Debates of Nov. 19th, 2009

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Madam Speaker, with respect to the member for Hull—Aylmer's assertion that plans have stalled, I wish to assure this House that the government understands fully our responsibility to protect the health and well-being of all Canadians, including first nations living on reserve.

Given that the provision of health services to first nations people is a shared responsibility between the federal and provincial governments, Health Canada has worked closely with provincial governments and other partners to help ensure that first nations communities have access to the health services they need when they exhibit influenza-like symptoms.

We recognize that individuals with underlying medical conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other chronic illnesses, as well as pregnancy, may be at greater risk for complications from the influenza. Because first nations communities have a higher incidence of many of these conditions, first nations communities may see higher rates of complications from respiratory illnesses.

This fundamental consideration continues to guide Health Canada's work with its partners to address H1N1. Based on the pandemic plan that has been in place since 2006, this government has responded quickly and appropriately to H1N1 influenza. We have implemented the Canadian pandemic influenza plan for the health sector, including the specific activities which relate to pandemic planning for on reserve first nations as outlined in annex B of the plan.

At the community and regional levels, we have been actively planning for the fall-winter influenza season. Virtually all first nations communities have a pandemic plan in place. The vast majority of plans have been tested. Some remote and isolated first nations communities, as in other remote communities, face additional challenges, including the distance required to travel to hospitals for acute care, access to running water, and adequate housing. Most provinces have recognized these particular challenges and are looking at the pandemic guidelines from this perspective.

In preparing for and responding to wave one of the H1N1 pandemic, Health Canada sent medical supplies and equipment to all nursing stations in first nations communities, including those in Manitoba. These crucial supplies included items such as personal protective equipment for front line health workers and pain relief medication. We also prepositioned anti-viral medications in nursing stations for early treatment of influenza-like illnesses. Supplies and anti-virals continue to be replenished as needed as we combat wave two.

Health Canada supports first nations communities across Canada to help ensure their readiness to deal with the current pandemic. When we saw increased illness reported against northern Manitoba, the Government of Canada worked closely with first nations leadership, Manitoba Health and Healthy Living, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and regional health authorities to ensure a timely co-ordinated and integrated response.

In Manitoba, we worked with the province to establish human resource pools consisting of physicians, nurse practitioners and nurses to assist with the response in first nations communities. In anticipation of the vaccine approval that occurred on October 21, 2009, we shifted the primary focus of our planning and response from treatment to prevention.

Health Canada has now finalized preparations for mass vaccination of all on reserve first nations who want it. Vaccination-related activities include: providing training and additional health professionals to assist communities in vaccination once provinces supply the vaccine; procuring mass immunization supplies; and working with provinces, territories and other federal departments and agencies and first nations organizations to ensure consistent and culturally-appropriate information is available regarding the H1N1 vaccine.

As we move forward to address H1N1 on reserve, we do so in full collaboration with our partners. This includes the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, as well as the Assembly of First Nations. On September 19, 2009, the department signed a communications protocol with National Chief Atleo of the Assembly of First Nations and the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

This protocol formalizes our working relationship and reflects the deep commitment all three organizations have to combatting H1N1.

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Madam Speaker, there is a shortage of vaccine and there have been delays delivering it because the Conservatives put the health of their party before the health of Canadians.

The Conservative government is incompetent. It has broken its promise to vaccinate all Canadians against H1N1 by Christmas: 7 million people are still waiting. Instead of recognizing its own responsibility, it is blaming the large number of Canadians who want the vaccine for the fact that some vaccinations will not occur until January if demand remains steady.

We want a government that will protect the health of all Canadians, which only a good government can do, by making sure that our health system has the resources it needs and is prepared.

The second wave of the virus is taking a lethal toll in Canada. Perfectly healthy Canadians have died of the flu.

When will the government take responsibility and do what is right?

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Madam Speaker, during the first three weeks of immunization, from October 26 to November 16, 2009, approximately 93% of first nation on reserve communities held immunization clinics. It is also a very positive achievement that 100% of remote and isolated first nation communities have held vaccine clinics.

As of mid-November, over 162,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine have been administered on reserve and approximately 40% of the on reserve first nations population has been vaccinated.

We are also seeing excellent collaboration with all of our partners, including the provinces, territories, first nations leadership and other government entities, such as the Public Health Agency and Indian and Northern Affairs.

A concrete example of this is the virtual summit that took place on November 10. This summit, hosted by PHAC, AFN and Health Canada, provided information on H1N1 to first nations in an innovative way via the Internet. This event was a success and an excellent example of the good work being done under the AFN-INAC-Health Canada communications protocol--

[The Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

Order, please. The hon. member for Malpeque.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Madam Speaker, on September 17, I called on the Minister of Agriculture to address the crisis destroying our hog industry. That was two months ago and the situation has only deteriorated.

Since that time, we have seen the crisis in our hog industry only worsen. Instead of the government doing its duty and providing the assistance required, the evidence will now show that during the worst hog crisis in Canadian history the government has allowed the moneys in the business risk program to decline by, as the minister acknowledged I believe yesterday, $961,400,000. This is unacceptable.

There are ways that program could have been re-profiled to get the money into the producers' hands.

Does the minister and the government have any appreciation of just how ineffective they have been with their program?

I will quote from the testimony of Leza Matheson-Wolters, who appeared before the agriculture committee a couple of weeks ago. She and her husband are among P.E.I.'s most productive hog farmers and the current crisis quite literally is throwing them out of business. This is how she described the minister's program:

Currently, we have the HILLRP program, the hog industry loan loss reserve program, and the HFTP, the hog farm transition program. Neither of these programs will help, or save, the existence of my farm. The HILLRP program lends $85 per hog. I would first need to find a bank that would agree to consolidate my loans for a term of 60 months or less; but it would be at a higher interest rate than I have now, with the stipulation that I would pay off my APP first.

In other words, pay off the government first. This is security for the government, not for the hog industry.

She goes on to say:

But with our size of operation, it would mean that I'd first have to find a bank that would agree to this, then I would have to take a higher interest rate and pay off my APP, and then I wouldn't have any money left over. Therefore, the program is of no use to my operation. The result is that it will make things worse, not better, for me.

That is the sad reality for many hog producers.

As I said, under the business risk management program there could be solutions if the government only had the political will. It should drop the viability test, change the reference margins and let money flow under the business risk program. It has now allowed $961,400,000 less than the year before and that is less than previous years. I would ask the minister to not allow our efficient hog industry, among the most efficient in the world, with the best genetics in the world, to lapse and be replaced by the American hog industry.

My question remains the same. How can the minister and the government even pretend to have the best interests of farmers in mind when they fail to deliver on the promises and, worse yet, cut critical spending?

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture]

Madam Speaker, I thank the House for giving me the opportunity to respond in greater detail to the question regarding the subject of the three new programs that we have announced for our hog farmers.

The first program is $17 million for marketing our world class pork products and creating new markets for our hog farmers. The other two hog programs the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food announced this August provide additional financial assistance to the hog industry. These new programs help producers to either consolidate and restructure their debt into government-back long-term loans, or to transition out of the industry.

The hog industry loan loss reserve program is designed to help producers with viable hog operations to continue during the difficult economic situation facing the hog sector by providing the opportunity to consolidate short-term debt into long-term loans.

Industry representatives have said they fear that hog producers will not be able to pay back the loans within the prescribed timeframes. The long-term loan program will allow producers to consolidate their short-term debt into long-term loans, granting them up to 10 or 15 years longer to pay back their APP cash advances.

The intent here is not to put producers in more debt but rather to help them restructure their debt so as to ease their immediate financial pressures.

By restructuring their debt, hog producers can access new APP cash advances in order to meet their short-term credit needs.

Since November 13, the minister has signed 18 contribution agreements with authorized financial institutions across Canada in order to grant long-term loans to hog producers.

The hog sector itself recognizes that the market has fundamentally changed as a result of recent developments. The hog farm transition program will help those producers who cannot or do not wish to adjust to the new market realities to transition out of the industry.

Hog producers who had barns in production on April 1, 2009 and agreed to keep all of their barns out of production for a period of at least three years are able to bid on the level of compensation they need to idle production. This program will also help contribute to a reduction in hog production that the industry considers essential for the long-term viability of the remaining producers and the sector. The transition program is being delivered by the Canadian Port Council on behalf of the Government of Canada.

The first tender was held on November 4, and 75 producers will receive $10.9 million once their barns are emptied. The second tendering event is scheduled for December 9, and up to 600 producers are expected to be eligible to participate.

These programs are delivering and they are good for our hog farmers.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

What a sad commentary, Madam Speaker.

Let me put it on the record. I just received a letter from hog producers about the program to date. They say, “Unfortunately, the situation for hog producers remains substantially unchanged as the government's proposed initiatives have failed to fully launch as of this date”. They go into a critical analysis of the bidding process and the hog industry loan loss program by stating, “As a debt forgiveness program would not be trade actionable and as the existing proposals are still not available to any producers in a concrete way, we ask that you bring the matter of debt forgiveness back to the House”.

So I have, but the fact of the matter is that the minister has allowed Treasury Board to pull the wool over their eyes so that the governments get paid and producers are left without funding.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Madam Speaker, the hog industry supports the initiatives that we have launched. In fact, extensive consultations were held between the government and stakeholders in the hog industry, in particular, the Canadian Pork Council. The president, Mr. Preugschas, said, “We think it's going to make a huge difference”. Curtiss Littlejohn, the Ontario pork producers representative, said, “These three programs provide options and choices for producers and ultimately will help to right-size the industry”.

Even producers themselves are saying that this is the right way to go. I really think that the member for Malpeque needs to communicate much more closely with the hog farmers across our nation.

[The Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 7 p.m.)