Health Committee on Nov. 29th, 2022

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Thanks.

The last question is for the Minister of Health.

Minister, Canada's rising food prices are hurting families that were already struggling. Nearly a quarter of Canadians report going hungry due to costs and two million children across the country are now at risk of going to school hungry.

Across the country in the last election, both the Liberal Party and the NDP pledged to invest $1 billion to establish a national school nutritious meal program to ensure that no child is forced to struggle through the day on an empty stomach. We know nutrition is a key part of health.

Can you confirm when that funding will be in place and when Canadians can expect a national school nutritious meal program?

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

Thank you.

It is totally appropriate and appreciated that you point to healthy eating as an important social and physical determinant of healthy living and healthy being. That's why, as you've signalled, we did commit to doing more when it comes to providing healthy meals and healthy snacks to children, particularly those whose families can't afford to do that with the current circumstances and the pressures of the cost of living.

This is a commitment that involves several ministers. It is an important one to the Minister of Agriculture. My other minister, Minister Gould, who is the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, is also a part of the effort.

We look forward to working with you in making sure that we can make progress on that important support that children and families in Canada need to remain healthy.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sean Casey]

Thank you very much, Mr. Johns and Mr. Minister.

Ministers, I'd like to finish this second round, which means we have two more five-minute rounds, one from the Conservatives and one from the Liberals. I hope you'll bear with us.

Mr. Kram, please, you have five minutes.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you to all of the witnesses for being here today.

Minister Bennett, I believe the last time we talked was earlier this month at the breakfast event put on by the Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment, or CIPSRT, which based at the University of Regina. As I'm sure you're aware, CIPSRT was established about five years ago with a $5 million funding grant, which runs out at the end of the fiscal year.

Through you, Mr. Chair, I would like to know if the government has any plans to fund CIPSRT moving forward.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Toronto—St. Paul's, ON]

I think CIPSRT is one of the examples of creating the kind of evidence necessary for law enforcement to be able to have the tools they need to stay safe themselves and also to access care when they need it. I think what we've seen with CIPSRT, particularly at Depot where those young recruits are regularly checking in on their mental health, is that this model really works.

We are working with my colleague Minister Mendicino on support for CIPSRT that is ongoing.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Okay. It's good that you're working on it, but is there going to be any plan for actual funding?

The reason I'm asking is that they are starting to run out of time. They are bound by the ethical code of conduct for mental health research, which says that if they're going to allow new subjects to enter the program, they have to have enough time for them to complete the program. That means they will not be able to accept new subjects past Christmas. If you look at the calendar, Christmas is coming up soon.

So I'm wondering, for the people at the University of Regina who may be tuning in today, what they should be doing. Should they be winding down operations because there will be no funding moving forward, or should they be ramping up operations? When are they going to know about their futures?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Toronto—St. Paul's, ON]

I promise you that I will continue to work with Public Safety and be able to express my support for the program.

It really is making a huge difference. As you know, a number of law enforcement agencies around the country are using this model, and we do think it could be an example of something where we could have a national standard so that all law enforcement would have this kind of mental health support and protection.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Okay. I'm not getting a very concise answer, Minister Bennett.

If you can't provide a concise answer as to whether or not CIPSRT will be funded moving forward, can you provide an answer as to why you cannot provide an answer? This is a five-year program that is coming to an end in a few more months. Why has this not been on the government's radar?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Toronto—St. Paul's, ON]

I assure you that it is on our radar and my radar. As you know, Minister Mendicino was at the breakfast with those very laudatory comments and the evidence they are producing on a regular basis. I promise you that Minister Mendicino and I will be there, wanting to do whatever we can to support the project.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Thank you, Minister Bennett.

I will be handing over the rest of my time to Dr. Ellis.

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Thank you very much.

Through you, Mr. Chair, Minister Duclos, the CMA president described our health system as on the brink of collapse. This, to me, would be an all-hands-on-deck type of strategy that would be needed to solve this problem. The question is what are you doing about it?

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

Dr. Alika Lafontaine is right. The system was harshly impacted by COVID-19. Even now, as we speak, about 10% of hospital beds are occupied in Canada by people with COVID-19. Also, there is flu. There are respiratory viruses impacting children everywhere.

Moreover, our health care workers are tired. Many of them are sick. Many of them have left. Unfortunately, many others are thinking of leaving.

In addition to that, there are severe demographic pressures in Canada, which will last for many years to come. That's why we need to work together and invest the sufficient resources needed to go forward.

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Thank you very much, Minister.

Again, through you, Mr. Chair, I guess what Canadians are expecting is some action. The meeting with the provincial ministers really ended in failure. Somebody walked away from the table. It depends on which press you read who it was: you or them.

The finger-pointing needs to be done. Canadians want action. The system is failing them. Your government, sir, is failing them, and Canadians see no action whatsoever. What are you doing, specifically?

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

Mr. Chair, can I go?

You pointed—

[The Chair, Liberal, Sean Casey]

We're out of time, so be concise, please.

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

That's very unfortunate.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sean Casey]

You have one more round of questions.

I know it's a massive question. I'm sorry that he put it in right at the very end.

Go ahead.

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

It was a great question. The answer could have been great if I'd had more time.

I will say that the good news is that the meeting was important. We were all aligned with the same priorities, the same diagnostics. The unfortunate thing is that we were not allowed to speak openly and publicly about the results we wanted to achieve together.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sean Casey]

Thank you very much.

The last round of questions is going to come from Dr. Powlowski.

You have five minutes.

[Marcus Powlowski, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Well, I'm going to give you the opportunity to give that great response, so I hope it's good.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

Okay. Thank you, Marcus.

You would have loved to be there, too, Marcus—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

—because between health ministers, we spoke of things that matter to Canadians, like access to a family doctor. You're a family doctor; you know what it means. Access to mental health services in the appropriate manner and at the right time is most important to Canadians. Reducing backlogs in surgeries and treatments.... A million surgeries have been delayed because of COVID-19. Our health workers are struggling to catch up with those backlogs, but the current circumstances make it very difficult for them to do so if all of those viruses that go around....

By the way, one way to protect the health workers is to be vaccinated. I know everyone around this room believes in vaccination. To be vaccinated against the flu, against COVID-19.... It's not perfect, but it works. It saves lives, and it protects the health of patients and also the mental and physical health of our workers.

We have good news, therefore, and you would have been so happy to see, Marcus, that everyone was on the same page. Unfortunately, the premiers asked my colleagues, the health ministers, to stop speaking about results and the health outcomes that matter to Canadians, and all they talked about was dollars. Dollars, although they are necessary, are not enough to generate the outcome that Canadians need to seek. Sending dollars to finance ministers is not my job, and it's not Carolyn's job either. It is not our job here at the federal government. We're here to support Canadians, and we want to support, in the process, our colleagues the health ministers.

You would have been very happy to see this, except for the fact that we were not able to speak openly about the great conversations we had in private.

[Marcus Powlowski, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Am I right that there was the offer for federal financing to address the health care workforce shortage as well as to address long waiting times for surgeries?