Evidence of meeting #30 for Health in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was strategy.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Tony Clement Conservative Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON
I would say to you as an honourable member that it sounds like you're making a bid for the provincial leadership of your party. I don't see why--
Judy Wasylycia-Leis NDP Winnipeg North, MB
I've been in the provincial government. I'm now here federally because I believe the federal government has a very important role.
Conservative
Tony Clement Conservative Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON
You, of all people, should know that for the federal government to get involved in home care and community care.... We fund the provinces to do that. Obviously they are in charge of those files. We're not going to get involved.
NDP
Judy Wasylycia-Leis NDP Winnipeg North, MB
So you don't agree at all with the ten-year accord that talked about national home care.
Liberal
The Vice-Chair Liberal Lui Temelkovski
We'll let you have a rest, and then you can continue later.
Monsieur Malo.
Bloc
Luc Malo Bloc Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Good morning, minister. Thank you for being with us today. I have a few simple questions to ask you.
The list of products that must be evaluated before being put on the market is growing longer. Few inspectors are currently conducting those evaluations. Consequently, a number of products, particularly natural products, are not always approved in a way that allows them to be sold safely to the public.
I see in the 2008 budget that you've set aside $113 million over two years for an action plan to ensure the safety of food and consumer products.
How did you determine that amount? How will that money be spent? How many new inspectors will there be? Is it clear that that $113 million over two years will make it possible to shorten the product list noticeably?
Conservative
Tony Clement Conservative Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON
That amount will be used to cover all planned changes to the system in order to improve the present situation. There will be more employees to meet this challenge. We can double the number of inspectors in this program. The budget has been adopted and supported, but the purpose of this bill is to improve the situation in Canada.
Bloc
Luc Malo Bloc Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC
How many others will there be, minister? Will staff be doubled?
Conservative
Conservative
Bloc
Luc Malo Bloc Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC
Will those 80 individuals be assigned to inspection? And in the department, do you think—
Conservative
Tony Clement Conservative Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON
Yes. Those inspectors inspect only consumer products. There are also inspectors for drugs and others for food. There will be more inspectors in each of those sectors.
Bloc
Luc Malo Bloc Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC
How much more quickly will approvals be done? How many additional products can be inspected?
Conservative
Tony Clement Conservative Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON
The approach will be different. In English, that's called
a risk-based approach for these products, so that if the risk is relatively small, the burden and oversight can be less because the risk is small. If the risk is greater, obviously the burden and the oversight are going to be greater.
Perhaps the deputy minister can add a few words.
Morris Rosenberg Deputy Minister, Department of Health
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
There are three components to our action: prevention, targeted surveillance and rapid response, and that's for each of the areas of this plan, that is to say consumer products, food and drugs. It is obviously important to have the necessary staff in the field to do the work, and we've received resources to implement the plan. I can't give you the exact figure today, but we intend to increase the number of field inspectors in each of those areas.
Bloc
Luc Malo Bloc Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC
The inspectors also have to be given other tools to do the job.
Deputy Minister, Department of Health
What is very important in the new act is the modernization of our legislative framework. In comparison with that of other countries, Canada's current legislation has significant deficiencies regarding the power to recall products, for example, regarding other powers of inspectors and regarding fines which are currently very low.
Bloc