tribal Council in Thunder Bay and Eabametoong First Nation, as well as the mining companies exploring at Koper Lake.

Despite the disappointing news that Cliffs was suspending operations, there appears to be progress in both Noront and KWG mining camps, continuing evidence of the wealth in the ground, and the support of First Nations communities if genuine partnerships are established.

Ring of Fire would be much further ahead if the NDP's sustainable development policy had been adopted. Our policy addresses current and future concerns with regard to the economy, the environment, first nations and social responsibility. The Governments of Ontario and Canada should have been working together and leading the way.

In this budget we needed to hear about infrastructure and roads, and measures to help the local communities deal with enormous challenges in health, social services, water, and education.

This budget makes it perfectly clear that any concern this government has for the north and our communities is just an illusion. The budget makes no mention of the Ring of Fire. This government has continued an alarming trend initiated by the previous Liberal government to cut government offices and services in the north.

Dementia

[Robert Chisholm, NDP, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I have another petition here from some Canadians who are calling on the government to develop a national dementia strategy. They are asking the Minister of Health and all members of the House to pass Bill C-356, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia.

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in the House today to present petitions from dozens of people from Sudbury, Garson, Falconbridge, Noelville, Alban, and French River.

These petitioners call on the Minister of Health and the House of Commons to pass Bill C-356, An Act respecting a National Strategy for Dementia. As members might be aware, Canada is one of the only G8 countries that does not have a national dementia strategy. It is time the Canadian government stood up for dementia patients, caregivers, and doctors.

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition signed by many Canadians asking for a national dementia strategy. They call on the Minister of Health and the House of Commons to pass Bill C-356, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia, introduced by the member for Nickel Belt.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by a number of residents from the Waterloo region. The petitioners are calling on the Minister of Health and the House of Commons to pass Bill C-356, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia.

Health

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, sadly, Canadians are seeing that the government gets the gold medal for illusions in the budget.

They recognize the dementia health care crisis facing Canada: by 2031, there will be 1.4 million Canadians with dementia, at a cost of $300 billion, but the government said no to a modest $3 million to kick-start a national plan. All we see is research money that was previously announced.

Research is necessary, but a real plan means early diagnosis, integration of care, training of the dementia workforce, help for caregivers, and partnerships with the provinces and cities.

Canada is lagging behind other countries, with no leadership. Hundreds of cities inspired by my Bill C-356 are passing resolutions. Dozens of petitions are being tabled.

Let us put politics aside and agree to a national strategy for dementia.

Dementia

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr.. Speaker, I am delighted today to be presenting petitions from many of my constituents and other residents in Ottawa regarding what is now a nationally urgent matter, and that is a national strategy for dementia.

They want Parliament to pass Bill C-356, which was presented by my colleague from Sudbury. The petitioners want this measure to be passed because we need to initiate a discussion about this terrible disease and have support from provinces by being coordinated with a national strategy by the Government of Canada.

National Strategy for Dementia

[Mike Sullivan, NDP, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition on behalf of residents of the greater Toronto area.

The petitioners wish to draw the attention of the Minister of Health and the House of Commons to the fact that the federal government needs a national strategy for dementia and the care of persons afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease or other dementia-related diseases.

The petitioners call upon the Minister of Health and the House of Commons to pass Bill C-356, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia.

Dementia

[Craig Scott, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to present a petition from Torontonians for the Minister of Health and the House as a whole to support Bill C-356, An Act respecting a National Strategy for Dementia, which was introduced by the hon. member for Nickel Belt.

Diseases like Alzheimer's take a huge toll on individuals suffering from them and on their families and friends. I know this from the experience of my own aunt and from the experience of friends who just lost their mother, Sylvia Mackenzie, a woman of extraordinary strength and character. She is survived by a remarkable and loving family: David, Dan, Andrew, Lori, Kim, and Stephen. I am sure they would want to join these petitioners.

National Dementia Strategy

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is in support of my Bill C-356, An Act respecting a National Strategy for Dementia.

As the Minister of Health is headed to London for the G8 meetings, where they will be discussing the effects of dementia, hopefully she will come back to Canada with a plan to install this strategy.

National Strategy for Dementia

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from a number of people from the London area who want to draw the attention of the Minister of Health and this House to the fact that the federal government needs a national strategy for dementia and the health care of persons afflicted with Alzheimer's.

The petitioners ask that the Minister of Health and the House of Commons pass Bill C-356, which was introduced by the MP for Nickel Belt, and they ask the minister to initiate discussions within 30 days of the act coming into force.

The petitioners want specific national objectives to be set, and they want to encourage greater investment in research for the discovery or development of treatments that would prevent and reverse the effects of dementia and Alzheimer's.

National Strategy for Dementia Act

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me today to present a petition from dozens and dozens of people from Gogama and Sturgeon Falls in my riding. The petition asks the Minister of Health and the House of Commons to pass Bill C-356, an act respecting a national dementia strategy.

As baby boomers are getting older and older, dementia is becoming a bigger problem in Canada. Petitioners are asking the government to do something about what is happening with dementia patients right now.

While I am on my feet, I would like to congratulate the member for Edmonton—Leduc for his statement today on dementia.

Dementia

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to present a petition from people in places like the provinces of Alberta and Quebec, but mostly from the great riding of Nickel Belt.

The petitioners call on the government to help pass Bill C-356, An Act respecting a National Strategy for Dementia. Dementia does not have party lines and they call on all members of the House to support this private member's bill to help alleviate some of the problems of people who have to support dementia patients.

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of rising to table a petition calling for support for Bill C-356, tabled by the member for Nickel Belt, who has requested a national dementia strategy.

National Strategy for Dementia Act

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-356, An Act respecting a National Strategy for Dementia.

Madam Speaker, I am honoured today to introduce my bill, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia.

The bill has its roots in my own family's experience with my mother. Long before her death at 83, in 2003, she began struggling with obvious memory loss. What started with forgetting things on the stove and forgetting appointments got worse by forgetting meds, forgetting language, changes in mood, loss of initiative and aggressive behaviour.

My father, sisters and wife learned the overwhelming challenges of being her caregiver.

My mom is not alone. Over 500,000 Canadians suffer from Alzheimer's disease and other related dementia. An estimated 1.1 million Canadians will have these diseases within a generation.

My bill would develop a comprehensive national plan to address all aspects of Alzheimer's disease and other dementia. It would encourage more research, prevention and specific help for caregivers.

I know a national dementia strategy is a non-partisan issue. I urge all MPs from all parties to help make this bill the law of our land.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)