Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to speak today to Bill C-95. Health is one of the most important things in Canadian life, if not the most important. The human being is the most valuable resource we have. We can talk about resources, human and natural, but it is our human resources which make Canada the best country in the world.
Today a fundamental piece of legislation for the operation of the federal government is under discussion. Contrary to what has been implied in the House, the role of the federal government in health care is very important. It is crucial for the continued health and well-being of Canadians.
Everyone is familiar with the major role the federal government has played as the architect of a national health insurance system for Canada. Everywhere in the world it is regarded as an excellent example of public sector innovation in a crucial field of service provision. We should not forget what the health system in Canada was like before the advent of national health insurance.
Lack of infrastructure in the health area was highlighted during the Depression when financing was so desperately short that many doctors had to go on relief in the western provinces because patients could not pay their bills. Military recruiting drives for World War II demonstrated the poor health of the overall population, especially military aged males.
Saskatchewan pioneered the national health insurance model, first for hospital services and then for medical services.
The national health system we have today owes its origins to the leadership of consecutive federal governments, first to build infrastructure with hospital grants, with the Hospitals and Diagnostic Services Act and the Medicare Act, and in our own era with the Canada Health Act and established programs financing.
Who among us doubts the importance of this multi-decade effort to build a national health insurance system, both in terms of nation building and in terms of the security it provides each and every Canadian that their medical needs will be met regardless of their pocketbook.
We should not forget that the Canada Health Act, the last incarnation of this major national effort, is a piece of legislation which received all-party support in 1984.
Since this government was elected it has taken its responsibilities under the Canada Health Act very seriously. Under the private clinics policy a rigorous distinction is being drawn between the public health sector for insured services and entrepreneurial medicine. This is a critical distinction. No Canadian should be able to buy his or her way to the front of a queue for services. Services ought to be rendered on the basis of medical need, not by the pocket book.
As important as the CHA is, however, it is but a small part of the federal role in health. Health Canada is operative across Canada to ensure that the food Canadians eat, the drugs they consume and the medical devices they use are safe. It is important to recognize how much the department is operative behind the scenes to guarantee security in these areas. For example, for well-being during a baby examination, the immunization series is provided by a provincially paid practitioner but the quality of the vaccine and vaccination is ensured by the federal government.
Health Canada also plays a major role in encouraging both the public and private sectors to promote health and prevent illness and accidents.
Whatever the hazard of the day, smoking, AIDS, nuclear fall-out, radon, ebola, the plague, there is a Health Canada employee with direct responsibility for ensuring Canadians have the information they require to reduce their risk and that they are aware of the various protective strategies that exist to combat risk. They can
build on those factors in their social and physical environment which will ensure Canadians are protected now and into the future.
Let us look at an instance of how this works. The ebola scare is fresh in Canadian minds. The Quarantine Act was recently invoked to ensure there was no risk of the ebola virus spreading in Canada. Networks of federal officials from Health Canada and, with Health Canada's lead, many federal departments were mobilized to ensure security was always in place to reduce risk and follow up on any and all suspicious circumstances.
Working with Canadians across this great country of ours, using our public health intelligence of the highest calibre, Canadians acquired worldwide respect for their handling of the ebola crisis and their management of a situation with a high potential for panic and public disorder.
Ebola is but one of the many instances in which Health Canada rolls into action to protect Canadians. Many hazards have less public profile. Many require detailed risk assessment to determine how they should be managed. At all times Health Canada has the responsibility for dealing with the national dimensions of hazards to health and reducing them to ensure the high quality of life Canadians enjoy.
Another key role in the department is in the population health area. Recently we have come to understand the power of taking population and sub-populations as the primary unit of analysis in the development of health policy and programming. The health status of populations is heavily influenced by a number of key health determinants including biology, income, education, environment, to mention a few. The department is now in the process of operationalizing the health determinants perspective on issues with the help of many of the country's most creative thinkers in the health area.
As an illustration, take Canada's children as a key sub-population. Concern is increasing about key social indicators such as rates of youth offences and incarceration. Quite recently there was a study on young women which is very troubling partly because of our poor economy.
The preconditions for these increases in rates are set much earlier in the development of a young person. There are recognized determinants that are predictors of pathways that lead to healthy child development; for example, supportive families, social networks, parental employment and so on. There are others that are strong predictors of difficulties in achieving healthy development; for example, inadequate nutrition, high risk socialization patterns.
Important policy factors in development include developing positive relationships, experiencing success and developing self-esteem.
We need to take these types of development considerations into account if we are to build a society in which all young people are able to thrive.
Health Canada is working to make this possible. Programs such as prenatal nutrition and aboriginal headstart are breaking down many of the barriers to a healthy development.
With a population optic on these issues and key investments targeted early in life, we will achieve much to reverse some of society's most ingrained problems.
Health Canada has therefore a major role to play in improving Canadian society. Proof of these important efforts lies in the high quality of life Canadians continue to enjoy despite the rigours of the economic climate of today, the quality of which is unrivalled in the world and will do much to strengthen the federation as we proceed to implement the important post referendum change agenda.
I come from a rural riding. In that riding medicare is important but with the changes we have, the changes in technology for instance, practitioners and people with experience could use video conferences. We will be recruiting very young, good positions and finding ways to look after rural ridings.