Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'll try to be very brief in my opening remarks.
I would like to start by thanking all of you for the opportunity to appear today to speak about the supplementary estimates as they regard the health portfolio.
As you mentioned, I am accompanied by a great team of officials—the highest-ranking officials that there can be on the health portfolio—including Deputy Minister Lucas; the president of the agency, Dr. Kochhar; Dr. Tam, the chief public health officer; Dr. Mithani, president of the CFIA; and Dr. Strong, president of the CIHR.
I'll begin by saying a few words about our ongoing fight against COVID‑19 and the importance of continuing it.
When Minister Bennett and I met with you a few weeks ago, the epidemiological situation was critical. Although we experienced another surge across the country due to the BA.2 variant in the months that followed, in recent weeks we have fortunately seen a decrease in transmission in most areas.
Laboratory test positivity has also generally declined. The rate of hospitalizations remains high and variable across the country, but in most regions the incidence of severe disease continues to decline overall.
With the supplementary estimates I am presenting today, we have refined our plans further to better support our mandate priorities as we move forward.
In total we are seeking just over $1.54 billion on behalf of the health portfolio, which includes Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Canadian Institute of Health Research, and the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board. Of these five organizations, only Health Canada and PHAC are seeking additional resources through these supplementary estimates.
I'll start with Health Canada, which is seeking a net increase of $20 million through the Supplementary Estimates (A), 2022-23, which would bring the proposed estimates to just under $3.9 billion.
The proposed increase reflects a reallocation of $20 million for the Safe Restart Agreement from 2021-22 to 2022-23. Specifically, the funds will be used for testing and evidence‑based tracking, contact tracing, and improved data management, so that relevant public health information can be shared with all levels of government.