Status of Women Committee on May 5th, 2010

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I wanted to get back to my question on what happens to these women who endure an unsafe abortion. Ms. Camp gave a wonderful explanation, but Mr. Fox, I noted that you also wanted to intervene, and I'd like to give you a chance to do that.

[Robert Fox]

I think a number of them die. But as disturbing as that is, 30 times more survive but survive with deep disabilities and ongoing health issues. Some of you may have had an opportunity to meet women in countries like Ethiopia, where there's an epidemic of fistula. The number of women whose day-to-day lives is absolutely defined by the fact that they cannot control their own bodies because of the damage that was done to them in these circumstances.... It means that their ability to contribute, their ability to lead their families, their ability to be an actor and an agent for changes in making a difference for themselves and their children and their future is completely constrained.

Last year in L'Aquila, I heard the Prime Minister's summation. He was very eloquent and compelling in talking about Canada's commitment to break the tradition of G-8s, where they make promises and don't follow through on them. He said that the things we've signed on to this year in L'Aquila we're going to follow through on. It's really important that we see that to its conclusion.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

I'd like to pick up on this discussion about Canada and its partnerships. It seems to me, though, that when it comes to aid, when it comes to that commitment, it is absolutely essential that the government be the leader and make a real commitment. Now, the current recession has been very hard on a number of groups. I know I get calls all the time from charities who are desperate. In that vein, has there been an impact on the private money for aid, and how much can we really depend on that private partnership in terms of the kind of aid that we need, that we have an obligation to deliver as a nation?

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Could we have one person answer that question? We are running short of time here.

[Robert Fox]

I'll try to do this very quickly.

The contribution of NGOs and volunteers and church groups is phenomenal, but at the end of the day, given the level of this crisis, you need a health care system. You don't fund ministries of health through charitable dollars. You fund ministries of health through tax dollars, and until those countries in the global south can generate their own resources from taxes, from royalties, or from other sources, we know that they're absolutely dependent on international aid playing a critical role in strengthening the health care systems we need.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much, Mr. Fox.

Finally we'll go to Ms. McLeod.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Certainly I'd like to thank the witnesses, and I really appreciate the conversation we've had today. Certainly as I reflect on the conversation, I keep seeing those graphs that talked about the incredible power of a combination of contraception support and maternal and child health care support and what that can actually do. So I think needing new dollars stands out very prominently in my mind. I understand that was a G-8 commitment.

There's one thing we haven't talked about, and again, perhaps because I'm a new member of Parliament, I don't understand how this translates. We're talking about the G-8 countries and these groups. How do you actually empower and work with 68 different countries in 68 or more different ways, because the way we talk is almost paternal? How do you actually work with the countries and communities in a way that really is respectful of the country and community?

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

That's a very good question.

Ms. Camp.

[Dr. Sharon Camp]

I think it's important to put on the table the fact that two-thirds of the investment that's now being made in family planning and maternal and newborn health is being made by people in the developing countries, their governments, and private organizations, as well as individual households that are paying for some of this care. They are already carrying a very big share of the load.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Again, I'm new. It just seems as though we're talking about something and it doesn't seem that we are engaging in a way that we should be. It sounds as though it's happening. I'm just not aware of it.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Ms. McLeod, you have one minute.

Mr. Fox.

[Robert Fox]

Well, funding global health care systems certainly is complicated, but we do have the machinery in place to help with that. The World Health Organization and other bodies of the United Nations are there with the explicit mandate to support coherent strategies. The African Union has provided important leadership on this.

It is true that every country has particular circumstances, a particular culture or context, and that they need to respond to their reality. But the numbers of things that are similar are much greater than the numbers of things that are different, in many ways. So this is not something where you need experimentation because we don't know how to do it. We know what we need to do here, and the experimentation is around how to do it even better, how to customize it here, and how to reach that most difficult to reach group there.

But this is much less complicated than some other issues we're dealing with right now. It's about the volume of funding and commitment of resources.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Ms. Camp.

[Dr. Sharon Camp]

One of the things that I meant to say earlier in response to an earlier question was that the single best indicator of a functioning health system is maternal mortality. The better the health system, the lower maternal mortality is. So in terms of accountability, that is one of the indicators that really ought to be part of an effort to hold governments accountable for spending aid dollars well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you, Ms. Camp.

We have bells, and we must end the meeting when the bells begin.

I want to thank the witnesses for coming here and giving us a great deal of information to digest.

I would like somebody to move that we adjourn.

[An hon. member]

So moved.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you.