Excellent. Thank you.
Thanks to the committee again for the opportunity to speak on our supplementary estimates (A). With me today is Jim Libbey, the chief financial officer for the agency.
As you know, it's not quite six years ago that the Public Health Agency was created. In this fiscal year, $664.8 million has been allocated to the agency, and I'd like to briefly outline a few of the areas that illustrate how these funds are put to good use.
Firstly, the agency spends that money on disease and injury prevention and mitigation.
A prevention agenda is among our highest priorities, for which we plan to devote over $115 million this fiscal year. As the Honourable Dr. Bennett rightly said, the goal is to have a great fence at the top of the cliff, not a great ambulance service at the bottom.
That's why the agency will continue to enhance Canada's ability to prevent and manage diseases and injuries. In 2010-11, for example, we will help to increase awareness of risks such as lung disease and increase capacity and knowledge on prevention and control of HIV/AIDS. We will continue to gather and analyze data on the rates, trends, and patterns of injuries in Canada and will initiate a national study to help close knowledge gaps in the area of neurological diseases.
Health promotion will also remain a top priority.
By definition, health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over and improve their health. In 2010-11, through our planned spending of $178 million, we will continue to build this through programs for vulnerable populations, such as the Canada prenatal nutrition program, the community action program for children, and the aboriginal head start program.
In Canada, as elsewhere, the obesity epidemic—especially among children and youth—has become a major public health challenge.
While this is a very complex, multi-faceted issue, there's a lot of evidence out there to inform our work, so one of our roles in facing this challenge is to bring the players together on this issue and ensure the lessons we see in one province can be applied to others. In 2010-11, as part of this work, we will be updating the national physical activity guides and we will continue to work with all partners on initiatives that support Canadians in the attainment and maintenance of healthy weights.
I will now turn my focus to infectious disease prevention and control.
Last year's H1N1 outbreak solidified our place as global leaders in responding to infectious disease outbreaks. Since the day we were aware of a novel flu virus circulating, the agency was at the forefront of the federal pandemic response.
The H1N1 pandemic saw quite possibly the country's greatest mass mobilization since the last world war. It marked the country's first pandemic in 40 years and the first pandemic in an information age.
All of these factors required a multi-faceted response: helping to secure enough vaccine for every Canadian who needed and wanted to be immunized; leading national surveillance activities; and communicating regularly to Canadians to provide them with the information they needed to make well-informed decisions related to their health, among many other activities.
Committee members have heard me say this on many occasions: disease and illness know no borders.
H1N1 was certainly no exception to the rule and the scope. It is critical that the scope and breadth of a response reflect that reality. That's why in 2010-11 the agency will continue to collaborate with our many partners, both domestically and internationally, to ensure that we can build on the lessons learned from H1N1 and strengthen our preparedness for future pandemics.
Our work goes far beyond plagues and pestilence. The agency will also work to increase public health capacity and enhance our national and international collaborations. We will strengthen surveillance and increase capability in assessing the health of the population. We remain the government-wide lead on efforts to study and address determinants of health.
In facing all of these challenges and embracing the opportunities they present, the Public Health Agency's vision remains constant and relevant: healthy Canadians and communities in a healthier world. All of Canada will benefit from these efforts.
Madam Chair, I am very proud of our work over the last five years and of the fact that the agency maintains and strengthens its reputation as a global leader in public health.
Thank you for your time. I will be happy to answer any questions.