Health Committee on Aug. 28th, 2009

[Dr. David Butler-Jones]

Yes, I'll be very quick. I'll take it from a public health stance.

Whether it's clean water, sanitation, or adequate housing, all of those are essential protective factors in reducing the risk of getting disease and then, if you do have disease, the severity of it. So I think the work of governments to continue to ameliorate those factors is key.

In the meantime, I have a very short story. When I was chief medical health officer in Saskatchewan, we had a new outbreak of hepatitis A coming in every 10 to 15 years. Basically all of the northern communities and many other aboriginal communities, or basically anybody by the time they were 15, would have had hepatitis A. Many would have died and many been hospitalized, etc. The problem was inadequate housing, clean water, and sanitation, which allowed that spread and effect of hepatitis A.

At that time, though, there was a new vaccine for hepatitis A. So I purchased the vaccine and worked with the first nations health and the band councils that delivered health services to ensure that it was delivered. Within three years, not only had we avoided the next outbreak of hepatitis A—which would have been a lot worse—but also, after that, the rate of hepatitis A in the aboriginal population in Saskatchewan fell below that of the non-aboriginal population.

So while we work on the long-term strategies, we also need to address as best we can the immediate term with what we have.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

I want to thank Dr. Butler-Jones for that insightful comment, and I want to thank the committee for coming today and being a part of this very important initiative.

I also want to say that you will get all of the presentations at your offices. If there's anything further that we need to do—I know that I've talked to Dr. Bennett this morning and noted that—please write to my office. I'd be very happy to address them.

Dr. Bennett.

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

We did table a motion, but I don't think we really need it. Certainly I think on Wednesday at the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, it was very clear from the chair there that they wanted the isotope issue—on the medical side—to come to this committee. I spoke with the chair this morning.

Just because the week we come back is sometimes a bit scattered, could we have all-party consent to hear the nuclear medicine doctors at the regular meeting of the committee on the Tuesday we get back?

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Well, as I said, that motion was late, so I couldn't do it. So we can't do a motion right now.

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

We don't need a motion; we just have to agree. That's how we do a work plan.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

All right, then we need the consent of the whole committee.

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

Madam Chair, I have a question. I'm not on this committee, but do you not normally have a subcommittee that looks after the agenda for your own committee?

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Yes, we do. Normally what we have is a first—

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

No, we usually decide these things together.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Can I just finish, just for a minute, please?

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

I was asking her, actually.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Normally what we do is decide as a committee what we want to do for that term. This has been presented to me over the phone. We usually do it at the first meeting we are back after the session. We would need unanimous consent to do this at this committee

So I'm asking the committee, do you want to do this with unanimous consent today or do you want to wait till the first meeting?

Dr. Carrie.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

I think that in principle we're in favour of doing this, but I think we should sit down and not rush into it. We should discuss the witnesses. Also, we have certain regular members of the committee who might want to have some input on this, so I think we can do it the first week we are back.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Great, so there's no unanimous consent, but we will deal with it on the first day.

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

The other concern we had was how we as a committee will continue the oversight work of H1N1. We've been very lucky to have briefings from the officials, but those are really just for the critics. It's the whole committee that has responsibility for H1N1. So we were trying to figure out if we can deal with this structurally in a way, whether it's an hour of one of the meetings every week, or how we are going to go into the fall in a way that we don't have to have a big procedure every time we want to have a meeting on H1N1. So that is also at issue.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

I don't think we can decide that today, but I have brought it forward, and our steering committee...unless we have unanimous consent. Is there unanimous consent to do that?

Is there any comment, Dr. Carrie?

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Yes, Madam Chair, I think we should be able to digest this at the first meeting and to discuss with all of the regular members how to move ahead.

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

Madam Chair, will the health committee meet that first Tuesday back; and if so, what will be its work?

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

It's Monday and Wednesday, so I don't know about the first day back. I would have to consult on that.

Anyway, the meeting is adjourned.