Evidence of meeting #93 for Health in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was nicotine.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:05 p.m.
Professor, University of Toronto, Director of Medical Education, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, As an Individual
In general, of course, no, because there is no overall benefit for the population that uses nicotine to be taking it in the way they've been taking it. Promoting it as a lifestyle for large populations is not appropriate.
The balance is that for those people who are addicted to tobacco, who are unable or unwilling to quit, who are at risk of potential harm or already have harm, it provides a safer alternative when other mechanisms have not worked.
5:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bill Casey
Thanks very much, everybody, for your contribution to our learning experience here. I really apologize to Dr. Strang and Dr. Selby for our technical difficulties. Actually, the system does usually work.
Dr. Strang, I hope you can hear me. On behalf of the committee and all the members, we are sorry for this interruption, but if you have any thoughts or ideas you'd like to send to us right away, we have until Wednesday to consider them. If you want to send us something in writing, under the circumstances we'll distribute it to all the members of the committee and we'll add it into our deliberations on Wednesday.
With that, thanks again to all our witnesses for their contributions.
I'm going to suspend the meeting for a few minutes. Then we're going to go into committee business, but we won't be too long.
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bill Casey
There are just a couple of things on the calendar.
Clause-by-clause study for Bill S-5 is on Wednesday, and we need amendments by 2 p.m. Wednesday. It was originally 12 p.m., but we moved that to 2 p.m., so you get two extra hours.
5:10 p.m.
The Clerk
I haven't had a chance to speak with the legislative clerk about this. I don't know if that will have an impact on the amendments package being ready at the same time as we had originally....
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Did you mean Wednesday, or did you mean tomorrow, Tuesday, at 2 p.m.?
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bill Casey
Yes, it's now Tuesday at 2 p.m. It was Tuesday at noon.
Then we go to Thursday, March 1. That's the deadline for witnesses for Bill C-326. On Friday, we intend to report Bill S-5 to the House. On the 19th we intend to have supplementary estimates with the department. On the 21st, we have the adoption of the pharmacare report, and Mr. Oliver was just showing me that the Minister of Health from Ontario has resigned so he can study a national pharmacare program.
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bill Casey
The deadline for witnesses for Bill S-228 is the 22nd. Bill C-326 is Monday, March 26, and that's the first day we have on that. On the 28th, we have Bill C-326 again. That's what I have at the moment.
Going into April, we have clause-by-clause study, the antimicrobial report, and so on. Right now, for the short term, Wednesday is clause-by-clause study, and that's really the most important thing right now.
Are there any questions on the witness lists or anything?
Go ahead, Ms. Gladu.
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Thank you, Chair. I have a question for the clerk.
Ms. Finley asked for two things to be sent out on Bill S-5 that she had sent in. One went out, but the Davidson report didn't go out. If you can circulate it, that would be good.
5:10 p.m.
The Clerk
Sure. The volume of documents we've received on Bill S-5 has been something else. You mean Sinclair Davidson's brief, correct?
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
No. Diane Finley sent two, and it wasn't the same as the Sinclair Davidson one. She sent it at the same time as the public health one from England, which we received.
If you have any questions, you can work with Emily.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
John Oliver Liberal Oakville, ON
Thank you.
That's my concern. Is it two o'clock tomorrow that the amendments for Bill S-5 are due?
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
John Oliver Liberal Oakville, ON
Okay.
Second, at our last meeting there was a proposal to invite the Minister of Health to come to present for supplementary estimates. I'm just looking back through the schedule again. We've just had her in for Bill S-5. The budget's coming down tomorrow. We'll be having her here shortly after that for main estimates. We can certainly cover off any questions we had for the supplementary estimates at that time. We have a ton on anyway. We have pharmacare to finish, Bill C-326, AMR, Bill S-228, and resumption of the food guide and whatever we're going to do with that. We have a really packed agenda.
I would like to move that we rescind our invitation to the minister and instead invite her to attend the main estimates when those are scheduled.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bill Casey
We have a motion on the floor. Is there any debate?
Go ahead, Mr. Lobb.
5:15 p.m.
Conservative
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
John Oliver Liberal Oakville, ON
Yes. It's to rescind our motion to the minister to appear before us for the supplementary estimates and to extend an invitation to her to appear before us for the main estimates when they are scheduled to be presented to us.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
5:15 p.m.
NDP
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
My preference would be to have the minister attend any time she can. The budget is coming tomorrow. That's the 27th. As she has been invited and is scheduled to appear March 19, it would be an ideal time for the minister to come to answer questions about the budget—what's in it and what's not in it. There was some pretty big news today from the government on pharmacare. Why not have her come for the interim estimates and the main estimates?
5:15 p.m.
Conservative
Ben Lobb Conservative Huron—Bruce, ON
I agree. As well, do you know when the minister is to appear on supplementary estimates? What was that date again?