Mr. Chair, it is my pleasure to take the opportunity this evening to discuss some of the initiatives the Government of Canada, through the Department of Health, is taking to ensure that the health system is more responsive to the health needs of women and ultimately to improving the health status of all women in Canada.
The Government of Canada established the Centres of Excellence for Women's Health and the Canadian Women's Health Network, funded through Health Canada, to provide easier access to health information, resources and research, to promote and develop links to information and action networks, to produce user friendly materials and resources, to provide forums for critical debate, to act as a watchdog on emerging issues and trends affecting women's health, to encourage community based participatory research, and to promote women's involvement in health research. The Women's Health Network works with the centres of excellence to increase communication, information sharing and interaction among all interested groups and individuals. These relationships ensure that women are present and involved at the grassroots level.
How much does gender really affect health? This is indeed a provocative and very important question. The centres are generating significant research which explores the social determinants of health and which will serve researchers, policy makers, and women themselves. Many studies demonstrate the connection between income and health. And as one researcher, Patricia Kaufert, has said, “locating health in the social condition of people's lives is an idea which can be dated back to the origins of the public health movement”.
Gender is indeed a critical lens by which to examine health trends in the broader population. In addition, it permits important questions to be asked. I want to bring to the attention of the House the important study done by the Women's Health Clinic in Winnipeg. It is called “Poverty is Hazardous to Women's Health”. The study explores the many ways in which poverty can lead to ill health, including lack of access to affordable housing, transportation, food and non-insured health benefits such as medication.
Recently in the consultation process undertaken by the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada, the synergy and initiative of these collaborative efforts was evident. Women came to the table and shed light on issues that affected them as women most dearly. The circumstances of women as caregivers were presented. Home care from the perspective of the person receiving the care and home care from the perspective of informal caregivers were subjects of research that was presented. The enormous challenges of home care, both social and economic, were highlighted by the commission's report and recognized by the following:
Many informal caregivers are more than happy to provide care and support their loved ones, but the reality is that care giving is becoming an increasing burden on many in our society, especially women.
Turning to other initiatives, Health Canada focuses on a number of initiatives ensuring that pregnant women and women with babies and young children are getting the help they need to ensure good health. There is a folic acid awareness campaign to encourage women of child-bearing years to be aware and an initiative to support postpartum parents.
The Canada prenatal nutrition program enjoys widespread success across the country. The CPNP funds community groups to develop or enhance programs for vulnerable pregnant women. Through a community development approach, the CPNP aims to reduce the incidence of unhealthy birth weights, improve the health of both infants and mothers and encourage breastfeeding. CPNP enhances access to services and strengthens inter-sectoral collaboration to support the needs of pregnant women facing conditions of risk. As a comprehensive program, the services provided include food supplements, nutrition counselling, support, education, referral and counselling on health and lifestyle issues.
Based on the enhancement from the 1999 federal budget, the budget for the non-reserve portion of CPNP is $30.8 million as of 2002-03. Of this, $27 million goes directly to communities in the form of grants and contributions.
There are currently 350 CPNP projects funded by PPHB, serving over 2,000 communities across Canada. In addition, over 550 of these projects are funded in Inuit and on-reserve first nations communities.
There are many other initiatives that have been undertaken by the government that will affect the health of women. In this year's federal budget we saw a $16 billion investment over the next five years to provinces and territories for a health reform fund targeted to primary health care, home care, and catastrophic drug coverage.
We saw the budget invest $5.5 billion over five years in health initiatives, including diagnostic medical equipment, health information technology, and the creation of a six week compassionate family care leave benefit, a very important initiative.
There is the $45 million investment over five years to assist in the national immunization strategy which will result in the improved safety and effectiveness of vaccines, and the efficient procurement and better information on immunization coverage rates. Immunization provides one of the most important preventative health measures.
Finally, we saw an increased investment in the budget for research and innovation. In the next five years $925 million has been tagged for this purpose. An additional $55 million annually will be provided to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to advance health research in Canada through its network of 13 virtual institutes.
It has been said that life is for doing, learning and enjoying. A prerequisite for that is good health. I am pleased that the government is working in collaboration with all stakeholders to ensure that women from all corners of the country, regardless of their background or circumstance, have access to quality care in a timely, responsive manner.