Health Committee on Oct. 2nd, 2025

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Yes.

[Kendal Weber]

The SUAP funding is not expiring this year. We do have funding until 2028, and we do have A-base funding for the substance use and addictions program.

There have been top-ups in previous budgets, and some of that is coming up to sunsetting, but we do have ongoing funding, and then we also have some that will expire at the end of our Canadian drugs and substances strategy, in March 2028.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Thank you for that.

Has the department ever provided the minister with a warning that current policies were failing to stop overdose deaths, to your knowledge?

[Greg Orencsak]

The department has briefed ministers in respect to the opioid crisis—

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Did they follow the information and the guidance that you provided?

[Greg Orencsak]

They have taken advice in terms of the Canadian drugs and substances strategy.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Thank you.

Ms. Hamzawi, is PHAC racist? Was that your testimony earlier?

[Nancy Hamzawi]

No.

No, PHAC is not racist. We are committed—

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

I believe that's kind of what you were—

[Nancy Hamzawi]

That was not what I was saying.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Okay.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you.

I think we can do one more round.

We will start with Mr. Mazier for the Conservatives.

You have five minutes, please.

Oh, I'm sorry. I missed Mr. Eyolfson.

I'm sorry, Doug.

[Doug Eyolfson, Liberal, Winnipeg West, MB]

No problem. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, everyone.

I have some questions for a few of the witnesses here.

Mr. Orencsak, we were talking about the tobacco pouches. Now, I was not in government at the time, but when former minister Holland made changes to the regulations on nicotine pouches, was there not a concern that under the regulations at the time, these were being sold with flavours that were considered more preferred by younger people, and the perception was that this might be increasingly used by young people?

[Greg Orencsak]

Yes. That was one of the concerns the former minister had. These pouches were attractive to young people by virtue of some of the flavours that they came in, as well as how they were being promoted, advertised and packaged.

[Doug Eyolfson, Liberal, Winnipeg West, MB]

All right. Thank you.

A number of different smoking cessation therapies are available. I know about addiction to tobacco in my own experience. I'm an emergency physician, and I know how addictive this substance is.

To your knowledge, is there any evidence you're aware of that nicotine pouches as a smoking cessation tool are superior to the more conventional approaches, like nicotine patches and nicotine gum?

[Greg Orencsak]

I don't have that available with me. I can take that back.

I think nicotine pouches have been a fairly recent product that's been introduced on the market. The department continues to look at all kinds of evidence in respect to a variety of smoking cessation tools.

[Doug Eyolfson, Liberal, Winnipeg West, MB]

Thank you.

There's also been a lot of industry-sponsored promotion of the use of vaping as a smoking cessation technique. Do you have any data available that this is an effective smoking cessation technique compared to the more traditional approaches?

[Greg Orencsak]

I'm going to ask Ms. Weber to jump in on that one.

[Kendal Weber]

Smoking cessation products that are approved by Health Canada meet safety, quality and efficacy and are approved as a therapeutic product or natural health product. We have not approved any vaping products to date for smoking cessation for safety, quality and efficacy.

We know that individuals use a variety of tools for smoking cessation. Cold turkey is probably the number one and the most effective that people have used. We have seen people use nicotine replacement therapies, as we just discussed, and some people have indicated to us that they have stopped smoking using a vaping product.

[Doug Eyolfson, Liberal, Winnipeg West, MB]

All right. Thank you.

Is there any evidence that if someone starts vaping and has not been exposed to tobacco at all, the likelihood is that they will go on to smoking cigarettes, versus those who don't try vaping at all?

[Kendal Weber]

On vaping as a gateway for smoking, it's still early days. We don't have evidence at this point that vaping is a gateway to smoking. We monitor it closely, but the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act was just passed in 2018. It's been legal in Canada for just a few years. We continue to monitor it closely.

[Doug Eyolfson, Liberal, Winnipeg West, MB]

Okay. Thank you.

Ms. Weber, I'm going back to supervised consumption sites. Is there any evidence that these sites promote or increase the likelihood that people will take illegal drugs?

[Kendal Weber]

They actually are a safe place for people to go into to use the drugs that they're currently using.

[Doug Eyolfson, Liberal, Winnipeg West, MB]

In regard to the selection of sites, there are people who will object to them being in certain places. I remember Manitoba was setting one up. Are they not set up where people are actually already using drugs?

[Kendal Weber]

The communities come in, and they come in with an application, with a site that they have picked. It's based on the public health needs in that community, in that area of the community, and the public safety needs of that community. Then, they also do community engagement. The community comes forward with the location. They provide that evidence and the information to the department, and then the department assesses the public health and public safety balance of that request.