Evidence of meeting #35 for Health in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.)
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal
The 32nd report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, concurred in by the House yesterday, affected our membership. I will now ask the clerk to preside over the election of the two vice-chairs.
The Clerk of the Committee Catherine Ngando Edimo
I will now proceed with the election.
Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the first vice-chair must be a member of the official opposition. I'm now prepared to receive motions for the first vice-chair.
Ms. Chi.
Liberal
Maggie Chi Liberal Don Valley North, ON
Thank you, Madam Clerk. It is a pleasure to welcome our two new colleagues. I'm looking forward to working together.
I move a motion to nominate our newest member, MP Dancho, as the official opposition's vice-chair.
The Clerk
It has been moved by Ms. Chi that Ms. Dancho be elected as first vice-chair of the committee.
Are there any further motions?
Ms. Sidhu.
Liberal
Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South, ON
Yes, Madam Clerk and Mr. Chair, I would like to nominate from the Bloc Québécois, Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, as a vice-chair.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal
We will do one at a time. We'll do the election for the first one and then we'll go to the second one.
Clerk.
Liberal
The Clerk
I declare the motion carried and Ms. Dancho duly elected first vice-chair of the committee.
Conservative
The Clerk
I will now proceed to the election of the second vice-chair.
Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the second vice-chair must be a member of an opposition party other than the official opposition.
I'm now prepared to receive motions for the second vice-chair.
Liberal
Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South, ON
Thank you, Madam Clerk and Mr. Chair.
I would like to nominate Marie-Hélène Gaudreau as the second vice-chair of the health committee.
The Clerk
It has been moved by Ms. Sidhu that Ms. Gaudreau be elected as second vice-chair of the committee.
Are there any further motions?
Seeing none, I will now put the motion to the committee.
(Motion agreed to)
I declare the motion carried and Ms. Gaudreau duly elected second vice-chair of the committee.
Bloc
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal
First of all, I want to thank you, Madam Clerk, for holding the election.
This was one of the easiest elections I have ever seen happen. I would love to congratulate both Ms. Dancho and Ms. Gaudreau. Both of you will be the vice-chairs. I'm looking forward to working with you. I have previously had discussions with you. I'm very happy to have you as vice-chairs here. Congratulations.
I'm going to give the floor to both for brief remarks, if you want.
I'll start with Ms. Dancho. Please, go ahead.
Conservative
Raquel Dancho Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. It is an honour to be at this committee as vice-chair. We face significant issues in our health care system. I know that every party is seized with these issues. The Conservatives take them very seriously. We take our duty to hold the government accountable very seriously.
I have been encouraged that we will collaborate wherever we are able to. That's a great dynamic to have on behalf of Canadians. We will also have rigorous and robust debate when we need to. We will ensure that we fulfill our duty as the official opposition.
For us, we are certainly seized with the fact that Canada has some of the longest wait times in the country. We have a very low amount of diagnostic imaging compared to our OECD contemporaries. We have lower numbers of doctors. We have lower numbers of acute care beds. We have lower numbers of long-term care beds.
There are many issues facing provincial governments in terms of health care, but those impacted by this are our constituents as well. I hope we can advocate for the best measures forward. There are many other issues that we are facing as well. Canadians spend about $400 billion a year on the health care system, so they deserve the best. That's what we will be advocating for.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal
Thank you, Ms. Dancho.
Madame Gaudreau, you have the floor if you want to say something.
Bloc
Marie-Hélène Gaudreau Bloc Laurentides—Labelle, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I must admit that, halfway through the session—since we aren't at the start of a new election—I've received a warm welcome. I greatly appreciate it. I can already sense a great openness to discussion. At the end of the day, our constituents are watching us. We're talking about health, and money can't buy health. Even if we have hidden agendas, we have a parliamentary role. We must never forget how much health matters.
I'm happy to be here with you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal
Thank you and congratulations again.
Ms. Chi, did you want to say something?
Liberal
Maggie Chi Liberal Don Valley North, ON
Thank you, Chair.
First, again, I welcome the two new members, the two new vice-chairs. I'm very excited to be working together. I want to reiterate and completely echo what the two vice-chairs just said. We will collaborate where we can and we'll have great discussions, as always, so that we can collaborate and continue to improve health care, health outcomes and overall health for Canadians.
On behalf of all the Liberal members, congratulations and welcome. I'm looking forward to working together for the session.