Madam Speaker, the hon. member is quite right to place her concern where it is. Unfortunately her assessment of what the minister and the department have been doing is completely off base. Health Canada is acutely aware of the situation in British Columbia and recognizes the seriousness of the issue from both regional and national perspectives.
Vancouver's HIV epidemic among injection drug users is an emergency health crisis. It is a multifaceted health crisis that brings into play other illnesses such as hepatitis C, tuberculosis, alcohol and drug addiction and mental health as well as other factors like poverty, housing, transportation and access to services.
Health Canada will work in close co-operation with the Minister of Health of British Columbia and with the Minister of Child and Family Welfare Minister of that province, and also with other federal departments that are in continuous contact with the Vancouver—Richmond Health Council.
Health Canada is presently working on the creation of an interinstitutional task force including federal departments and various regional and national organizations, in order to implement measures to deal with the health crisis.
These groups will develop and implement a federal plan identifying the complete range of health determinants that are responsible for this crisis.
Based on discussions with provincial and local governments the federal response could include a range of activities such as developing new and innovative methods for delivering services and programs for populations at risk. I include among them aboriginal peoples, women, people with mental illnesses and youth.
It could include activities to broaden community support for HIV intervention and care issues including interest in and compassion for injection drug users and, finally, improving the co-ordination of services in areas such as addictions, mental health, social services, housing and medical care.