Health Committee on March 16th, 2010

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Thank you, Dr. Butler-Jones.

We'll now go to Mrs. Davidson.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Thank you, Minister, for appearing before us today, and thank you to the officials as well.

We know it has been proven that aboriginal people face significant health challenges. I go back in your presentation to where you say that the significant increases in the main estimates are primarily going to first nation and Inuit health services. Then you continue, talking about the diabetes initiative, the youth suicide prevention strategy, the aboriginal head start program, a human resources initiative, and the extension of funding for a program for the territorial health system sustainability initiative.

Could you tell us a little more about those and about how you think these programs and the renewal will help improve the health of the aboriginal people?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

Thank you for that question.

I'm proud to say that the Government of Canada has provided $285 million over the next two years for these programs. The funding for these programs was set to expire March 31 of this year. Through the renewed funding provided in budget 2010, the programs will continue to address the high rate of chronic disease amongst aboriginal people, particularly in areas such as diabetes.

We'll continue to support the health and well-being of aboriginal children and their families through the renewed investments in maternal and child health services as well as in youth suicide prevention. Renewed funding for aboriginal health human resources and the aboriginal health transition fund will improve the delivery and enhance access to health care in aboriginal communities. We'll continue to work with aboriginal leadership in the communities as we roll out the renewed programs building on the lessons learned to date.

I'm also confident that we'll continue to make progress in improving the health outcomes of aboriginal people over the next two years with the extension of these investments.

Thank you.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Thank you.

Just changing gears a little bit here, some other things this committee has certainly heard about over the past number of years and in some of the studies we've done have been healthy foods and physical activity for children and youth. Is there anything in this budget that is going to address the rising physical inactivity among children and youth, and what kind of programs, if there are any in there, are we looking at that are going to help improve the health of our young people?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

Our government has invested in and is proud of the work it is doing in the area, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, to improve the physical activity level of our children and our youth. In 2008 the Government of Canada made progress in setting the direction to meet Canada's first ever national physical activity targets for children and youth aged 5 to 19 under the federal leadership and in collaboration with the provinces and territorial governments.

For the very first time ever, federal, provincial, and territorial governments have set direct, measurable targets for physical activity for Canadian children and youth. The targets represent an important foundation to address childhood obesity by increasing the proportions of children and youth participating in daily activities. Also, the ministers of health and sports and recreation have signed on to a joint policy statement that will foster even greater intersectional action to contribute to improving the health and well-being and quality of life of Canadian children and young people by increasing their physical activity. I can say that the ministers are committed to working in partnership with non-governmental organizations to increase physical activity opportunities in and after school periods, a time identified in the research as being critical. As well, in May, federal, provincial, and territorial workshops on the promotion of physical activity in the after-school program will further explore knowledge and best practices to build capacity in collaboration on children's health.

I can say that the interest from the provinces and territories to start addressing the issue of keeping our young people healthy has been very positive, and we'll continue to work with the provinces and territories to move some of that forward.

As a backgrounder, in 2008 under the federal leadership and in collaboration with the provinces and territories, the ministers responsible for sport, physical activity, and recreation set Canada's first ever national physical activity targets for children. By 2015 they will increase by 7% the number of children and youth who participate in 90 minutes of moderate to very vigorous physical activity over and above daily living, increasing that from 11,000 steps to 14,000 steps per day.

Ministers affirmed their commitment to work together to increase physical activity levels among children and youth by establishing the agreements to explore ways to support the development of infrastructure and the capacity to foster greater intersectional action and collaboration with a focus on after-school programs. The federal government co-chairs the FPT working group to align and coordinate social marketing efforts targeting children, youth, families, and caregivers to endorse the use of a common physical activity message across jurisdictions.

This effort and the initiatives undertaken to start dealing with keeping our children healthy have been very positive and very well received. We recognize that in order to ensure we deal with the ever-increasing health indicators, we need to start focusing on keeping our children healthy in this country.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Thank you very much, Minister Aglukkaq.

We'll now go to Monsieur Malo.

[Luc Malo, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I would like to ask an additional question of Ms. Boudreau. My question has to do with the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board. I noticed that there has been a $704,000 increase over the year 2009-2010, in other words a little over 10%, raising the amount to $7.75 million for the current fiscal year.

What is the rationale behind this increase? What do you say to individuals and organizations that believe that the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board is exceeding its mandate?

[Morris Rosenberg, Deputy Minister, Department of Health]

Madam Chair, I will attempt to answer this question.

First off, I must say that the increase in resources allocated to this board is due to an increase in the workload. The workload has changed considerably over the last few years. For quite a long time, most regulations were not challenged, but recently we have noticed that there has been an increase in the number of investigations being challenged.

Last year, for instance, the board held four hearings. Today, there are nine hearings underway, three of which are at the decision-making state. There has been a significant change in the nature of the work and in the workload, justifying this increase.

The board's mandate, since its inception in 1986 or 1987, was to review the prices of patented medicines, as well as to provide information on the price of drugs. We believe the board is acting within its mandate.

[Luc Malo, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Ms. Boudreau, I would like to get back to the figure you quoted earlier on. There are slightly over 3,000 natural health products that have yet to be licensed.

How many of these are manufactured by Quebec or Canadian companies?

[Michelle Boudreau]

I'm not sure I can provide you with the exact figures with respect to manufacturers from Quebec. There are currently approximately 1,100 companies that have licensed products. Most are Canadian manufacturers or distributors. Approximately 25% are foreign, mainly from the United States. Conversely, it can be said that 75% of them are Canadian.

[Luc Malo, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

You are referring to what has been approved, but what remains to be approved? You know this can have very serious effects on companies, on their viability, and on jobs which need to be maintained. Are you in a position to say how many of these 3,000 products are yet to be approved?

[Michelle Boudreau]

You are asking how many companies, mainly from Quebec, are waiting for their products to be approved. Is that correct?

[Luc Malo, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Of the 3,000 outstanding products, how many are produced here?

[Michelle Boudreau]

I cannot give you an exact figure, but I can provide you with the data. The figure I referred to earlier is quite relevant, because it is rather general. Most are Canadian. Out of the 3,000 products, I can say with some certainty that at least 75% to 80% of them are Canadian and 20% to 25% are probably from the U.S.

With respect to Quebec companies, I do not have the number here, but I could certainly find it.

[Luc Malo, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Minister, we are being told that 80% of products manufactured here are awaiting approval. Let's take the figure of 3,000 which has been given to us, even though it does not quite correspond to what our analysts have found.

Are you aware of the fact that this has a significant effect on jobs and on the viability of companies here?

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Who would like to answer the question--

[Luc Malo, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Your government boasts about wanting to put the economy front and centre, create jobs and maintain them.

Are you conscious of the fact that this has a direct impact on the economy, on employment and on companies?

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Thank you.

Minister Aglukkaq.

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

We are very conscious of the needs of the industry in trying to get products approved for distribution. We are working with the industry, as identified by Michelle, to prioritize some of the products they want, and so on.

We also need a balance to ensure that we are making health and safety for Canadians a priority, a balance between the industry needs and the safety of products that Canadians use. We'll continue to work with them, but we are very aware of the concerns that have been raised by the industry. The officials have worked to try to address some of these challenges and to get through the backlog of last year.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Thank you, Minister.

Mr. Uppal.

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton—Sherwood Park, AB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for coming here today.

Minister, in the Speech from the Throne delivered on March 3, the government reiterated its commitment “to protect Canadian families from unsafe food, drug and consumer products”. Could you please elaborate on the action taken by the government on this issue?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

Thank you for the question.

First, with respect to the area of food safety, our government is committed to addressing the concerns identified in the report by Sheila Weatherill in order to minimize risks to food in the future. We are working to implement all the recommendations identified in the report.

Our government is working towards a strong, safe, and effective system through the modernization of food and drugs legislation. Former Bill C-51 was an important step. But given food safety issues such as the listeriosis outbreak, among others, it was imperative that we take a more critical look at the proposal in order to be confident that the legislative modernization this government is proposing is the best for Canadians. We'll continue to work to address that through the Public Health Agency and in partnership with the provinces and the territories.

With respect to drug safety, on various occasions, the committee has discussed a need for change to the Food and Drugs Act and has raised concerns such as the need for better control over clinical trials, including a drug approval process and implementing a life-cycle approach to licensing. These were addressed in former Bill C-51, and the government remains committed to these improvements.

The final point with respect to consumer product safety is that our government is committed to protecting Canadians, particularly our children, from unsafe consumer products. The Speech from the Throne recently reconfirmed the Government of Canada's intention to respect the wishes of Canadians by reintroducing the proposed Canada Consumer Product Safety Act in its original form, which was Bill C-6 at the time. If passed, the proposed act will modernize the government's approach to consumer product safety, with important powers such as the ability to order mandatory product recalls and to quickly remove unsafe products from our store shelves. The existing act has not been updated in over 40 years. The proposal is important in order to ensure that we keep pace with our major trading partners.

In closing, I would like to say this. The legislation is so outdated that Canada depends on another country for information on unsafe products that are sold and used in our population. It's unacceptable that we continue to rely on other jurisdictions in regard to the harm being caused by unsafe products in Canada to Canadian children. I'll use the crib as an example, or the unsafe stroller that amputated the fingers of children, and so on. We are determined to work through the reintroduction of this legislation so that we have legislation that will allow us to protect the health and safety of Canadians.

Thank you.

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton—Sherwood Park, AB]

Thank you, Minister. I'm pleased to hear that this very much needed legislation will be reintroduced by the government.

Minister, we understand that the Auditor General of Canada carried out an audit of Canada Health Infoway in the past year. Can you provide us with an overview of their findings?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

We were very encouraged by the Auditor General's findings with respect to the Infoway in her 2009 report. The Auditor General recognized that Infoway has accomplished much since its creation, and that it has implemented the appropriate management controls for operational spending.

The Auditor General also offered constructive advice in certain areas where Infoway could refine its management and reporting practices. She provided the recommendations for enhancements to reporting on progress, the contracting of goods and services, and verifying conformance to the electronic health records system with Infoway standards. This government is pleased to note that Infoway has developed a detailed action plan to strengthen accountability in response to the Auditor General's report, and has already begun addressing each of the recommendations made by the Auditor General.

Thank you.

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton—Sherwood Park, AB]

Thank you.