Debates of May 2nd, 2006

Public Health Agency of Canada Act

[Keith Martin, Liberal, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I listened intently to the member's comments.

Regardless of where we live in our great country, we are all affected by health care challenges. That is the intent of the bill. Over the last few years Canada is the number one nation in the entire world in terms of SARS preparedness and SARS response. There is an extraordinary monitoring system within Canada. Our experts have travelled to the Far East to help the people there monitor and address their SARS challenges. We know those challenges quite well. We have done a great job in Canada. Our researchers and Public Health Agency experts, as the parliamentary secretary also knows very well, have done an outstanding international job on this. A world meeting was held last year in Montreal so that we could work with other countries to deal with that challenge.

Some of us put together an initiative which deals with type 1 diabetes. We are poised to close an incredible loop in our country, which is very exciting. It started with Banting and Best and the discovery insulin. We are now at the stage in research where we hope in the very near future to complete the genetic mapping for the genetic component of type 1 diabetes but also to identify some of the environmental factors and develop the technology to enable individuals to regenerate the islet cells in the pancreas which produce insulin.

The member and her party refused to participate in a bipartisan initiative to enable researchers to have a $25 million per year investment over five years. That would enable Canada to take the lead and be the first country in the world to ever cure a chronic disease.

There are thousands of people in the member's own province who suffer from type 1 juvenile diabetes. People are diagnosed primarily when they are children. The biggest increasing age group is between five and nine years. Our country has the third highest incidence in the world. How could the member look her constituents in the eye and say that as a member of the Bloc Québécois, she refused to participate in a binational, bipartisan initiative to ensure that our researchers in Canada, in Montreal, were able to have the tools to find a cure for type 1 diabetes? Why did she refuse to participate in this initiative? Why did she block the initiative for members from all political parties to unite in defeating this disease?

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member very much for his question.

Last year, when the Minister of Health was confronted with the same problem and he was asked for $25 million over five years, the request was turned down. In addition, the money for juvenile diabetes was combined within various chronic disease strategies. Therefore I do not think that the member has anything to tell us about this subject.

Also, how does he think that the federal government can help people suffering from juvenile diabetes or any type of diabetes, when it is not even able to help the native people under its responsibility? These people suffer three times more from diabetes than other Canadians aged 55 and above. And seven times more people aged 35 to 54 suffer from diabetes. The federal government is not even able to take care of them. How can we expect it to be able to manage a pan-Canadian strategy on diabetes, when it is not even able to live up to its own responsibilities?

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, one of the interesting avenues the bill might actually create is the investigation and mitigation of different health factors in terms of food products. I would like the investigation to involve the elimination of trans fats. The House of Commons voted to work toward the reduction and elimination of trans fats. The NDP motion was accepted in 2005. I would like to see that administered.

I ask my colleague from the Bloc, would her party argue that Quebec should have different standards for trans fats? Trans fats appear in baby food and a whole series of products that affect human health.

Especially given the industrial use of different manufacturing processes in the goods that people buy, it would be an advantage to lower trans fats and have standardized reductions of trans fats across the country. It would also pressure the manufacturing industries to immediately reduce or lower trans fats which would create better market conditions to attain a quicker result in the elimination of trans fats.

Having Quebec as part of that would make it a speedier process, or do the Bloc members actually believe that Quebec should have a different level of trans fats than in the rest of the country, than eliminating products or restricting products or allowing more that would have increased trans fats?

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Royal Galipeau]

The hon. member for Laval has less than a minute to answer this question.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would tell my hon. colleague that we are very aware of the problems caused by trans fats. These problems have already been discussed in the House. We support the principle of the bill on trans fats.

I would add that we are involved in the fight against trans fats. My own brother, who has been living in Alberta for 20 years, works for Frito Lay. It was the first company to get rid of trans fats in its chips. He is a Quebecker who is working therefore on getting rid of trans fats.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today it is my privilege to speak to Bill C-5, an act respecting the establishment of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

I take very seriously the responsibilities the member of Parliament for Prince George—Peace River and chief government whip gave me when he appointed me as a member of the Standing Committee on Health. This is the first of many issues relating to health that I plan to address.

I am very pleased to speak about such an important service that benefits all Canadians, the Public Health Agency of Canada. I would like to address the reasons this agency was created, the reasons this agency is needed, and the reasons we need a Chief Public Health Officer. Finally I will address what the legislation will do.

The overarching theme of this legislation is the protection and promotion of the health of Canadians. The establishment of the Public Health Agency of Canada was in fact a response to the need to establish a federal focal point to address public health issues following the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, popularly known as SARS.

SARS was a blow to our health care system. Some experts have stated that only the heroic efforts of Ontario's front line health workers kept the deadly SARS outbreak from exacting a far heavier toll. The province's public health system was called into question. Internationally, the health of Canadians was also called into question for months after the outbreak when they travelled overseas. Even Canadians living abroad were sometimes questioned. Canadians demanded action.

Dr. David Naylor and Senator Michael Kirby each consulted with the health community and reported specific recommendations, including the establishment of a Canadian public health agency and the appointment of a chief public health officer for Canada.

As members are probably aware, our right hon. Prime Minister has great respect for provincial jurisdiction. That is why our government is committed to federal, provincial and territorial collaboration, especially in such an important project as the Public Health Agency of Canada. One way this cooperation is done is through the Pan-Canadian Public Health Network which was established in April 2005. Informal discussions with provincial and territorial public health authorities have indicated that they would like a federal public health focal point with the authority and capacity for effective collaboration, especially during emergencies. God forbid an emergency like SARS should ever resurface, but we will be prepared.

Consequently, the Minister of Health has made it clear that the legislation does not expand on the existing federal role in public health. Instead, the legislation simply provides the agency with its mandate to assist the Minister of Health in exercising his powers, duties and functions in public health. Nothing that the federal government is currently doing in public health has changed.

Although the Public Health Agency of Canada was created by order in council in September 2004, it lacked parliamentary recognition. As the House is quite aware, my party is about accountability. This legislation will give parliamentary recognition to the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Chief Public Health Officer. In other words, this is largely a machinery bill that will give the agency a sound legislative footing to support the Minister of Health in addressing public health issues.

For me, this is an area of grave importance. In my former role as mayor and warden, I served for many years on the local board of public health, including six years as chair of that board. I know first-hand the value of having a Chief Public Health Officer at the federal level which, in the time of a widespread emergency or pandemic, can coordinate an appropriate response in coordination with the provinces and territories.

A federal focal point to address public health issues will benefit the constituents of Sarnia—Lambton in many ways. As a riding with so many international border crossings to the state of Michigan, including the twin Blue Water Bridges, an international health emergency would be better contained and managed through a federal focal point, including a Chief Public Health Officer.

In the chemical valley, by which my riding of Sarnia—Lambton is popularly known, the main CN line carries many hazardous goods. In my hometown municipality of Plympton-Wyoming, we see an average of one train every 20 minutes carrying hazardous freight. The comfort of knowing there will be a coordinated effort with a federal focal point should an accident happen is important to me and my constituents. The Chief Public Health Officer will provide that comfort by way of leadership.

The legislation will establish a unique dual role for the Chief Public Health Officer. Why, some would ask, is there a dual role? The legislation recognizes the Chief Public Health Officer's unique status as the Government of Canada's lead public health professional as well as the deputy head of the agency. Let me explain. As deputy head of the agency, the Chief Public Health Officer is accountable to the Minister of Health and informs the minister on policy development. Additionally, the Chief Public Health Officer is Canada's lead public health professional with authority to communicate with Canadians and publish reports on any public health issue.

Not only does the legislation clarify the rules and responsibilities of the Chief Public Health Officer, but it also responds to both Naylor's and Kirby's recommendations that the Chief Public Health Officer have a degree of independence to speak out and issue reports on public health matters.

Threats to the health of Canadians will allow the Chief Public Health Officer to engage other federal departments to mobilize health resources of the agency. The Chief Public Health Officer must submit to the Minister of Health for tabling in Parliament an annual report on the state of public health in Canada, aiding the Minister of Health in his decision making as to what are the best measures to promote better health care for Canadians, and subsequently, improve patient wait time guarantees which is a priority of the government.

Therefore, as an impartial, credible voice on public health able to communicate directly with the public, the Chief Public Health Officer will be accountable to all Canadians while respecting the Privacy Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

A federal focal point will provide assurances to provinces and territories that they can lawfully share information with the federal government in light of a possible health emergency such as an influenza pandemic. Systematic monitoring and surveillance would be needed to anticipate, prepare for and respond to such an emergency in a timely manner.

The agency already maintains a national emergency stockpile system that contains everything from pharmaceuticals to beds and blankets for use in an emergency.

Additionally, the Chief Public Health Officer uses the public health network to get information from his provincial and territorial colleagues and with his authorities would be able to communicate and provide the best public health advice to Canadians in key areas such as pandemic preparedness and antiviral stockpiling. SARS has taught us all a valuable lesson in dealing with public health threats.

My several years of training through Emergency Measures Ontario have certainly taught me the value of having this national emergency stockpile system in place. It will be imperative in a pandemic situation that resources be available on a national level. In fact, the Public Health Agency of Canada has already strengthened the Canadian pandemic influenza plan by increasing its national antiviral stockpile and signing an agreement to develop a prototype H5N1 or avian flu vaccine.

Having a separate agency within the health portfolio is needed to deal with public health issues. Coherence on a national scale is what the legislation ensures when the health of Canadians is in jeopardy.

I support Bill C-5 and so will my colleagues. We want to bring greater visibility to public health issues. We made a commitment on this side of the House to improve our public health system. The legislation fulfills these objectives.

[Robert Thibault, Liberal, West Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I welcome the member to the House. I am pleased to see she has been appointed to the health committee. I had the opportunity to serve on that committee for quite some time, and she will find it very rewarding.

I listened to her speak about what the bill would accomplish. It is reminiscent for me. I remember presenting the bill last year and going through part of the debate. She and some of her colleagues present it as if it were a new bill. The Public Health Agency was established by the previous Liberal government. The Chief Public Health Officer was selected in that process. The bill was introduced, the same bill that has been presented here, but it died on the Order Paper because the opposition chose to vote the government out to force an election without advancing the bill.

I hear members of her party suggesting that bill shows great leadership, that it is great advancement in the interests of the public health and that it is something new. Would it not have been in the interests of the public health six months ago to have advanced the bill and put it forward quickly, or are members of that party a little on the hypocritical side?

I also heard the comment that it was being presented before the presentation of the budget. There is nothing to put in the budget. The only thing in the budget could be a withdrawal of resources, and I hope the Public Health Agency is resourced properly and that Dr. David Butler-Jones and his staff have the available those resources. I look forward to that. I hope independence is given to the agency to operate on a pan-Canadian basis in cooperation with the provinces and with other agencies.

I have stated that I will support the bill. It is a good bill and I am pleased to see it has the support of the member.

A private member's bill, which recommended that national health products be treated as foods and not evaluated or listed independently and that personal care and hygiene products such as make-up and antiperspirants, deodorants and soaps be treated as food also and sold without any warning or under the same circumstances, died on the Order Paper. It was strongly supported by the member's party at committee last year. Does she intend to bring that one back? Could we expect to see that bill back with the same vigour that we see the Liberal bill brought back before the House?

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today is a very important bill for all Canadians. Whether the bill was before the House in some other form is not the issue. The issue is the fact that we all care very much about the public health of Canadians. The bill is before the House for discussion and passing. We have a lot of positive comments on it from all parties. The discussions at committee level will be extremely interesting, and I look forward to that.

Regarding the other question, we need to put the resources in place and I am quite confident that those resources will be there to address the issues that will come from the bill. The independence and the leadership that will develop as well from the bill are extremely important as we deal with the public health of all Canadians.

As far as the question regarding the private member's bill, I cannot answer that question. I do not have that knowledge. Perhaps one of my other colleagues on this side of the House would be able to answer it. Once the health committee sits, that is a question I can ask and we can definitely answer later. At this point I cannot answer the question.

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the member may be aware that any private member's bill that passes through the House will go to committee provided government legislation is dealt with first. I do hope there will be strong support for this bill.

The member made note that the previous Liberal government only brought its bill before the House a week before it fell, with the full knowledge that it would fall. Its legislation did not even make it to second reading, which questions the Liberal government's commitment to public health.

I congratulate the member on her appointment to the health committee.

My question for my colleague is this. How we can ensure that we get the message out to all Canadians, including those in Quebec and first nations people, that this government is firmly committed to public health where the previous government failed?

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government is definitely committed to improving the health of all Canadians. By bring this bill brought forward so early in our mandate, speaks well to that commitment. We definitely have made health care, including shorter wait times and other issues, one of our priorities. We know this has to be done in cooperation and collaboration with other areas of this great country. We need to discuss these issues with the provinces and territories. We also need to have discussions with municipal leaders, who also have a role to play in public health.

The fact that this government is extremely committed to moving forward on health care and that is extremely committed to taking a leadership role and to collaboration and cooperation should convince the Canadian public that we are very serious about health care in Canada.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw my hon. colleague’s attention to an important aspect.

Addressing the question of the Public Health Agency of Canada is one thing, but pandemics are something else entirely. Also, in regard to another reality, we must be able to provide the people of Canada with food that, in my view, is worth eating.

Let us speak, therefore, of the example of dairy substitutes. This problem exists not just in my region but all across the country. We cannot even have products nowadays that are 100% dairy. We are forced to import dairy substitutes to make cheese and ice cream.

My position is clear in this regard. Would my hon. colleague agree that we should proceed in exactly the same way as the previous government, which is to introduce a bill that would improve things for Canadians by eliminating the entire question of dairy substitutes? This bill would both help our dairy farms and give Canadians some assurance that they are consuming very good quality products.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there is no question that health care and our food supply are interwoven. Both are extremely important. We have said repeatedly that we need to have control of our food sources. We had this discussion during other debates on agriculture and the plight of our farming community across the country.

I agree with what the member has said. We need to have control of our food sources. We need to examine that. There are great links to public health issues, our food sources and our food supply, and I support those.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise to talk about Bill C-5, an act respecting the establishment of the Public Health Agency of Canada and amending certain acts.

The text of this bill is a carbon copy of Bill C-75, which was tabled in the House on November 16, 2005, by the former Liberal government. Bill C-75 was consigned to history when Parliament was dissolved on November 29, 2005.

This is a housekeeping bill because it creates the Public Health Agency of Canada and sets out its purpose and duties. I support it.

It is very important, though, to set the record straight on the proud accomplishment of the previous government in the rapidity in which it dealt with the SARS crisis in April of 2003. The minister of the day, Anne McLellan, immediately appointed David Naylor's committee to study what had happened. In November Naylor's report was released. In December the prime minister appointed the first ever minister of state for public health.

Very soon after that, in May of 2004, we were able to describe the new Public Health Agency of Canada, as well as the national collaborating centres that would study how to keep Canadians as healthy as possible. By September 2004 the Public Health Agency of Canada was created with an order in council and David Butler-Jones was appointed the first ever Chief Public Health Officer for Canada.

In April of the following year the extraordinarily important Canadian public health network was established, which would allow all 13 jurisdictions to plan public health together, recognizing that germs did not recognize borders and that the other epidemics of obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases, as well as injury, could be much better planned by sharing best practices across the country and doing all of that together.

However, I remind the government of the extraordinarily important commitment all first ministers made at their meeting in September 2004, and that was to establish some health goals for Canada. I think it was extremely exciting for all Canadians to hear the first ministers speak to the initial goal of Tommy Douglas for medicare in Canada, which would be to keep Canadians as healthy as possible, not just patch them up when they get sick.

The first ministers talked about building rails so seniors would not fall. They talked about diabetes. They talked about the unacceptable gap in the status of our aboriginal peoples. Everybody understood that the health of Canadians could not be ameliorated only by looking at the health departments. Each of the ministers called upon all their departments and worked in collaboration with all jurisdictions to ensure that every government department understood its responsibility in keeping people well, not just patching them up once they got sick.

It is very worrisome for me today that the goals, which had been asked for and delivered this past September and approved by all health ministers, are no longer visible on the home page of the Public Health Agency of Canada. It is extremely important that we underline those goals, that the governments, particularly the federal government, work with all departments to reach those goals and move immediately on to the next step of deciding what each government department must do. Each jurisdiction needs to work together to ensure that Canadians stay well.

I would like to remind you about the Overarching Goal:

As a nation, we aspire to a Canada in which every person is as healthy as they can be – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Canada is a country where:

Our children reach their full potential, growing up happy, healthy, confident and secure.

The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and the places we live, work and play are safe and healthy - now and for generations to come.

Each and every person has dignity, a sense of belonging, and contributes to supportive families, friendships and diverse communities.

We keep learning throughout our lives through formal and informal education, relationships with others, and the land.

We participate in and influence the decisions that affect our personal and collective health and well-being.

We work to make the world a healthy place for all people, through leadership, collaboration and knowledge.

Every person receives the support and information they need to make healthy choices.

We work to prevent and are prepared to respond to threats to our health and safety through coordinated efforts across the country and around the world.

A strong system for health and social well-being responds to disparities in health status and offers timely, appropriate care.

I ask the government to now, please, begin again, to work with all its departments, to work with the areas that we have complete responsibility for, the public service; our first nations, Inuit and Métis people; corrections; the RCMP; the military; all those people. We need to see what we are doing in each of those departments in our areas of direct responsibility to actually move forward on the indicators for these goals. As a result, we, as the federal government and as parliamentarians, can be proud of what we are doing in the areas that we have direct responsibility for. We must work together with the provinces to work on the indicators that they themselves will report on and will work toward across all government departments and all jurisdictions.

It is only in this way that we will be able to protect the sustainability of our cherished health care system. It is only in this way that we will understand the huge difference between health and health care. The Public Health Agency of Canada requires serious resources to be able to do this job. We thank and applaud the Chief Public Health Officer of this country, Dr. David Butler-Jones, and all the chief public health officers across Canada who are working so well together.

That means, however, that we must work with our partners within government and other jurisdictions in the same way. I would hope that in this budget this afternoon the $300 million that had been there and that should have been passed in the estimates on December 6 for an integrated disease strategy will be restored. I hope there will be resources in the budget for proper pandemic preparedness and resources for a proper information system that would allow us to collect data and to ensure that we are working every day in the best interests of Canadians and their health.

I look forward to the budget, I look forward to seeing the health goals process back up on the home page of the Public Health Agency of Canada. I hope that we, together, in a non-partisan way, will be working every day to ensure that as many Canadians stay as healthy as possible in order to sustain our cherished public health system.

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the excellent work that was done by my colleague, the former minister, on this particular issue. Certainly, she worked with a passion and I think we all owe her a huge debt of gratitude.

I am pleased to see that the bill is here today and that it is now moving forward. The government recognizes how important this work is and why we need to have this Public Health Agency.

The SARS epidemic that hit Canada had a huge impact on us all and we recognized our responsibilities as parliamentarians in the protection of all Canada and Canadians. I would like to ask the hon. member, when she looks over Bill C-5, is there anything else that is not in the bill? The regulations section refers to “may” not necessarily “do” when it comes to instituting the regulations. I wonder if she has any concerns over anything that has been left out of this bill that might need to be put in to ensure that the legislation is covering off all the bases.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we knew that the bill was just the framework to establish the agency and to ensure that within the bill there would be the flexibility to go forward in terms of regulations. We would want the bill to go forward in a way that would be fair, transparent and would get the job done. I think that the bill does that job.

However, we also need to look forward to the kind of work that will done by the health committee. As we move forward on regulations we must ensure that everything that needs to be done is there. However, the main thing that we will need to fight for will be the resources to ensure this is done properly because way too many resources are proportionately on the health care side as opposed to keeping people well.

I hope that in the future we will be able to have a way of looking at all government department responsibilities for the health of Canadians. The World Health Organization is now talking about this kind of thing and we have seen it in Quebec. Perhaps we should look at a health impact analysis of all government policies and budget items to ensure that everything we do that has an impact on the health of Canadians is recognized. That will require a whole of government response and not just what is in the purview of the Public Health Agency.

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the member for St. Paul's was of course the former minister of public health. Does she think that the Public Health Agency perhaps may have dedicated more time to issues of preventative medicine had it not been preoccupied and seized with things like SARS, mad cow and Asian flu?

In other words, epidemics and pandemics seem to take the priorities and energies from the new Public Health Agency and leave very little time or resources to deal with things like banning trans fats, which I approached her with early on. She cooperated in dealing with that public health issue. There were issues like banning pesticides which her colleague from Ottawa used to push aggressively.

It seems to me that as a nation, in dealing with public health, we embraced the idea, but we were knocked off the game plan by unforeseeable things like SARS. Would the member care to comment on the dual role the agency could and should have?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question. I think the agency really has almost three responsibilities related to infectious diseases, chronic diseases, as well as emergency preparedness. That it is always seen as a zero sum game. If we actually need to be moving forward on infectious diseases or pandemic preparedness, it is seen as though we might be taking resources from another area.

I think that the job of the government is to move forward on all of these issues and to ensure that they are properly resourced. The $300 million that we placed in last year's budget on integrated disease strategy was, and we knew, only a down payment. We know that we need more money for that.

The member has dealt extraordinarily well with the issues relating to the epidemic of heart disease and the epidemic of obesity. How we actually look to the future on the issue of diabetes is going to be hugely important and must be dealt with as its own epidemic.

It is interesting that the New York State public health department has now designated diabetes as a reportable disease, meaning that even though it is not an infectious agent, it is a contagious agent that is social. We need to understand that pockets of diabetes can be tracked and can be dealt with in a public health strategy in the same way as we would deal with any other outbreak of a disease cluster. We must deal with it in that way. Otherwise, this will be the first generation of kids who will not be able to look forward to living as long as their parents and for that we cannot sit still.

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for her comments and also wish the member success in any future endeavours she may have on a larger scale.

However, on the issue of the bill, the previous government waited until the dying days of the government to introduce this legislation. Looking at it from a historical perspective, it only received first reading after a number of years of being an order in council.

This government is acting swiftly to bring it forward and we appreciate the opposition's support. I wonder a bit however about the history.

As the former minister for public health in the previous government the member was very supportive of federal involvement in providing swimming lessons for young people. I wonder if the member still believes that the federal government has a role in providing swimming lessons.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his support. He would need to take out a Liberal membership and I look forward to that.

In terms of the chronology, this was a very interesting project in terms of getting it from the order in council into an actual bill, but we are there now. As many of the speakers have said, this was a very challenging issue in terms of identifying the dual role for the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada to actually speak to Canadians as well as having deputy level status. That has been a hugely important first step and we are thrilled that this is coming forward. We are proud to support this bill.

Yes, I do think every kid in Canada should know how to swim. I hope the government is able to move forward on the healthy schools initiative in which all the deputy ministers of health and education across the country have come together to look at the kinds of things that we can do better together than apart. I hope that the swim to survive program of the Royal Life Saving Society is supported by as many jurisdictions as possible and I hope the Conservative government will help them do it.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Royal Galipeau]

Resuming debate. I recognize the hon. member for St. Catharines, who will be happy to know that this debate is about the Public Health Agency of Canada Act and not about floor crossing.

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, St. Catharines, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will keep that very much in mind.

First and foremost, this is my first opportunity to rise and address the House as a member of the 39th Parliament. I would like to take a moment to thank the people of St. Catharines and all those who worked so tirelessly in our community to allow me the opportunity to represent St. Catharines in the House of Commons.

It is a pleasure to rise and speak to this piece of legislation, one designed to improve public health in this country. The health care of our citizens, and particularly the people of St. Catharines, is an issue near and dear to my heart.

Members may know that my community is currently in the process of securing the construction of a new hospital. This hospital is planned to include a regional cancer centre and this new facility would provide state of the art health care for thousands of people in my community and allow newborns, such as Isaiah Thomas Dykstra, to get their lives started out on the right foot.

Of course we are not here this afternoon just to talk about new hospitals or the need for more family doctors. I am sure I will have plenty of time to address these issues in future debates.

As we indicated in our Speech from the Throne, our new government is committed to building a better country. We need a stronger federation in which governments at all levels come together to help Canadians realize their full potential. This includes working with the provinces and territories to protect and promote the health care of Canadians. This is why Bill C-5 is about taking action. It is a critical step in our new government's effort to promote and protect the health of Canadians.

My riding of St. Catharines is very close to our border with the United States. In 2003 when we were faced with the SARS outbreak, I watched at first hand the impact it had on the province of Ontario. As a Niagara parks commissioner, I saw the parks commission fall into a deficit position for the first time since World War II. The deficit was directly on account of the slowdown in tourism resulting from SARS. This speaks to more than just a financial deficit. It speaks to a deficit motivated by fear. That deficit represented the belief of many Canadians and Americans alike that their health and well-being were at risk.

What Bill C-5 represents is what we have learned. We have learned that we must be prepared to assist Canadians in the worst of times and we must be able to provide the international community with the assurance that we are able to protect the health and well-being of our citizens.

Providing a statutory foundation will give the agency and its Chief Public Health Officer parliamentary recognition. Dealing with health care and its issues is as old as our country itself. In 1867, Parliament was granted exclusive jurisdiction over quarantine and marine hospitals, while the provinces were granted exclusive jurisdiction over the establishment, maintenance and management of hospitals. Since that time, the federal government has had responsibility for quarantine at our borders and over the management of infectious disease outbreaks. This power has two branches: an emergency branch and a national dimensions branch.

This history has helped lead us to Bill C-5, a bill that allows for the establishment of the Public Health Agency of Canada and the confirmation of a Chief Public Health Officer. Our Minister of Health understands that. The minister witnessed the SARS tragedy at first hand and he understands the importance of granting the Chief Public Health Officer the authority to communicate directly with the public. The public health officer must be able to provide the public with information about public health, including enduring a health emergency. In my eyes, this is a key component of Bill C-5.

We all know that diseases do not respect borders. Therefore, it is imperative that our lines of communication be open, not only within our own borders but with our colleagues in other countries, including countries such as Australia and the U.K., which already have a chief medical officer in place.

In response and leading up to that, we are moving forward with Bill C-5, which is not only a measure to improve our ability to protect the health and well-being of Canadians, but a measure to show our neighbours and people throughout the global community that we understand the serious nature of public health threats as they exist in today's world. I can confirm that our new government is prepared to take the action necessary to protect our people and those who visit our country.

This notion of borders brings me to another interesting component of Bill C-5. As many hon. members will know, the Canadian health agency currently maintains the national emergency stockpile system. This system provides emergency supplies quickly to provinces and territories, including the necessary pharmaceuticals.

I feel I should take this opportunity to recognize the ongoing efforts of a small pharmaceutical company in my riding that is working tirelessly to break down the borders and help fulfill this mandate in the event of a flu pandemic. A small company by the name of Biolyse Pharma has been working tirelessly to develop a drug equivalent to Tamiflu in order to combat the avian flu. There are companies such as Biolyse that face many challenges, but their efforts should be commended across the country. I look forward to working with them.

I would like to make one final point. This bill is representative of what our new government is all about. It is focused, it is direct, and it does what it is supposed to do. Bill C-5 contains only a preamble and 24 clauses, but it is focused on protecting the health and well-being of Canadians. It delivers what Canadians expect: a stronger, safer and more secure health care system.

[Robert Thibault, Liberal, West Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to welcome the member and colleague to this House. I hope that, like us all, he will find the time he spends here worthwhile.

I want to thank the member for his work. I am pleased to see that he supports this bill, which he calls very direct and indicative of the actions his government intends to undertake. I am pleased if it is, because it is our bill. It is a bill that we put forward. It follows the Naylor inquiry. It was formed by the governor in council appointment of the Chief Public Health Officer and the agency. I certainly hope that he will support me, as I have mentioned before, in asking his government to properly resource this agency.

One of the areas about which I have some fear is what I heard in the House earlier: that resources in the integrated disease strategy were being reduced. I have to take this as authoritative because it was not contradicted. This integrated disease strategy sought to work with the provinces, agencies and non-governmental organizations on the common causes of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart and stroke, all the other respiratory ailments and all these others that are out there in our country and that we are working together on. That strategy no longer appears on Health Canada's website.

In the House and during the campaign, I remember hearing the governing party talking about fully funding the Canadian cancer strategy. I support that and I believe it is a good idea, but part of that falls within the integrated strategy. The governing party has talked a lot about ethics. I believe it would be unethical, even hypocritical, to remove that funding, to not properly fund that integrated strategy. I believe it is important that we work together with all intervenors in our society, provincial, local and non-governmental, on the common elements of all these scourges on the health of Canadians and the public health of our nation.

I would ask the member to please comment on these points.

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, St. Catharines, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I think the efforts need to be recognized. I think the member opposite does recognize the crystal clear fact that this bill is sitting in front of us today not because it was or was not defeated with the election call, but because it is a priority of this government. We can take one step forward in understanding that the reason it is here is the critical role it plays from this government's perspective, as it did when we were not in government. We certainly supported the bill then and we are now moving forward with it under the pretext of having it as one of the first bills introduced by this government.

Where I do question the perspective of the member opposite is that under the former Liberal government the bill sat for over a year without being passed or even considered. With all due respect, it was acted on, but never through government legislation. It was always a piece that stood to the side. With all due respect to the work and the efforts of those who work within the context of this agency, it was never recognized here in the House. I think we should applaud the fact that one of the first steps this government is taking is to make sure this bill is here in the House and is being debated and will of course be passed.

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague from St. Catharines for his view on one of the most obvious public health concerns that we can do something about and that even in the context of this agency we could do something about, and that is the fact that Canada is still the third largest exporter and producer of asbestos in the world.

In fact, much of Canada is contaminated with Canadian asbestos. There is a recent outbreak that is being noted in the Cape Breton region of Nova Scotia, where public housing is being abandoned because of the Canadian asbestos in the walls. Yet the government continues to promote, support and subsidize asbestos mines; in fact, 120 foreign missions paid for by the federal government in 60 different countries by the Canadian asbestos industry, paid for by the government dumping this stuff into the third world.

Would he agree with me that his government should stop subsidizing this, should stop being merchants of death and contaminating developing nations in third world countries with Canadian asbestos? Would he agree that the asbestos industry should be shut down and that his government should stop subsidizing it in the interest of everyone's public health?

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, St. Catharines, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I certainly cannot speak to the overall direction that our government plans to take with respect to the issue the member has put forward, but based on the energy and enthusiasm that he displayed in putting forward his question, I would love to sit down with him and talk about this matter further to get a clearer understanding of the direction he believes we should take. I certainly would endeavour to do that.