I am pleased to speak to my Conservative colleague's motion. Although I do not agree with the motion as worded, I understand the member's concerns. Talking about the health of Canadians and Quebeckers is always difficult. It is a traumatic and dramatic subject for families, children and parents. It is always difficult to talk about these things without involving individual people.
You know me now and know that I, myself, had cancer five years ago. I knew I could count on help from people around me, the health care system and community agencies, which could provide support and follow-up. Had I not been sure of that support surrounding me, I do not know how I would have managed.
I am one of the lucky ones who did not die from the disease. I can guarantee that, when it happened, the first few minutes and hours after such a diagnosis were very distressing. It is very upsetting.
As I was saying, there is support in Quebec. I got immediate support. As soon as the doctors realized that it was an extremely invasive cancer, they went into action. I started treatment within two weeks. I lost all my hair. I started intensive chemotherapy. I also had an operation and received radiation therapy. It took a year. I am all better now, thank you. As you can see, I am in good health.
All that aside, when we consider such things, we need to ensure that we have lots of support, as I had. We must ensure that people so afflicted get lots of support from their communities. To do this, we must ensure that the provinces—and not the federal government—have the money to develop strategies. If we wait for the federal government to develop a national strategy, we might miss the boat.
I want to give just a few examples to support my remarks.
In 1999, there was the fetal alcohol syndrome/fetal alcohol effects strategic project fund, implementing national FAS/FAE initiatives. In 2001, a situational analysis was done and a publication on FAS/FAE best practices was released. In 2003, the fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: a framework for action was introduced. In 2004-05, there were round tables to identify an alcohol and drug abuse prevention strategy. In June 2005—we just received this in the health committee—Health Canada has provided us with an overview of actions and another framework for action. Millions and millions have been spent and little action has been taken.
I could mention another example: the gun registry. Even though it is not part of the health sector—although it can affect the health of numerous individuals—not just millions, but rather $1.186 billion has been spent and nothing has been resolved to date.
As far as the federal anti-tobacco strategy is concerned, the 2004-05 budget was $22.22 million and the 2005-06 was $10.177 million, yet the problem is not solved. The amounts invested are being cut, yet the percentage of smokers among the Inuit is 72%, among the Métis, 57%, and among aboriginal people 56%. It is said that 54% of young aboriginals between the ages of 11 and 19 smoke, and 65% of those between the ages of 20 and 24 do also. These are very important strategies, but are not given all the attention they deserve.
In the Minister of Public Security's speech she referred to a fund for chronic diseases. That fund contains $300 million, and not one red cent has yet to be used to help eradicate such diseases as juvenile diabetes, cancer or any other.
First Nations health is something very close to my heart. As a woman and a mother, I find it is not being given sufficient attention. It may be mentioned frequently, but really only through lip service. That is an expression used often in English to mean that a situation is merely being talked about and nothing is being done to solve it.
In 2004-05, the budget allocated to aboriginal health was $3,166,300,000. Strangely enough, in 2005-06, that dropped to $2,855,685,000, notwithstanding the announced desire to help with First Nations health. Even Phil Fontaine, chief of the Assembly of First Nations, has said:
Instead of receiving more funding to finally make inroads towards improving our shameful health status and strengthening the role of First Nations governments in delivering health care, this budget actually claws back much-needed funding. For example, First Nations desperately depend upon the coverage provided by non-insured health benefits. This program will be cut by $27 million over the next three years.
According to the press release from the AFN:
The National Chief also noted that the budget included several other major cuts to First Nations health funding. These include the elimination of the First Nations Health Information System, co-owned by First Nations in Ontario, through cuts of $36 million over three years, and the reassignment of $75 million of the previously announced $400 million funding for upstream investments and enhancement programming as renewal funding for the aboriginal diabetes initiative.
These are only a few examples, but they show the importance of the provinces and territories themselves having power over the spending of the money needed to eliminate the diseases we have mentioned.
On the subject of strategy, I can talk about a national strategy in Quebec. A few years ago now, we began to fight these diseases. Of course there were difficulties to overcome and problems to resolve. However, the problems would be much smaller if there were no fiscal imbalance and if we had the funds the federal government owes us. We are short $55 million a week. With that kind of money, we could resolve all our people's health problems.
If all the provinces and all the territories had what is owed them, but denied them by the fiscal imbalance, there would be no need to discuss national strategies. What we have to remember is that whenever the federal government is asked for money for national strategies, they do not come within its jurisdiction or under its responsibility. The health care, education and child care strategies have to go back to the provinces. We cannot forget this.
I have no doubt about the good intentions of my colleague who presented this motion. I know how important health is to him.
However, as I was saying, in Quebec, we have developed substantial programs meeting many of the needs of Quebeckers, for example the disease prevention, screening, investigation and diagnosis program. There are also programs pertaining to treatment, adaptation and rehabilitation support and end of life palliative care, in the case of cancer.
In Quebec as well—I am sure that it is the same in some other provinces—a number of major firms have recognized their social responsibilities and the importance of getting involved. For example, I will name just one Quebec company involved in cancer, which I know well. This company has invested a lot in the Look Good Feel Better program, which is run by the Canadian Cancer Society.
Sanofi-aventis invests millions of dollars every year to help women like me, who have been stricken with cancer, find ways of looking good and feeling better.
This is not just a federal government or national strategy question; it is really a matter of survival for existing programs in the provinces or territories. The government needs to give us the means by re-investing in the provinces and territories, by giving us back money that is rightfully ours so that we can do a better job of dealing with all the cancer-related problems, the cardiovascular diseases and mental illness problems.
The latter group of problems is also close to my heart. In my riding, a number of older people living with mental health problems are looking for housing. The population is aging, and it is becoming apparent that many people with mental health problems no longer have the special services that they used to receive. In the past, these people did not live as long and were taken care of by their families or lived in institutions.
Now with de-institutionalization, people who have mental health problems often live in places that were not intended for them. They often live in places where there are no tools to help them to live in dignity and with respect. They also have great difficulty adapting and finding a suitable environment. When they grow older, things become even more difficult.
Rather than investing in homes where these people could live better, the government confines them in residences with older people, much older people, with whom, unfortunately they have little in common, thereby sowing discord.
Instead of spending this money on a national strategy, I would prefer to allocate it to a strategy where it would be reinvested, where it would be given back to the provinces so that they could meet their commitments to their citizens.