Evidence of meeting #60 for Health in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was research.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Howard Njoo  Acting Assistant Deputy Minister, Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
Clerk of the Committee  Mr. David Gagnon
Jean-Paul Bédard  Vice-President, Public Affairs, Canadian Blood Services
Margaret Fearon  Medical Director, Medical Microbiology, Canadian Blood Services
Ralph Hawkins  Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Calgary, Cumming School of Medicine, As an Individual
Elizabeth Zubek  Family Physician, Shepherd's Hill Medical Clinic, As an Individual
Karin Phillips  Analyst

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Len Webber Conservative Calgary Confederation, AB

What is the next process now? Where are we going from here? Are we just hearing these witnesses and leaving it at that?

I suggest that we now put together some sort of document that we can give to the minister, whether it's in a letter form, similar to thalidomide, or we put together a bit of a report of what we've heard in these last two session meetings and perhaps encourage the minister to take some action on Lyme disease.

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bill Casey

Couldn't we vote on the budget and then address your concern?

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Len Webber Conservative Calgary Confederation, AB

Well, this budget is specifically for our study on Lyme, is it not?

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bill Casey

It is.

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Len Webber Conservative Calgary Confederation, AB

Will we incur further costs with respect to where we move from here on Lyme? If we do, then perhaps this budget number is not sufficient. I don't know. That's a question I ask of you.

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bill Casey

We can approve another one, if necessary, but we think it's adequate. We've done our witnesses and our teleconferencing and our travel.

Mr. Kang.

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

Darshan Singh Kang Liberal Calgary Skyview, AB

Mr. Chair, I would make the comment that we are dealing with the budget only. If there's anything else you want to add, we can deal with it after we approve the budget. There's a motion on the floor for the budget.

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bill Casey

Are there any more comments on the budget?

(Motion agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])

The budget is passed, but this raises an issue. Do you want us to have a budget prepared before we start a study? We can do that.

Yes.

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

John Oliver Liberal Oakville, ON

This came up very quickly. We identified the need and we wanted to get the witnesses aligned and set up. I would not want to set up a process that doesn't allow us to be nimble as a committee.

I think it's really great that as the health committee we're dealing with topical issues, real topics for Canadians as they're emerging, and I would hate to see a committee process get in the way of being relevant, that's all.

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bill Casey

Mr. Davies and then Mr. Webber.

12:50 p.m.

NDP

Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC

I don't disagree with John, but really there are two separate issues here. One is that this committee passed a motion to study Lyme disease and have witnesses for I think two meetings. That wasn't just imminent; I think that happened several weeks ago. Separate and apart from that is the budget. You could conceivably pass the motion to have the study and then have issues with the budget.

I just think it's best practice to have both of those things passed prior to incurring the expenses. As I said, in theory this could have been voted down, which leaves us in the awkward position of having incurred expenses that we didn't approve.

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bill Casey

The chair would have to pay for it himself, and we don't want that—

12:50 p.m.

An hon. member

All in favour?

12:50 p.m.

Voices

Oh, oh!

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bill Casey

In future, if we have time and we're able to, we'll prepare a budget and present it first.

Before I go to Mr. Webber, I want to compliment all of you on your questions. I think we do a good job. I think you did a really good job today with questions. I think you got the best out of them that you could get. I'm proud of you all, and I just want to say that. Great job.

Mr. Webber, you had a point with regard to where we go with our Lyme study.

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Len Webber Conservative Calgary Confederation, AB

There were a couple of suggestions throughout our study with the witnesses on where we should go, in particular by Dr. Hawkins in his testimony today, with regard to perhaps encouraging the minister to put together another committee, with not only—

12:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bill Casey

For oversight.

12:55 p.m.

Conservative

Len Webber Conservative Calgary Confederation, AB

It would be an oversight committee, exactly, to address the issues that weren't put into the framework. I would like to see that as an ask to the minister. That, I think, is most important. Whether we put it in a letter similar to our thalidomide letter or not, I just think we have to take some action here now to address the concerns that were brought out during this study.

12:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bill Casey

I'd say that if there was a consistent message, it was that this is an evolving situation, and five years is too long to let it go without a comment and oversight.

12:55 p.m.

Conservative

Len Webber Conservative Calgary Confederation, AB

That's a very good point.

12:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bill Casey

Did you have your hand up?

12:55 p.m.

Liberal

John Oliver Liberal Oakville, ON

I'm conscious of the time, so I don't think we have time to debate the content, but I do think a letter is where we should be headed. Perhaps the committee could instruct the analysts to prepare a letter based on the testimony we've heard. We can start with that, when we get it, to look at what should be in it. But I don't think we have time, with three or four minutes left, to start debating the content of the letter.

12:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bill Casey

Dr. Carrie.

12:55 p.m.

Conservative

Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON

I agree with John 100%. I would ask the clerk maybe to just take a look at something. I believe that when the minister announced the framework, she said that she's open to the committee taking a look at it. If you could see what her comments were and maybe what the intent was, I think maybe we could look at this a little bit more, given the testimony that we did receive. I think an appropriate response right now is a letter, and we'll review it.

12:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bill Casey

Mr. Davies.