Health Committee on July 7th, 2020

[Len Webber, Conservative, Calgary Confederation, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Latimer, you brought up StatsCan's collection of data on COVID-19 deaths. I want to know whether you are collecting data on non-COVID deaths due to cancellations of elective surgeries, such as heart procedures or cancer treatments, because of the response to this pandemic.

[Jeff Latimer]

We collect data on all deaths in Canada, not just COVID-19. The monthly death reporting that we're planning on starting next month will include all deaths that are reported to us from the provinces and territories. We would not be able to make a determination as to whether those deaths were the result of something, but other analysts may be able to look at those questions.

[Len Webber, Conservative, Calgary Confederation, AB]

Thank you for that.

This question is directed to Mr. Jones at the cyber centre.

Almost overnight and without warning, industry and government went home to work during this pandemic, adopting things like Zoom overnight, as we did here. There is much talk about government employees working from home in the future as well. Many of these employees have access to state secrets, military information and personal information.

How would you recommend that we balance the risks between personal safety and security and national safety and security?

[Scott Jones]

I think there are a lot of important elements. First, we do have advice and guidance for Canadians who are working from home with regard to the things they can do. In using Zoom, for example, as we are right now, you can be a lot more secure by using lobbies, waiting rooms, word passcodes and things like that, so that you can't be “Zoom-bombed”—the tool of the time—or something like that. In working from home, a lot of things can be done to make yourself more secure. Canadian Shield is one of those for every Canadian.

From a government-specific aspect, though, we work with our colleagues at Shared Services Canada and Treasury Board. For example, I use a government-furnished device that is managed very carefully. I do not have administrative privileges. We do have defensive monitoring, and it works through the government network. Even though I'm using my home Wi-Fi, I am not connected directly to the Internet. I connect back into the government through a secure network.

With regard to the national security side of things, which is also one of our responsibilities, I have people who are still working inside secure facilities because the nature of the work requires it.

[Len Webber, Conservative, Calgary Confederation, AB]

Thank you.

Do you have any concerns, Mr. Jones, about Huawei technology in home Internet networks?

[Scott Jones]

I think one aspect we really look at is how to layer in multiple levels of cybersecurity. From my perspective, every piece of technology has some level of vulnerability. We really look to offset that. If one product doesn't work the way you expect, how do you layer it in?

I'll use the example of my work device here, which is connected over VPN. We use encryption to protect the confidentiality of the work that's being done. We've done operating system hardening, so we've turned off a lot of features. I can't install different software. I can't bypass our security controls. Even if, for example, somebody manages to put the alligator clips, to use an old term, on the lines, they can't read anything I'm doing. The encryption is protecting it.

It's about layering security so that you're not dependent on just one thing to protect yourself.

[Len Webber, Conservative, Calgary Confederation, AB]

Thank you for that.

This is a question for Chief Superintendent Mark Flynn of the RCMP. This issue wasn't discussed here today, but I am certainly curious about it.

The RCMP is responsible for enforcing quarantines. We understand that compliance rates have left much to be desired, as many have thumbed their nose at the requirement to isolate for 14 days. Can you explain how you enforce the quarantines and, more importantly, how you deal with non-compliant travellers, such as U.S. travellers claiming they are going to Alaska through Canada and taking other alternate routes in Canada?

[Chief Superintendent Mark Flynn, Director General, Financial Crime and Cybercrime, Federal Policing Criminal Operations, Royal Canadian Mounted Police]

I am from the RCMP. Unfortunately, that is not an area of my responsibility. I can say, however, that the RCMP, being both federal police and provincial police for many of the provinces across the country, have been actively involved in significant efforts to enforce the Quarantine Act.

I'd be happy to go back to my colleagues to get some additional information for the committee.

[Len Webber, Conservative, Calgary Confederation, AB]

That would be fantastic. Thank you.

Mr. Chair, can I just ask that the information be provided through you to the committee?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Yes, absolutely. Thank you, Mr. Webber.

Witnesses, please take note that if you have any information that you want to send to the committee, send it to the clerk. It will be translated as appropriate and distributed.

Mr. Kelloway, please go ahead. You have four minutes.

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Colleagues, staff and witnesses, thanks for being here today.

My questions are for StatsCan. I'd like to start by talking about Canadians and mental health during this pandemic. We know that many factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic—job loss, isolation, uncertainty, anxiety—can impact the mental health of individuals.

Can you describe the impact that COVID-19 has had on the self-perceived mental health of Canadians?

[Jeff Latimer]

I'll start with one short answer and then turn to my colleague Karen Mihorean for more details, if she has some.

One point we are making is that we have seen a significant decline in self-reported mental health during the pandemic. I highlighted in my remarks that 64% of youth, which is a significant number, have reported declines in their mental health status, and 35% of seniors. It is obviously an important issue.

Karen, do you have any additional information that you'd like to provide?

[Karen Mihorean, Director General, Social Data Insights, Integration and Innovation, Statistics Canada]

Yes, thank you.

What we've found is that not just youth have experienced a significant impact on their mental health. We've been able to compare the data from our crowdsourcing and our web panel surveys to the Canadian community health survey, looking at overall rates and general perceptions of mental health in what people were reporting in 2018-19 and then how it compares now. It's not just in youth that we are seeing a decline; we're also seeing it among the indigenous population and in immigrants. These are also populations that have been particularly hit with job loss, for example, and the ability to remain financially stable. We are seeing rather significant declines in self-perceived mental health among those three groups especially.

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

The numbers on any one of those groups are staggering to me. The 60% with respect to youth is quite striking.

With respect to the report on self-perceived mental health, are there any policy recommendations that come from it? I know you've just mentioned some key findings, but are there any policy recommendations that you can share with the committee and the rest of us?

[Karen Mihorean]

Statistics Canada doesn't make policy recommendations. We provide the information for our colleagues—for instance, PHAC, Health Canada and associations across the country—so that they see the data and, given the more severe impact of COVID on the mental health of certain groups, come up with the policies that are best placed to address that issue.

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Wonderful.

Mr. Chair, how much time do I have?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

You have one minute.

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Oh, wonderful.

Mr. Jones, we know that cyber-attacks on health and research organizations can come from many different actors throughout the globe, as in the case of a state-sponsored attack, for example. What plan is in place at Public Safety Canada or the RCMP, or both, to put an end to the attack, find the guilty party and prevent further attacks?

[Scott Jones]

Typically, if there is an attempt to compromise a health organization, we would respond from the cyber centre.

We've done a few different things. The first is alerts. When we see anything that a health organization needs to take action on, we issue those alerts, and they're timely. It's either alerts or flashes, etc. Those are things that need to be acted on immediately. Unfortunately, what we've seen is that some of them aren't acted upon, leaving vulnerabilities open and essentially making it free to compromise organizations.

The second thing is that multiple times a week, we have a call with all of the health sectors around Canada to continue to provide advice on what they're seeing and what we're seeing in terms of targeting, so they can also share information back to us. It's very important that it be in two directions, and that when they see something suspicious, they report it to both us and to the RCMP, in the event of criminal matters, although we do share, and it's important that we continue to share.

The third thing is that we published a threat assessment specific to the health sector, a threat bulletin to tell them that they can expect to see increased state-sponsored targeting as states look to gain more information on, for example, vaccine production and research, and to warn them what it would look like and then to continue to try to build awareness, because at the end of the day, prevention is far cheaper than responding to any incident.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you, Mr. Kelloway.

We go now to Mr. Jeneroux.

Mr. Jeneroux, please go ahead for four minutes.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Thank you Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for being here today on a busy July day.

I want to follow up with Ms. Morris. With regard to a question from my colleague Mr. Davies, I asked about the information on ventilators and hospital beds. I'm curious as to when you started collecting that information. Was that, say, before January?

[Kathleen Morris]

We have some baseline data, particularly on hospital beds and ICU beds, and more recently, I would say over the last few months, we have been collecting information from provinces and territories on that, so we have both historical baseline data and more up-to-date information.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

On the up-to-date stuff, approximately when did that change so that you started collecting more of that?

[Kathleen Morris]

That's in the last several weeks.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Okay. Thank you.

To Statistics Canada, it's my understanding that you guys are developing a national household survey on COVID-19. Is that correct?