Health Committee on June 8th, 2022

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

Yes, I think I am frozen on my side of the Internet.

DM Lucas, you might hear me, and more importantly, you might have heard the question and are aware of our joint work with the Minister of Agriculture.

Would you like to provide a brief statement on that?

[Dr. Stephen Lucas, Deputy Minister, Department of Health]

Thank you, Minister Duclos.

Mr. Chair, work on this is a collaborative endeavour with not only the Minister of Agriculture, but the Minister of Social Development as well.

Health Canada's contribution is in terms of guidance and support for children's healthy eating and healthy living. The government continues to work on this very important area for Canadians, and children specifically.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Thank you.

In the aftermath of the omicron wave, long COVID cases are expected to spike across Canada. Dr. Theresa Tam has cautioned that the impact of long COVID is going to be, in her words, “quite substantial”, yet long COVID has been relatively ignored in federal public health policy to date.

Minister, will you commit to bringing in a national long COVID strategy?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

That's a great question, again.

Dr. Tam, who is indeed listening to us, may be invited to speak more about the increasing evidence of the sustained and profound impact that this is having on individuals, but also on our society.

We invested $250 million over the last two years in critical areas of COVID-19 research, including long COVID research. We also added another $20 million in budget 2022 for additional research on the long-term impacts of COVID-19 infections on Canadians, and on the wider impacts on health care and the health care system, so it's—

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Thanks, Minister. I hate to interrupt, but I'm getting the nod from the chair about the time.

Budget 2019 proposed $1 billion over two years, starting in 2022-23, this year, with up to $500 million going purely to launch a national strategy for high-cost drugs for rare diseases. However, no estimates for 2022-23 to date have included any allocations for this initiative.

Minister, can you confirm when the national strategy for high-cost drugs will be in place?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

It is indeed true that this is an official framework, and the budget, therefore, will be used for exactly the purpose you mentioned, which is to invest in research and development and availability of drugs to cure rare diseases. This will obviously involve a lot of partnership work with experts, and this is ongoing and going really well. It's part of the overall pharmacare agenda, which is not only that the drugs exist but also that they be available and, most importantly, available to those who need them the most, often Canadians who have little or no ability to pay for them.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sean Casey]

Thank you, Minister, and thank you, Mr. Davies.

Next is Mr. Lake.

Go ahead, please, for five minutes.

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB]

Minister, nine months ago, you ran on a platform that committed that a re-elected Liberal government would commit to permanent ongoing funding for mental health services under the Canada mental health transfer, with an initial investment of $4.5 billion over five years. Do you still stand by that commitment?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

That's a good question to ask the first-ever Minister of Mental Health and Addictions in the history of Canada, my colleague Minister Bennett. I know she is working really hard on that.

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB]

Minister, your mandate letter says that you are to “work with the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health and with the support of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance to establish a permanent, ongoing Canada Mental Health Transfer”. That's in your mandate letter.

Minister, do you stand by the costing document from your platform nine months ago, on page 75, that promised a Canada mental health transfer of $250 million in 2021-22 and $625 million in 2022-23? Do you stand by that commitment that you ran on just nine months ago?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

We certainly stand by the commitment to invest in the mental health of Canadians, and this is ongoing with my colleague Minister Bennett and others, as you have rightly pointed out. What I can also add is that this is part of something we started to do in 2017 with a $6-billion investment—

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB]

Sir, I'm sorry, but I'm short on time.

Minister, your platform committed $250 million under the heading “New Investments” for a Canada mental health transfer in 2021-22, and $625 million in 2022-23. Why has that committed money, which is supposed to have been allocated already, not been allocated?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

You're right that this is a new investment, and this is not surprising because it's aligned with what I was going to say, which was the fact that beginning in 2017 we have been investing in the mental health and addictions services that Canadians need.

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB]

Sir, can you confirm that the $250 million and the $625 million was money allocated in 2017, yes or no?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

We can confirm two things. First, the $6 billion, which is for the next five years, has in total $3 billion for mental health and addictions and $3 billion for long-term care—

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB]

Sir, I'm sorry. I know you love numbers, and I'm going to ask a very specific question on numbers.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

On a point of order, Chair, given the difficulty with the hybrid system here, I would respectfully ask my colleague to allow the minister to answer the question. He hasn't been able to get a sentence out in his response.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sean Casey]

It's a fair point. You're cutting him off before he's been afforded the same amount of time you've had to pose the question. Perhaps you could be just a little more patient, Mr. Lake.

Go ahead.

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

I will try to be even quicker. I understand that you're interested in what we are doing and hoping to do. What we are doing is exactly that. We have committed to the $6 billion over five years, and Minister Bennett will be able and glad to come back to you very soon with more details on that.

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB]

Minister, nine months ago you ran an election campaign in which you promised people struggling with their mental health that there would be $250 million spent on a Canada mental health transfer in 2021-22 and $625 million in 2022-23. Why have you broken that promise?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

What I can again speak to is, first, the commitment, which, as you said, is quite clear; second, what we have done since 2017; and third, the significant increase, from $45 billion to $49 billion, in the Canada health transfer between now and next year, then moving up to $51 billion, $53 billion and $55 billion. In four years, the CHT will have increased by 20%.

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB]

Minister, I'll speak to the first of the things that you just articulated there. On the commitment you made, why has that commitment been broken?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

As we said, the commitment has not been broken. In fact, it's complementary to other commitments that you have heard of and that I believe Canadians need to hear about as well.

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB]

If the commitment hasn't been broken, can you please point us to any document that highlights where the $250 million is that was promised for 2021-22 for the Canada mental health transfer, and any document that points to where the $625 million is that was promised in your platform for 2022-23 for the Canada mental health transfer? If you don't have them right now, I would ask that you please table them with the committee.

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

I can ask my colleague, Minister Bennett, to come to the committee or to send you that information. We work really well together, as you would expect and would hope. I can make that request to her.