Debates of Nov. 2nd, 2009

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, one of the things that I am very impressed with, being part of this as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health, is how well our minister, our Prime Minister, and our government have taken a lead with this very important health issue.

Not only have we taken a lead, but we have worked collaboratively. As members heard in the speech by the minister earlier, we were one of the first when Mexico found out that it had this issue in its country. The Mexicans came to us. They came to Canada. They came to the Canadian officials.

I am really a little sick and tired of the opposition running down Canada's public health system and running down the Canadian health officials, who I know personally have been working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to implement our rollout.

In 2006, we were the government that put in the pandemic plan, not like the previous government under SARS in which we know there was no plan and it handled it horribly.

Our minister and our officials are the envy of the world. As I said earlier, I was in Washington and they praised Canada. It is unfortunate that sometimes we have to go outside our country to get kudos when they are deserved. Unfortunately, all the opposition can do is run down our health care system and our good officials who are doing good work.

[Ben Lobb, Conservative, Huron—Bruce, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot of heckling on the opposition side, most of it without much merit.

I would like to read a statement from the local news in the riding north of mine, although part of the health unit covers it also. I wonder if this is a good enough result for the opposition. This is from CKNX AM 920 in Wingham, Ontario, in regard to the Grey-Bruce health unit. It states:

After wait times of up to 90 minutes at the first clinic last week, today people are leaving with their shot after 20 to 30 minutes according to spokesperson Drew Ferguson.

We have heard a lot of cackling here that the opposition wants to see better. Is five minutes better? Twenty to 30 minutes seems quite reasonable to me. Perhaps the hon. member would like to give his thoughts on the work of Grey-Bruce health unit and its support staff.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to thank the member for Huron—Bruce for all his good work. Of course, I would like to commend all the health officials in his community and right across the country. I know these people who are working around the clock to do what is best for Canadians.

To put it into perspective, this is unprecedented. This is new. This has never happened before, and Canada has taken a lead in the world.

We have been working collaboratively from day one with our provincial and territorial partners. That is why we can stand here today and say Canada is doing the job, Canada is the envy of the world, and we are very proud of our health care professionals in the community.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, we can talk about headlines.

The headline in today's Guardian, in P.E.l., is “H1N1 flu vaccine shortage to impact island clinics”. It says:

A nationwide shortage of vaccines will delay P.E.I.'s H1N1 vaccination plan for the coming weeks

In Prince Edward Island today we have four schools with over 35% absenteeism, and 35 schools with an outbreak of 10%.

The parliamentary secretary went through quite a series of numbers, but he did not talk about what we are short. Where is the plan on the shortage of vaccines that would deal with the problems we are having in Prince Edward Island and across the country?

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, the misinformation from the other side is unbelievable.

These rollouts have been discussed with all the provinces and territories in advance. We have enough out there, as I said earlier: six million doses. In the member's own province of Prince Edward Island, as I mentioned, we had 29,000 doses of the adjuvanted vaccine and 900 of the non-adjuvanted. This rollout was supposed to be for the high-risk people in the communities.

I am very happy to say that we have worked hard with the provinces and we will continue to work hard with the provinces on this rollout. This is a complicated thing, but again I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the health professionals especially in Prince Edward Island who are doing a good job of getting this done.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Pierrefonds—Dollard.

Throughout May and June of this year, 21 remote and isolated communities in northern Manitoba were significantly affected by the H1N1 virus. When and where did these cases start and spread? An investigation needs to be undertaken as to why aboriginal cases were not picked up, or if they were, why they were not reported and acted upon.

What federal officials went to northern Manitoba as Canadian scientists went to Mexico? Where was the compassion and the urgency to see first-hand the devastation, the lack of supplies and infrastructure, and most important, what was needed to perhaps slow down the spread of the virus and guarantee prompt treatment of very sick individuals?

Why was there a lack of federal action during the spring wave in aboriginal communities? Why were aggressive containment measures not attempted? The WHO has since said these measures can slow the spread.

What was done to ensure the administration of antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu in a timely manner? Antiviral drugs, when used for treatment, can make someone feel better or shorten the time a person is sick by one or two days. They can also prevent serious flu complications. Dr. Anand Kumar, an emergency doctor from Winnipeg, explained to our parliamentary health committee that some people had to wait seven or eight days for treatment and that this likely impacted patient outcome.

Aboriginal people account for only 4% of the Canadian population. Why were 17.5% of those who were hospitalized aboriginal, 15% who stayed in ICU aboriginal, and 12% of deaths aboriginal? As of October 7, why were 38% of confirmed H1N1 cases first nations or Métis persons living off-reserve? A real investigation is needed so that these sad and sobering statistics are not repeated.

Every effort should have been taken to protect the health of aboriginal Canadians, as we had historical hindsight wherein the native population of Okak, Labrador, was hard hit. Only 59 or 266 people survived.

There are underlying health issues today, breathing difficulties, diabetes, underlying socio-economic conditions such as four and five families living in a household, environmental issues, and lack of clean running water. As such, my colleague from the riding of St. Paul's and I travelled to aboriginal communities to see first-hand the state of pandemic preparedness and we wrote a letter to the minister asking for answers to our questions. My colleague asked that the health committee be called back in August, because the House had recessed June 18 and would not sit again until September 14.

One chief reported that, of 30 communities in northern Manitoba, two had a pandemic plan and none had been tested. Pandemic preparedness and response should not be a test in patience and humility for aboriginal peoples, and we recognize the government's action in bringing back Dr. Paul Gully.

Going forward in the second wave, we want to ensure that each community has an H1N1 plan that has been tested, with the necessary supplies, funding and human resources so that people receive treatment in a timely manner and suitable infection-control measures.

The summer provided an unprecedented opportunity, namely to remain vigilant and prepare for a possible second wave in order to reduce hospitalizations, deaths and socio-economic impacts. However, members of the parliamentary health committee learned that the government would stay the course regarding H1N1. Canadians did not need platitudes, but rather, planning, answers and action during the critical summer period.

While no one could have predicted what the fall might have brought, preparedness was our insurance policy. The more we prepared for a pandemic, the greater the probability that we would be able to mitigate impacts. During the summer, where was the Prime Minister, the health minister and the government in engaging decision-makers and citizenry regarding H1N1 influenza?

The summer was the time to inform the public about a potential second wave of H1N1 and the means by which individual citizens could lessen the impact on their families. The summer was also the time to encourage communities and ensure that vulnerable populations were prepared.

While underlying medical conditions such as autoimmune diseases and breathing challenges make individuals more at risk of complications or more likely to experience severe or lethal infections, how should information have been communicated to at-risk groups? This is key.

The summer was the time to plan for a possible gap between the onset of a pandemic, the second wave, and the time when vaccines might be ready.

Why did the government choose one vaccine manufacturer with one production line, particularly when influenza vaccine supply has a greater degree of unpredictability than the supply of any other vaccine? The United States contracted with five companies.

Why did the government order late and allow for a late delivery date? What was the contingency plan to ensure backup product and timely delivery of initial vaccine doses?

The government gambled on a possible November or December start date for a second wave of H1N1 and it estimated wrong. The second wave hit parts of Canada in October, as it did in the past, and before the vaccine was available.

The rollout began this past week, sadly, with confusion, frustration and lineups. Those vaccinated this past week will not be protected for 10 to 14 days. This week, there is a drop in vaccine doses.

How many Canadians have been vaccinated? What percentage of the population do they represent? What is the government's contingency plan for the gap period? That is the time between the second wave hitting and when people can get vaccinated.

Communication is vital in responding to any crisis, and clear, consistent messages are required. Our offices have been inundated by health care workers and the public who want real answers.

Perhaps the greatest confusion has surrounded vaccine for pregnant women. The World Health Organization advisory panel on vaccines recommended in June that non-adjuvanted vaccine be used for pregnant women if it were available. However, the Conservative government ordered adjuvanted vaccine in early August and later ordered non-adjuvanted vaccine. Why were pregnant women an afterthought?

When the WHO made its recommendation in June, there was no safety data for the adjuvanted vaccine in pregnant women, and expectant women fared poorly during past pandemics.

The government then recommended that pregnant women wait for the non-adjuvanted vaccine unless the cases of H1N1 were rising in their area. If the woman was over 20 weeks, she should take the adjuvanted vaccine.

To add to the confusion, the government then ordered 200,000 doses from Australia. We recognize that the position has now been made clear.

Regarding the adjuvanted and non-adjuvanted vaccines, we must ask: Who made the decision to halt the production of the adjuvanted vaccine? On what date was the decision made and the provinces and territories told? On what date did the minister know the delivery date would be delayed, and when did the minister inform the provinces and territories and the Canadian people?

Since the spring we have asked over 200 questions of the government regarding pandemic preparedness. We wanted to ensure that the government was prepared for a possible second wave. We are now in full response mode and we need bold action.

We need the $400 million from the 2006 budget redeployed to pandemic response. We need additional resources for the provinces and territories. We need clear, consistent messages for public health and Canadians.

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Etobicoke North is on my health committee and is someone who has a science background. She knows full well that the reason our vaccines were rolled out when they were was to ensure, number one, that the vaccines are very safe for Canadians. Also, every single Canadian has the opportunity, if he or she wants it, to have that vaccination.

As far as having one supplier goes, it was their government that signed the contract for the one supplier which will last until 2011. The other thing is that when we talk about this pandemic, we are talking not about politics but about people. We have to be very careful that people are taken into consideration.

The Liberal Party was the one that put out that dreadful ten percenter that has hurt a lot of people. Can I ask the member opposite if she knew about that ten percenter? Did she agree that ten percenter should have been sent out?

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has raised many issues.

Regarding safety, we must have a safe vaccine. China began mass vaccination in September, Australia on September 30, the United States on October 5, Sweden on October 12, and Japan on October 19. I do not think any of these countries were going to give their people an unsafe vaccine.

It is important that we ask why only one supplier was used, and the member mentions this was a decision made in 2001. The job of the government is to update the pandemic plan so it is current, so we are best able to respond, to have the resources.

I believe the last comment was regarding the ten percenter. I had no knowledge of that ten percenter, but along with my colleagues that day in the health committee, I apologized.

[Jim Maloway, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I guess the question we want answered most is why we did not start off on a national basis inoculating or vaccinating the most-at-risk people first.

The government pretended to have a handle on this whole issue. It kept saying it was going to start the vaccination program on November 1 and it had 50 million doses. Then all of a sudden, very quickly, we see the government accelerated the program. It started a week ahead.

After only five days of pandemonium across the country, it has decided it does not have any more vaccine. It has to wait.

In terms of the most at risk, I understand, for example, that in Manitoba tomorrow the military personnel are being vaccinated. I do not know that they are in the most-at-risk category.

I would just ask the government to pull back a little bit here and quit being so defensive, and maybe admit that it does have a problem. I do not think the Liberals are imagining things here. I think they have been laying out some pretty good facts here, through speaker after speaker.

The government is just basically reading its notes from the Prime Minister's Office, just pretending that there is no problem here. Just wake up—

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

The hon. member for Etobicoke North.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has brought up two important issues. One is priority. The government created new vocabulary. In the summer, in July, the United States was told who would be on their priority list. In September we were given a sequencing list.

It is important to realize that the second wave of the pandemic hit in October, as it has in the past. The vaccine rollout started the week after. We have had one week of rollout. While the government is promoting the idea that six million doses have been given out, it is not the number of doses that have been distributed that matters; it is the number of doses of vaccine that have gotten into the arms of Canadians.

I think we would all like to know how many vaccines have been administered to Canadians. What percentage of Canadians will now be protected in 10 to 14 days, remembering that this week there will be a drop in the number of those doses?

[Bernard Patry, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to take part in this emergency debate on the A (H1N1) virus. I asked to take part in it because I have spent my whole life, whether as a general practitioner or as a politician—mayor or member of Parliament—trying to understand people and disease, but particularly listening, diagnosing and then supporting my patients through their ordeals, whatever these may have been.

Health is the single most important thing for each and every one of our fellow citizens, and we must, to the extent possible, try to maintain our health, including through prevention. Prevention can be a very personal matter such as eating a healthy diet or being a non-smoker. However, prevention is also a government's responsibility, as is the case with the current A (H1N1) pandemic, regarding which the Conservative government has failed miserably in its prevention approach.

Let us not forget that we are now going through the second phase of this pandemic, with the first phase having begun in Mexico, last spring. So, the Conservative government was aware of the issue and had plenty of time to prepare for it, but showed no leadership in this regard. The other countries have been preparing for a long time to fight this pandemic, but what has the Conservative government done?

Health authorities all over the world saw this pandemic coming when the virus hit, back in April. And while many countries were busy ordering vaccines in May, the Conservatives waited until early August.

The World Health Organization, the WHO, recommended the production of H1N1 flu vaccines on July 7, but the Conservative government waited until August 6, a month later, to order vaccines from GlaxoSmithKline. That unbelievable delay is largely responsible for the current shortage of vaccines. The WHO also recommended non-adjuvanted vaccines for pregnant women on July 7, but again the Conservatives waited and did not order those vaccines until September 4. Why did it wait for close to two months before making a decision?

The federal government's slowness in following up on the WHO recommendations resulted in the production of adjuvanted vaccines being slowed down this week, because of new priorities in the production. This is why fewer vaccines have been delivered to Canadians.

A number of other countries placed their orders for vaccine much earlier than Canada. The United States and the United Kingdom placed their first orders in May. Yes, I said in May. By July 24, Novartis International had already received orders for the H1N1 vaccine and was holding discussions with more than 35 governments. It had even signed contracts with the United States, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The Americans alone ordered more than $1 billion worth of H1N1 vaccine and it was delivered well before the vaccine was made available in Canada.

Take China for example. It started its mass vaccination campaign by administering its first H1N1 vaccines on September 21. Australia did so on September 30, the United States on October 5, Sweden on October 12, Japan on October 19, and Great Britain on October 21. Canada, on the other hand, did not start vaccinations until October 26.

A government that felt responsible for the health and safety of its citizens would have acted back in May. A responsible government would have taken the lead on this by conducting a public education campaign at all levels. Did this Conservative government promote the vaccine, explain the gravity of the illness to Canadians, and tell them as well that in order for the vaccine to be really effective and substantially reduce the number of people who fall sick, as many people as possible have to be vaccinated? The answer is no.

The harmful effects of this virus should be explained to Canadians through the electronic media, newspapers, schools, the universities and even religious institutions. People have a right to know. Five medical doctors in the Liberal caucus issued a press release on this and have been constantly asking the government questions about it, but are still without an answer.

South of the border, the Obama administration has proclaimed a national health emergency and given U.S. health authorities additional powers to deal with the pandemic and contain it. Instead of informing Canadians about the possibly very serious effects of the virus, the Conservative government preferred to spend $60 million announcing infrastructure projects and providing tax information. It puts concrete before health.

Things have been in total chaos for weeks, if not months. It has been left to the media to invite experts to give the public information. There has been complete silence from this government, other than meaningless and unworthy answers to questions asked by opposition members. A sample answer: “Canada has the best per capita vaccination rate.” I am sorry, but that is the lowest common denominator. We are not talking about “per capita”, we are talking about men, women and children who are all worried.

It is because of the inaction of this government, which has not been able to explain what this flu strain is. Why get vaccinated? Is the vaccine safe? Should pregnant women be vaccinated? Should children be vaccinated? Because of their inaction in the face of this crisis, panic started to emerge after the unfortunate death of a young boy in Ontario and the proportion of people wanting to get vaccinated rose from 30% to 80% in a few days.

The Liberal Party of Canada implores the Conservative government to use part of the $400 million set aside in the 2006 budget for intervention in the case of a pandemic. Yes, we are in a pandemic situation now.

The entire population should be vaccinated, but while we wait we have to tell the Canadian public, over and over, that one of the best ways to protect yourself against this illness is always a simple thing to do: whenever possible, wash your hands as often as possible with soap and water or a substitute product.

I could continue, but in conclusion, I implore this government to give health priority over concrete.

[Dean Del Mastro, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

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

The member has indicated he is a health professional and he would be aware of Canada's stocks of Tamiflu and Relenza, antivirals that we have invested in to make sure Canada is in fact prepared. We have made key investments in groups such as ICAV, located at Trent University in Peterborough, which is working on research on truly human monoclonal antibodies for people who are sick, so we can, in a much more aggressive way, deal with viruses like H1N1.

The Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones, has spoken with our health minister on numerous occasions and told Canadians how to be prepared for this virus.

In August I sent out a mailing to my entire riding telling constituents how to be prepared for a flu virus. I undertook that because I think all 308 of us in the House are elected into a position of leadership in our communities.

I would ask the member if he has sent out a full distribution mailing to constituents in his entire riding to tell them how to be prepared to combat the H1N1 virus.

[Bernard Patry, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is a little difference between an MP doing his job and the government doing its job. I really think it is the job of the current government to do what the member just mentioned.

For sure MPs could do some mailings in their own ridings. They could reach their people, but it is not as important as the government doing so. It was the responsibility of the Minister of Health to do so and also the responsibility of the Prime Minister to do so.

You failed to do it, and right now there are men, women and children who are scared. They do not know what is going to happen and they do not know because you are not present. You did not care soon enough about this. By soon enough I mean in May. When there was the first phase of this, you were not there.

Where were you at that time? Why were you waiting? There is no reason to wait and I repeat that I really feel there is nothing more important than health. It is more important than any cement, any infrastructure you can build in this country. You need to build health in this country.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

I would like to remind all members in the chamber to address their questions and comments to the chair.

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Halifax West.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his remarks. Obviously, I know he is a doctor. So I would like to ask him a question that one of my constituents sent me. Many people have told me they are confused because they have not really received good information from the government. Someone asked me this in English.

If pregnant women are urged to get the non-adjuvanted vaccine, why then should an infant over six months receive the adjuvanted form of vaccine?

Can my hon. colleague comment on that for my fellow Canadians?

[Bernard Patry, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.

Certainly what is important is that all Canadians be able to get vaccinated. The provinces are responsible for vaccinating all Canadians, from one end of the country to the other. It is also up to the provinces to take the lead and vaccinate pregnant women and children with an unadjuvanted vaccine. If public health officials in the provinces and the Canadian official agree, I think we should follow their advice. Those people are in an excellent position.

I think everyone should receive the vaccine. Getting vaccinated has to be a priority for the public because it is the one and only way to reduce the number of cases and avoid a Canadian pandemic.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo.

This is the first time in Canadian history that we have had such a huge vaccination campaign. One of our primary responsibilities is to ensure that Canadians have reliable, up-to-date and complete information on the H1N1 influenza and on how to protect themselves during the epidemic.

I would like to focus on the methods we have used to inform Canadians during the pandemic and on how we foresee pursuing the information campaign.

The number of activities we have undertaken over the past six months is quite simply phenomenal. Communications have been shared at a breakneck pace from day one. Take for example the number of people who have consulted the Public Health Agency's Web site: more than 3.1 million hits since April.

I should also mention the great interest in the Government of Canada's H1N1 Preparedness Guide. Nearly 300,000 guides have been ordered or downloaded. We will have to reprint the guide again after distributing more than 650,000 copies to 6,500 Canadian post offices in two weeks alone. We will not have enough guides and we released them just two weeks ago.

We have also launched massive media campaigns. The Public Health Agency of Canada is broadcasting a message to all Canadians. This week, that message was heard on 238 radio stations. Health Canada is broadcasting messages to first nations and Inuit people through 80 radio stations in addition to public service announcements on northern community stations. The department has also published messages targeted to these people in 43 community newspapers and placed advertising banners on first nations and Inuit websites. Between October 19 and October 30, we mailed a brochure to more than 10 million Canadian households, to tell families how to identify the H1N1 virus and where to find additional information.

There is a great deal of interest in the H1N1 flu. The Government of Canada is responding to that demand by providing timely, factual and relevant information on the virus. The degree of awareness about H1N1 in Canada is now extremely high, particularly considering that six months ago no one had heard of the H1N1 virus or the pandemic.

We are finding out that people are making decisions regarding their health and are assessing the choices available to them.

The information campaigns, the public announcements, the numerous interviews given by the Minister of Health and by Dr. Butler-Jones, and the press conferences we are holding several times a week are all initiatives which show clearly that we are providing Canadians with a great deal of quality information.

Here is another example. On Tuesday, after vaccination centres opened across the country, we noticed a threefold increase in the number of people visiting the Public Health Agency of Canada's FightFlu.ca website. Until then, the all-time record was 60,000 hits. On that Tuesday, 196,000 people visited the site, or 22,000 people per hour. Canadians know about the FightFlu.ca website, and they visit it in large numbers.

They look at an average of three pages each time, which is very good. They spend more time on these pages, which means that they are actually reading the content and that they go further to get information.

It is also easy to see that they are showing up at vaccination centres. They want to get vaccinated. Three weeks ago, few people wanted to get the vaccine. We are working with all our partners to ensure that Canadians will indeed get vaccinated.

Our efforts are paying off, and because everyone has worked together so closely, we are ready for whatever winter brings.

When the epidemic began, we distributed more than four million health alert notices to travellers in Canadian airports, in cooperation with Transport Canada.

In late April, we started running infection prevention messages in 24 international airports in Canada, in cooperation with the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority.

In May, we distributed posters to 49 airports showing how to prevent infection by using proper hand washing technique and coughing into one's sleeve, for example.

We have also signed an agreement with the Weather Network, which is using information from the Public Health Agency's FluWatch site on its website and its television stations in French and English. The Weather Network is also broadcasting general infection prevention messages on behalf of PHAC.

The volume of targeted, factual, complete information we are providing to Canadians and the variety of methods we are using to do so are quite simply unprecedented in Canadian history.

I could also remind this House that the national communication strategy is a multi-tiered strategy. The federal government is not alone in providing Canadians with information. We are working in partnership with the provinces and territories and local authorities.

All the information Canadians are receiving is coherent and comes from reliable sources in the public health community.

We are ready, and we are helping Canadians get ready and get informed.

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for her comments on the means by which the government is disseminating its message. The member opposite does not talk about the message and the consistency or the lack of clarity in the message.

I am wondering if she could provide any information as to what consistent, clear information the government is providing to the provinces, to parents, to Canadians, as it relates to booster shots for children. I know the Winnipeg regional health authority has told parents to bring their children back for a booster shot 21 days after they get their first inoculation. So in mid-November, there will be many children who will be in line for a booster, but we do not know what the rules are. Will there be a vaccine available and should children be getting a booster? Perhaps the member could talk about the content rather than the method of the message.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her question.

The members should remember one thing. We do not play politics with the health of Canadians, in contrast to the Liberals. We work closely together with the territories and provinces. The guide on how to prepare for the H1N1 virus can be downloaded. We have also printed 300,000 copies. That will not be enough and we will print more, because it is a very good guide.

Everything is there. It says what the H1N1 virus is, how to prevent infection, how to recognize the symptoms, how to care for a sick person, what the vaccines and antivirals are, how to plan a campaign against the virus, Canada’s plan, and all the resources. It is a very good tool to use. I encourage my Liberal friends to use it too. It is very good for our communities.

[Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the H1N1 pandemic is now in full bloom in Canada. Canadians are scared. Over the last couple of weeks, Canadians have been getting sick and Canadian children have been dying. The pandemic train has left the station.

Unfortunately, the immunization program has just arrived in chaos. Why have other countries like the United States been able to roll this out weeks in advance? Even countries such as China have begun immunization weeks before Canada. Perhaps the parliamentary secretary could answer.

The minister had said that, by Christmas, not a single person would be left out. Would the parliamentary secretary be able to look in the eyes of the parents of children, the 13-year-old and the 10-year-old who have already died, and all those Canadians who will get sick and die over the next couple of months and say that this is truly good enough?

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will look my friend straight in the eye and tell him that I will be one of the first to go and be vaccinated and will also take my mother because she is old and suffers from bronchitis. No, I am not afraid to save my life, or the lives of Canadians, and I do not play politics with the health of Canadians and Quebeckers.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, tonight we have heard a lot of conversation around the role of the federal government. I would like to hear her perspective in terms of the importance of us having a very good working relationship with the province.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Pardon me. I believe there has been a misunderstanding. The member is next on the speaking order. We are resuming debate.

The hon. member for Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo.