Thank you, Madam Chair.
We recognize the challenge that has arisen as a result of the shutdown of Chalk River, which is an ongoing situation. We continue to work with the provinces and territories as well as the medical community in that area. I believe Dr. McEwan appeared before HESA to give the committee an update in regard to what the medical community on nuclear medicine was actually doing to mitigate the impact of the shortage of Tc-99.
From the original shutdown, there had been lessons learned that prepared us across the country to come up with a contingency plan to mitigate it, to identify alternatives to Tc-99 in the research community, and to invest in research where we can look at alternatives. That is ongoing. The work did not just start when this situation occurred. It started years before, when there was a shutdown, and there were lessons learned from that. We'll continue to work with Dr. Sandy McEwan along with other jurisdictions on that subject.
As far as the dollars involved go, some provinces have put forth a request in regard to that. Some provinces are doing better than others. Provinces that have put in triage alternatives for dealing with cancer patients have managed much better than jurisdictions that have not diversified their supply. We continue to work with the provinces and territories to encourage them to look at alternatives to mitigate the impact of the shutdown and the shortage of the supply.
In terms of the dollar value of the additional costs incurred, I have not received the actual breakdown of what jurisdictions have actually incurred while trying to mitigate the impact of the shutdown, and what it would cost if it happened again. What they have done to mitigate it is a big question for every jurisdiction to answer. Dr. McEwan has been working with each jurisdiction to assist it to put those plans in place.
Having said that, I will say again that we continue to increase the transfers to the provinces and the territories. This year we have transferred $24 billion to the provinces. Each province, respecting that it is responsible for the delivery of its health care, allocates and invests those moneys where it sees fit. That could be related to looking at different types of Tc-99 or alternative purchases. It's up to each province to invest its resources where it sees they are most needed. That applies to Quebec as well.
Thank you.