Health Committee on March 11th, 2020

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Thank you very much. It is a challenging problem, as you know, and obviously you do, given that you're from an area that has rural communities. I too represent a riding that has half of a large city, or I guess a smaller city, and many rural communities. I hear first-hand about the struggles people have to accessing primary care, especially the farther they get away from a centre.

Part of this is working with provinces and territories to make sure that we set some standards around care. The investment that we'll be making, that we've made through the Canada health transfer by almost $10 billion, the increase, can help and go a long way. It can stimulate innovation as well, in terms of how we reach those people in a farther, more remote area. I think that stable, predictable, long-term funding does represent a major step forward toward better health care and health outcomes for Canadians.

I will say that the item in my mandate letter that is very exciting to me is actually around access to primary care. As I meet with various different health ministers from across the country, I see there is a lot of work being conducted in this area, and there are some very interesting and innovative ideas that I will be happy to share with you when I come back to talk about that item specifically.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you, Mr. Van Bynen.

We go now to Mr. Jeneroux, for five minutes, please.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Further to my point of order, Minister, recently the Prime Minister convened a cabinet committee on COVID-19. Just this week your office started sending opposition critics daily briefings. Unfortunately, this doesn't give us much of an opportunity to have the discussion with you or the officials. I simply ask this question. Why have you decided not to include the opposition at the table so all parliamentarians can ensure Canadians have accurate and the most up-to-date information?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Jeneroux.

We'll continue to provide information through the variety of methods that we use, in addition to technical briefings, as we did yesterday, I believe, to all parliamentarians; I think it was yesterday. I think it's very important that we make sure we democratize the information amongst us, so we'll continue to do that work.

Listen, this is an “all hands on deck” moment for Canada. It is important that we have access to information.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

I understand that, Minister.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

I could tell you that I also provide daily briefings to the media, and through them to Canadians. I will continue to do that, and so will Dr. Tam.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Why have you made the decision, though, to not allow us to sit at the committee?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

The committee is a cabinet committee that is looking at a whole-of-government response that is not just about the health response to COVID-19, but also the other areas of Canadian society that will be impacted by disruption, including economic disruption.

Today's announcement is an example of how fast we can make decisions through the special committee, which has a very focused and targeted mandate to address those emerging issues as we see coronavirus in our communities.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

You've just outlined the committee, which I understand. However, why aren't the opposition allowed to sit at that committee?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Opposition do not typically take part in cabinet committees. As you know, these are cabinet committees of cabinet ministers who have the jurisdiction and the capacity to make decisions about how to respond, using the considerable weight of their departments and their bureaucracies to propose ideas that we can action very quickly.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

If Canadians truly want to believe that this is open and transparent, I think there would be an invite to us—the NDP, the Bloc Québécois and the Conservative Party—to sit at this committee, to be able to hear the discussion and to be able to weigh in on what we're hearing, so that we can then share in the decisions that are essentially being made. Ultimately, this was a decision that you made not to include us. I'm just trying to get to bottom of why.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Let's be clear. The Prime Minister appoints cabinet committees. I, as the health minister, of course, am a member of the cabinet committee to provide health advice, but the other members of the committee are there to provide advice from their various portfolios.

I will say what would be helpful is if the request from some members of this committee for volumes and volumes and volumes of information—the 1,200 pages, I believe, over four departments, that have been compelled—would actually cease, because, in fact, what we see here are hard-working officials who have to take their eyes off actually responding to the coronavirus crisis so that opposition members can play games with Canadians' health and safety.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

I don't think we're playing games, Minister. I think, quite simply, that Canadians are asking a lot of questions, and there have been quite a few points I can point to where there's just been some miscommunication.

I point to the example of using the word “stockpile” or not. I think that's fair. Canadians are asking the question of whether or not they should do these sorts of things. Not having us at the committee is.... I think you'd mitigate a lot of this if you just allowed us to sit at the committee with you.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

I'm not sure, MP Jeneroux, if your request is for you to sit at the committee or for more information for Canadians. I will say that this is a cabinet committee of cabinet ministers that the Prime Minister has appointed. Of course, there is no precedent that opposition members would be included in a cabinet committee.

I will say, in terms of a response to Canadians, that I have been in front of the cameras almost every single day. Dr. Tam provides daily briefings to the media. We have an updated web page. We have a 1-800 number. We have additional advertisements that direct people to the Government of Canada web page. We will continue to do everything in our power to make sure Canadians have the information as we receive it. I've committed to Canadians every step of the way to be transparent and, in fact, that's what I've been.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Minister, we're looking here to support you. We're looking here to support the committee. Without our being at the table, certainly, I don't think it sends the right message that you're being transparent. Doing media interviews is one thing, but to work in a collaborative way, which you say you intend to do, quite simply isn't happening. You admitted that you didn't even realize if we were getting daily briefings or not up until this point.

Again, I implore you to impress upon the Prime Minister to allow us as part of this committee. Simply saying it's a cabinet committee doesn't answer the questions that I think Canadians are looking for answers to. Again, I would implore you to request of the Prime Minister that we be a part of this. I do believe that you want to work collaboratively, and unfortunately it just doesn't appear to Canadians that you are.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you, Mr. Jeneroux.

Mr. Kelloway, you have five minutes.

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

Thank you.

Hello, again, Minister, for my second round of questioning.

In my riding, I've had the privilege of working with community groups in Glace Bay, and in Port Hawkesbury and Canso with community groups and local doctors, who are focusing on new ways to recruit new physicians to come to Cape Breton and northeastern Nova Scotia. One of the common things that comes up among local physicians, and even in the community groups that are part of the community health initiatives that I'm a part of, focuses on foreign credential recognition.

I know that in your mandate letter there is reference to looking at bridging the gap with respect to foreign credentialing when it comes to physicians. I know, once again, that it is a partnership and collaboration with the province, but I'm just looking for an update as to where we are on that specific item within your mandate letter.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Thank you very much.

Obviously, we've all met people from other parts of the world who have incredible skills and talents and who are not utilizing them to their full potential. In my previous role as the minister of employment, there were a number of programs that could help new Canadians and others to improve their foreign credential recognition, including the provision of low-interest or almost zero-interest loans, to help facilitate access to courses, for example.

This is something that we have to do with provinces and territories, as you know. It's not something that we can compel provinces and territories in terms of adjusting their own particular recognition program, nor is it something that we would advise. We want to make sure that the professionals who come to our country who are professionals in health care have the right suite of credentials that Canadians have come to expect.

We'll continue to work with the college of medicine, regulatory bodies, provinces and territories to see if there are ways that we can accelerate that process. The other piece is making sure that people have access to resources, so they can take care of their daily lives while they're pursuing sometimes time-consuming courses that take away from their capacity to earn.

I was always impressed by that particular fund. It was used extremely well by the Government of Canada to support the education of newcomers. Many of them were health care professionals who could then go on and fill some of the gaps in our communities.

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

Thank you.

I'm switching gears to go back to COVID-19 for a second. This could be an answer that could be supplied by witnesses as well.

We talked about the need for an awareness and education campaign when it comes to COVID-19. We talked about the importance of focusing on social media. When I look at my riding, it's predominantly rural and older. We're working on rural broadband. Will part of the awareness campaign be a non-social media means to reach seniors and those who may not have access to high-speed Internet?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Thank you very much for the question. I think it's a very timely one.

Of course, the announcement today is very timely as well because we know that other forms of advertising—print, TV and radio in particular—can be very expensive. The $50 million that's part of the $1 billion will be utilized in a way so that we can actually reach audiences that are not reachable by social media.

I will caution you about making an assumption that older people are not using social media, because many older people are on Facebook. Nonetheless, we know that there are others who don't and it's important that we have an approach to sharing information in a way that will be accessible to all Canadians.

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

Now I'll redeem myself on the original question when it comes to seniors. I'm very happy and very proud to represent my riding. It has an older population. A couple of themes that come up in my riding in particular are around home care and palliative care. My riding is very well educated on the division of powers. I received an education from them at the doorstep, from Canso to Glace Bay.

What are we doing at the federal level to ensure that home care is available to seniors?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

The $6 billion that we have committed that's very targeted at home care and palliative care is part of our effort to boost the capacity at the provincial and territorial levels. We know that provinces and territories have been struggling with home care. We know that we have an aging population in Canada, and we know that it's better for people to stay at home if they can and stay out of any kind of long-term care facility if possible for as long as possible. It's good for them and it's good for our resources as a country. This investment will go a long way.

I'm looking forward to hearing from the provinces and territories in May about how that investment has resulted in the ability to provide additional home care. We still have a long way to go and it is incumbent on all of us to think about how we can better support the seniors in our communities and in our lives.

Thank you.

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

Thank you, Minister.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you, Mr. Kelloway.

Mr. Thériault, you have two and a half minutes.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Chair, I want to appeal to your generosity to make a timely comment.

Three days ago was International Women's Day. Since the committee began its work, I've been looking at the committee membership. I find it refreshing and reassuring to see the skills and representation of women here. I'm pleased, because this wouldn't have been possible a few decades ago. I wanted to point this out.