Evidence of meeting #14 for Health in the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was communities.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
If you look at the bottom of your screen you'll see a little icon that says “interpretation”. If you click there you can choose English.
President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
I had tech staff help me to get on, but it wasn't in the formal way so I don't have access to that particular icon. I greatly apologize.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
M. Champoux, your time is up, but I will give you time for another quick answer because you weren't able to get an answer.
Bloc
Martin Champoux Bloc Drummond, QC
Does Grand Chief Daniels have access to translation? Can he answer my question in the short amount of time we have left?
Southern Chiefs' Organization Inc.
Yes. There are definitely some barriers there.
I think the best course of action going forward is the emergency preparedness planning that happens here in the region. The regional office has been involved in the emergency planning. There are two sides to this. There's the ISC side, and then there's the FNIHB side.
I know they've been brought together, but they're still independent of each other. I think the best process is to bring them together and then have first nations do the comprehensive community planning, the emergency preparedness planning, those kinds of things. We always have questions and problems when we assess what they mean by “emergency planning” or what they mean by “comprehensive community planning”.
Looking at all of the different variables that produce a community, that can produce opportunity and a good quality of life through those services, we would say there's a deficit, an intergenerational deficit, of underfunding, decades and decades of government administrations just not taking it seriously, not letting the communities or first nations lead this. That's always been the problem here.
What we've always pushed for is local control, a local strategy, and then working as a regional body. We're very close to the ground. We have 34 communities we work with from the the Anishinabe and Dakota nations, so we're adamant that when it comes to comprehensive community planning or when it comes to emergency preparedness, we be the ones involved in this and we be the ones who are structuring this because we have the most at stake here. We really care about our communities. It's hard to bring in an administrative body that is separate from the community and then task it to ensure the community is prepared.
Look at the variables being utilized and the different characteristics of the comprehensive community planning or the emergency preparedness. It wasn't enough. It failed. It's failing, and it's going to continue to fail until you transfer that responsibility directly to first nations governments.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Thank you, Mr. Champoux.
We will now go to Ms. Ashton for two and a half minutes, please.
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
Thank you.
My question would be for the ISC officials.
There was reference to the urgent need for testing kits in the north, in Nunavut, and in communities across the country. I know Dr. Wong spoke to this briefly, but how quickly can communities, particularly fly-in communities but ultimately all first nations and Inuit communities that need them, get these testing kits that can both be used and analyzed in the community itself? How quickly can this be done?
Chief Medical Officer and Director General, Office of Population and Public Health, Department of Indigenous Services
Thank you for the question.
At this moment, based on the information from the company, if everything goes well, we are expecting that by early May they will have a significant quantity of these rapid test kits produced in Canada and able to start being used in remote areas.
We work very closely with the Public Health Agency of Canada, the indigenous leaders, as well as the provincial lab system in order to try to prioritize the remote and isolated areas as the top priority, so that we prioritize the needs of remote and indigenous communities to get these test kits.
Of course, this equipment also needs training, because once it's set up, the staff there need to be trained, so we are working with the national lab, as well as with the provincial lab system and the territorial lab system, in order to make sure that the training does take place and that there's a quality assurance and a quality control system in place. We're looking at a couple of weeks. By early May, the company should be able to come up with boxes of that equipment and the test kits that will be rapidly moved to those locations.
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
Thank you.
To ISC officials, there have been calls in our region and across northern Canada to shut down work camps and mining sites because they put workers and first nations at risk. Many of us are alarmed to hear about the outbreaks coming from Fort McMurray. We're dealing with really serious situations across the country and our regions cannot handle a minimal spread, let alone a surge. Is ISC looking at the need for national leadership around shutdowns of work camps and mining that could put first nations and our regions at risk?
Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Department of Indigenous Services
Maybe I can start and then I'll see if Dr. Wong or Chad have anything further to add.
We have certainly offered public health expertise to help support planning and support these particular communities, as well, that are impacted or near to those operations to ensure that we can maximize their ability to protect the health and safety of their members through physical distancing measures and limitations of non-essential movement back and forth from the community.
Dr. Wong or Chad, I don't know if you have anything more to add.
Chief Medical Officer and Director General, Office of Population and Public Health, Department of Indigenous Services
Regarding the infection control processes and measures as well as physical distancing inside the work environment, from a public health perspective, we would be supporting any community in order to maximize those measures. As for the shutdown of those facilities, it would be the decision of the provinces or territories, in collaboration with partners, on when to shut down or not shut down.
Chad.
Director General, Community Infrastructure Branch, Department of Indigenous Services
I don't have anything else to add on that. I think you guys covered that well.
Thank you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Thank you, Ms. Ashton.
Thank you, everybody. That wraps up our third round of questions.
I would like to thank all the members of the committee for their great questions.
To the panel witnesses, I would like to thank you for sharing with us your time and your informed and important expertise.
I would like to ask the committee members to stick around for a minute for a brief note about committee business. We have had a response back from Dr. Aylward regarding the WHO. In part, he says the following: “May I express again my regrets to the honourable chair and members of the committee that I was unable to accept the original invitation without this having gone through appropriate WHO channels. I particularly regret any inconvenience or frustration this may have caused. I trust that a way forward can be sorted as soon as possible so that the WHO might help the committee in its important work.”
This is an ongoing conversation. I have Dr. Aylward's number. I believe he's in Europe at the moment. I will be reaching out to him later today or early tomorrow. I will be happy to report back to the committee in our meeting of subcommittee members on Thursday.
That's all I have. Thank you.
Does anyone have any comments?
Conservative
Matt Jeneroux Conservative Edmonton Riverbend, AB
Mr. Chair, thanks for sharing that. I think the timeliness of it all is what we're curious about, and if there's any indication from him on whether or not he will make it May 1. Obviously, being away in a different country is something that needs considering, but again, the date was specifically May 1. I'll just be curious to see what he has to say about that.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Absolutely. I think a conversation is in order. I shall try to reach him and make sure he understands what it is we're asking of him, and that he actually doesn't have to be here to do that.
Are there any more questions or comments? Seeing none, thank you to all.
The meeting is now adjourned.