Evidence of meeting #7 for Health in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.
A video is available from Parliament.
2:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Assuming that's correct—and I see no dissent—we will turn it over to the Conservatives for two minutes, if you please.
I don't know who wishes to speak on behalf of the Conservatives.
2:45 p.m.
Conservative
John Barlow Conservative Foothills, AB
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I want to go back quickly to Mr. Lucas with a question I asked earlier.
When will an at-home test be in the approval process?
2:45 p.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Health
Mr. Chair, I cannot speak to that question specifically, because it depends on the manufacturer submitting an application to Health Canada.
As I indicated, we actively engage manufacturers in Canada and globally in encouraging them to submit applications to Health Canada. When they do, we review the application expeditiously in the context of our service standards and the interim order.
2:45 p.m.
Conservative
John Barlow Conservative Foothills, AB
Dr. Tam, with reference to some of the delays with testing, my wife got tested the other day. She was surprised when she saw so many people seeing the lineup and then leaving.
This is about contact tracing and the delays in that system. When do you think Health Canada will have an approval for an at-home test so that we don't have to deal with lineups and the stigma around COVID testing?
2:45 p.m.
Chief Public Health Officer, Public Health Agency of Canada
I can't speak for the regulator. Deputy Lucas has already addressed that point. We have provided a lot of tests to provinces and territories, so we would like to see how we can support them from increasing access.
2:45 p.m.
Conservative
John Barlow Conservative Foothills, AB
To Dr. Tam or Mr. Lucas, seeing in the estimates that the government has spent more than $10 million on promoting the contact tracing app, does it not defeat the purpose if you have to wait a couple of days to get a test and then a few days after that for the results? Is the app doing the job it's intended if there are delays in testing and then delays in results?
2:45 p.m.
Chief Public Health Officer, Public Health Agency of Canada
Chair, I'll take that question.
2:45 p.m.
Chief Public Health Officer, Public Health Agency of Canada
Absolutely, you have to have a rapid turnaround for contact tracing to be done rapidly, and that is done by the local jurisdiction.
We provide the tests; we've been supporting that. We've been supporting surge capacity and we've been supporting surge through Red Cross and others to help speed up that critical path of testing, but you're correct that the faster you get the tests turned around, the better. That's done in the provincial jurisdiction. We have now pushed a lot of rapid tests that should have more like a 15- or 30-minute turnaround, depending on the test itself.
2:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Thank you, Mr. Barlow. We'll go now to Ms. Sidhu.
Ms. Sidhu, you have two minutes.
2:45 p.m.
Liberal
Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South, ON
Thank you, Chair.
Minister, Brampton is home for many essential workers. There are 11,000 truckers who call Brampton home, who have to travel the country and cross the border; and there are 8,000 food processing workers who keep the grocery stores full. As well, although it has definitely slowed down, Pearson airport is one of the most important employers in the area. These workers simply do not have the option of doing their jobs from home.
Can you please talk to us about what our government is doing to provide the additional support needed by these workers in essential services?
2:45 p.m.
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
As we know, focusing on essential workers has been a critical aspect of our work as the government. Whether it's to support people who lost their jobs temporarily through the first wave or who might be subject to restrictions as a result of public health measures, the CERB and the wage subsidy are the kinds of things we've been doing to support workers all along.
In terms of essential workers, I think the work we've done to control the flow of non-essential travel across the American border, while making sure that essential workers were able to continue to cross that border, has been incredibly helpful to truckers. In particular, you mentioned truckers. I know there was a high degree of worry at the beginning when we were negotiating those border closures with the Americans. We could not do anything that would stop the essential flow of workers, transportation and trade that is so essential to the functioning of our country, and of course is essential to the jobs and livelihoods of truckers.
I want to thank my colleagues who have done that difficult work with our American partners and reduced the amount of travel across the border while maintaining our ability to have free-flowing transportation for essential workers such as truckers and for the goods that they deliver.
2:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Thank you, Ms. Sidhu.
We'll go now to Monsieur Ste-Marie.
You have the floor for two minutes.
2:50 p.m.
Bloc
Gabriel Ste-Marie Bloc Joliette, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My question goes to Dr. Tam or to someone in her team. It's about the mathematical modelling that she unveiled today. This is most concerning. According to the model, we could have 20,000 cases of the disease per day by the end of the year.
I would like to know whether the model is largely based on the situation in most of the countries of western Europe. That situation seems to be a little ahead of what we are experiencing here.
In terms of the parameters for social contacts, what are the key points where we can limit the contagion?
Are they in schools, in workplaces, or in social gatherings outside those settings?
Where can a difference be made?
2:50 p.m.
Chief Public Health Officer, Public Health Agency of Canada
Thank you. I am not a mathematical modeller. For the model methodology, there's a link on our website. It's from Simon Fraser University. The model is put through many different scenarios to give projections.
What I can provide, though, is more on the epidemiology front and what is being reported by local public health. There are a number of really key take-homes.
One is that even at the national level we can see that at least 30%, and in some cases more, of the cases are unlinked, which means they are community transmissions that haven't linked back to a particular site. That's very concerning, because that trace-back mechanism is really important.
For the rest, the long-term care facility outbreaks are currently escalating, so we have to do more on that front.
There are school outbreaks, quite a number of them, but many of them are in small numbers and based on community transmission, not necessarily in-school transmission, so they need to be handled differently as well.
There are a number of quite large outbreaks related to certain work settings. We've heard about the meat-packing area, where there are a lot of measures that have to be put in place in order to sustain that essential service; as well as some in the food and retail area.
The reporting is, in a way, biased towards long-term care and schools or workplaces where there's a defined population and you can find them. Where it's difficult is outside of that, where people are not linking back, so it's up to the local jurisdiction, which currently has to put in these restrictive measures because they have lost the ability to link.
However, a lot of it is also due to social situations and private gatherings, as I've mentioned, whether they be weddings and other celebrations, or funerals, unfortunately.
2:50 p.m.
Liberal
2:50 p.m.
NDP
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
Thank you.
Minister, I know you've been preoccupied with the COVID pandemic, but of course we have a raging opioid overdose crisis in this country at the same time. Here in Vancouver in British Columbia, we're on track to have the worst record in history of the number of people dying from overdoses.
This week Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart unveiled his plan to implement a fully health-focused approach to substance use by decriminalizing simple possession of all drugs through a federal health exemption. I note that this plan is backed by B.C. Premier John Horgan, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, Vancouver Coastal Health chief medical health officer Dr. Patricia Daly and even the Vancouver Police Department itself.
Minister, will you grant this health exemption requested by Mayor Stewart in light of the comprehensive support for this approach here in the city of Vancouver?
2:50 p.m.
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
The member is quite right. The opioid crisis has been growing over the years. We were starting to see some relief over the last several years as a result of the work that our government has been doing to restore harm reduction, invest in emergency responses and provide opportunities for safer supply for prescription use of opioids to reduce reliance on toxic drug sources.
I also have been in close contact with my colleagues in B.C. at the provincial level, and indeed with Mayor Stewart. I will just say that I'm watching with interest the work that he's doing with city council. I'll look forward to reviewing the motion when and if it passes city council. I have said that I will work with provinces and territories to ensure that they have the tools they need to combat this opioid pandemic.
2:55 p.m.
NDP
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
Thank you.
The national COVID-19 volunteer recruitment campaign was launched by your government, Minister, in early April. You called on Canadians to step up and help with the pandemic in three key areas, which are case tracking and contact tracing, surge capacity, and data collection. We had 53,000 people sign up to assist by the time the posting closed on April 24, but the volunteer database does not appear to have been used in any province or territory.
Given that Canada continues to struggle to increase our pandemic response capacity, why haven't these volunteers been put to work?
