Thank you.
As it relates to TB, there are a number of investments that we have made in the area of tuberculosis, health transfers being one of them, to provinces and territories. Provinces and territories, as the member is well aware, allocate their funding to programs they see as appropriate, depending on their population makeup.
Of course, improving the health of first nations is one of the most important ways of preventing disease, including TB. We have invested significantly over the last three years to support the better health outcomes, and it's not just in areas of treatment of tuberculosis. As the member is well aware, there are many other factors that contribute to tuberculosis.
I have a press release here from one of the jurisdictions basically saying that the significant difference between other parts of Canada in the prevalence is related to overcrowding in housing, poverty, smoking, and limited access to affordable, healthy food. As the member is well aware, we've made significant investments in infrastructure, social housing, in first nations communities and Inuit communities. We're trying to address the issue of poverty by healthy foods, as the member is well aware.
The other introduction is the tobacco legislation to reduce the number of smokers among our Canadian population, and so on. So a huge number of investments have been made by this government to try to address the underlying causes of tuberculosis. In addition to that, we've continued to increase health transfers to monitor the situation and to treat individuals with tuberculosis.
Thank you.