House of Commons Hansard #107 of the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was vaccine.

Topics

Motions for PapersRoutine Proceedings

3:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

Is that agreed?

Motions for PapersRoutine Proceedings

3:50 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

3:50 p.m.

Liberal

Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON

moved:

That, in the opinion of the House, provincial and local health authorities and health care workers should receive the maximum possible support from the federal government in handling the H1N1 flu pandemic and related vaccination efforts, and the Government of Canada should therefore immediately: (a) allocate the full $400 million set aside for pandemic response in the 2006 budget to support additional medical staff for vaccinations and patient care; (b) increase support for emergency planning to help local health authorities cope with long line-ups and shortages of both vaccines and health care workers; and (c) divert the money now being spent on needless, partisan advertising of government budgetary measures to a new public awareness campaign to keep Canadians informed with essential up-to-date information throughout the pandemic.

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore.

Canada is clearly struggling in the midst of this H1N1 pandemic. The role of the federal government is to prepare Canadians, to lead Canadians and to inform Canadians, and in all three dimensions, the government has failed in its duties and thereby failed Canadians. Our motion is an attempt to rectify this situation.

In 2003, SARS dealt a humbling and poignant wake-up call regarding the serious need for improvement in public health in Canada. Forty-four people died; many more were sick, and our economy suffered from the lowering of real GDP by approximately $1.5 billion, or 0.15% of the GDP.

Former health minister Anne McLellan asked Dr. David Naylor and the National Advisory Committee on SARS and Public Health to provide a third-party assessment of current public health efforts and lessons learned for ongoing and future infection control. In his report, “Learning from SARS: Renewal of Public Health in Canada”, Dr. David Naylor stressed that Canada needs to create a national face for public health that will play a leading role in any future health crises. His report is a blueprint for federal leadership in a public health crisis. His report said that in any response to a public health emergency, there needed to be better cooperation, collaboration, communication and a clarity of who does what, when.

Canada had to learn from the hard lessons of SARS and look at the outbreak as a reminder, warning and opportunity to renew the public health system. Disease prevention around the world is only as strong as its weakest link. Canada needed to provide a strong link, and for that the federal government had to take responsibility and help rebuild the frayed public health infrastructure in Canada.

In the section called “Federal Funding to Renew Public Health across Canada”, Dr. Naylor's report said:

The public health infrastructure needs strengthening at all levels, and this in turn suggests the need for earmarked federal funding that is not currently provided...

The availability of these funds underscores our assumption that any new federal spending on public health should be matched in some respects by P/T spending. But without earmarked federal monies for public health, P/T spending will be drawn, as always, to personal health services and opportunities for leverage and coordination will be lost.

The postscript states:

The SARS story as it unfolded in Canada had both tragic and heroic elements. The toll of the epidemic was substantial, but thousands in the health field rose to the occasion and ultimately contained the SARS outbreak in this country. The committee emphasizes that in drawing lessons from the SARS outbreak, our intent has been not to “name, shame, and blame” individuals, but rather to move and improve systems that were suboptimal. The challenge now is to ensure not only that we are better prepared for the next epidemic, but that public health in Canada is broadly renewed so as to protect and promote the health of all our citizens. It is to these latter ends that the committee's recommendations have been offered. We believe the recommendations represent a reasonably comprehensive and affordable starting point for strengthening and integrating public health at all levels in Canada. As our colleagues in government contemplate these recommendations, the committee commends to them the vision of Benjamin Disraeli who, on introducing his Public Health Act to British Parliament in 1875, remarked that public health was the foundation for “the happiness of the people and the power of the country. The care of the public health is the first duty of a statesman”.

Less eloquently, the committee in closing repeats the simple question we put earlier to all health ministers, finance ministers, and first ministers: If not now, after SARS, when?

As ministers in Paul Martin's government, we did much to act on Dr. Naylor's recommendations. We put in place the Public Health Agency of Canada; appointed Dr. David Butler-Jones as Canada's first Chief Public Health Officer; and created the public health network for Canada, in which all 13 jurisdictions could plan with the federal government the health and safety of Canadians.

As I mentioned Monday evening, during the emergency debate, in the 2004 budget we put in place a trust fund for the provinces of $100 million to build the capacity for front line public health. The budget stated:

$100 million will be made available to relieve stresses on provincial and territorial public health systems that were identified during the SARS outbreak, and to help the provinces and territories address their immediate gaps in capacity by supporting front-line activities, specific health protection and disease prevention programs, information systems, laboratory capacity, training and emergency response capacity.

That was federal leadership. However, in 2007 the Conservative government cancelled the fund. In its 2006 budget, it booked, thankfully, $400 million for pandemic response, a contingency. It said:

This budget provides $1 billion over five years to further improve Canada’s pandemic preparedness—$600 million to be allocated to departments and agencies and $400 million to be set aside as a contingency. (...) The $400-million contingency would only be accessed on an as-needed basis, if a pandemic were to occur or the current planning environment were to change significantly—for example, if significant human-to-human transmission were confirmed, resulting in an elevated pandemic risk or if the World Health Organization declared a higher level of pandemic risk. The contingency would be used to enhance Canada’s preparedness if an elevated pandemic risk were to occur and to address increased operational requirements during a pandemic influenza outbreak, for example to maintain emergency operations at a higher state of activity.

This was to be a contingency for pandemic response.

We learned that the government put the reserve fund into five annual packages of $800 million and each year, without a pandemic, the money disappeared. If we do not use it, we lose it.

We learned, in a response on the order paper, that no amounts were allocated from the contingency or spent in 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09. This is unacceptable. The money just disappeared out of the fund. It would be like putting away money in a fund in case we had to replace the roof or the furnace and every year it does not happen, we just take the money back out of the fund. This was to be an airtight fund. We were to break glass in the event of a pandemic.

It is time for the government to put the money back in the box and break the glass. and give those dollars to provincial and territorial local public health authorities that are reeling from the lack of certainty on vaccine delivery and a poor public awareness campaign that has Canadians still with 20 questions when they get to the front of their seven-hour line.

Dr. Naylor's report was very clear about federal leadership required in public health emergencies, but also the need for dollars from the federal government directed to local public health. Yet, the government has reversed the progress, and now the people of Canada are paying.

Platitudes and talking points will not work. Local public health urgently needs funding and, as well, the dollars from the contingency must be made available to help health care providers deal with the increasing numbers of sick people and very sick people.

Every member of this House must look to the situation on the ground in their ridings where they will see the need for the measures proposed in today's motion. We must look forward. We must redouble our efforts to get the resources to our health professionals so that they can get the job done.

We know that lives will be saved and additional sickness avoided the sooner we have a significant percentage of the population immunized. We know that local public health officials are describing that they do not have enough resources to mount mass immunization campaigns or school campaigns or to hire back retired nurses. We know that this virus can make people very sick, with long stays in ICUs, and we need to be ready.

The minister says that she is working with the provinces and territories. The minister has had one meeting which has a drive-by appearance where she was asked for H1N1 resources and isotopes. She refused to listen. She then unilaterally decided that the provinces and territories would pay for 40% of the costs of the vaccine and 100% of the costs for administering the vaccine, and for all other aspects of the response.

They need federal government support. The federal government must assume its proper responsibility, as Dr. David Naylor prescribed six years ago, after the devastation of SARS.

The role of the federal government is to prepare Canadians, to lead Canadians, and to inform Canadians. In all three dimensions, the government has failed in its duties. We urge our colleagues to support the motion for the health and safety of Canadians.

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4 p.m.

Peterborough Ontario

Conservative

Dean Del Mastro ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage

Mr. Speaker, the member speaks to the clarity of messages. She mentions that Canadians have a number of questions. However, this member well knows that the hon. Minister of Health and the Chief Public Health Officer, David Butler-Jones, have appeared before the health committee several times.

They have participated in hundreds of media availabilities and Health Canada has delivered one of the most comprehensive public awareness campaigns in our country's history. This week, the premiers and chief medical officers in the provinces and territories are doing their best to convey a clear message about the rollout of the vaccine, but the Liberals are currently attempting to muddle all of these efforts and messages.

They want to muddle these clear messages being sent by chief medical officers, professionals across this country, the Minister of Health and Dr. David Butler-Jones. Why are they doing that? Why are they muddling a clear message being sent to Canadians?

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4 p.m.

Liberal

Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON

Mr. Speaker, I would ask the hon. member to understand the difference between a media availability and a proper public awareness campaign. I would urge the member to look at what has happened with the NHS in the U.K. and with CDC in the U.S. in terms of proper public education, where people feel confident that they know what to do for themselves and their families.

This minister has failed people terribly by not being able to go to cabinet and get the money to mount a proper public awareness campaign such as those happening in every other country.

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4 p.m.

NDP

Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON

Mr. Speakers, we really must ensure that we are talking about this and not trying to turn it into a witch hunt. We all have to take our role very seriously in terms of H1N1.

However, my concern is that we have seen this coming for some time. We knew what we were going to be seeing. Yet, in my region in northern Ontario, where there are shortages, there is real fear in isolated communities on the James Bay coast such as Kashechewan and Attawapiskat. They saw what happened last spring.

Last spring in northern Manitoba was a test run for what was going to happen to first nations communities across this country. Our communities have shut down. They have shut down the schools and airports. They do not want anyone even coming into the community because they are afraid of what they are facing. Yet, a government that should have had a plan to deal with the isolated communities seems not to have been there at a time when it made the promise.

We saw this. We knew what was going to happen. Why does the hon. member think that it is happening before us in the isolated communities in northern Canada right now?

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:05 p.m.

Liberal

Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON

Mr. Speaker, even today, I have heard the same concerns from northern Ontario that the member has articulated. Many priority communities in Northern Ontario are getting half of the vaccines that they had hoped for.

Infants and children are being inoculated with adult needles because they did not receive pediatric needles to give the vaccine. This is unacceptable. It is bad enough that these kids have to have a shot. That they are being given with adult syringes is just despicable. These people are still suffering. We will continue to fight for the people in northern Ontario and in the remote and rural communities.

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:05 p.m.

Liberal

Keith Martin Liberal Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC

Mr. Speaker, my colleague has done a fantastic job on this file. The government has made an appalling series of errors in terms of being unable or unwilling to dispel the fear and myths that we have heard in our country regarding adjuvant and non-adjuvant, and the presence of small amounts of mercury in the vaccines.

The government has failed to communicate a clear and concise message to the public to answer these fears. Does she not think that this is an appalling failure on the part of this minister and the government?

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:05 p.m.

Liberal

Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON

Mr. Speaker, as physicians know, sometimes the information changes and therefore efforts must be redoubled on the communication of this. However, I think that, particularly for pregnant women, the government has changed its mind five times. That leads to huge confusion and it is unacceptable.

The government needed direct, clear messages to explain to the people of Canada exactly what was needed. There are too many messages and too many ideas out there for people to feel confident about the choices before them.

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:05 p.m.

Etobicoke—Lakeshore Ontario

Liberal

Michael Ignatieff LiberalLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the hon. member for her remarkable work, which stems from her experience as a family doctor.

This is a debate in which the opposition seeks to put forward concrete and practical solutions to help the country through the situation it is dealing with on H1N1, but it is also an opportunity for us to highlight the fact that this is a government that does not seem to understand the proper functions of government, which are to plan, to inform and to lead. There is no more basic area where the government has to show competence and compassion than in public health.

From the beginning of this crisis there has been a flagrant lack of preparedness by the Conservative government. The H1N1 flu appeared for the first time on April 23, in Mexico. By the end of July, more than 35 governments had placed their order for the vaccine. The Conservative government did not order the vaccine until August 6.

This delay goes a long way to explaining the confusion that reigned in September and October.

The Conservatives started vaccination behind many other countries. China, Australia, United States, Sweden, Japan and the United Kingdom, all began vaccinations before Canada, which did not begin its vaccination program until October 26.

The Conservatives did not properly plan the vaccination of pregnant women. We have already talked about that. There was total confusion in the public information for pregnant women. This is a total failure of their duty as the government.

The Conservatives only used one vaccine supplier even though the Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones, has said that the government's contract allows it to purchase vaccine from other providers. We want to know why the Conservatives have not done so.

The men and women at the GSK plant in Sainte Foy are working day and night, but they cannot meet the demand because of this government's delays.

Another area in which we begin to understand why the failure to plan does not just go back to this summer but it goes back over four years is the fact that the government had no emergency preparedness plan whatever for emergencies in general. One of those emergencies obviously is pandemic planning.

Four years ago the Conservatives should have begun that planning process to put a plan in place. They have not done so. The Auditor General has now pointed this out to the country and the country begins to understand that this is a problem that did not just begin with planning failures this summer, it tracks back in fact to the beginning of the government's mandate.

It is a failure to plan but it is equally a failure to inform. The Conservatives consistently failed to give Canadians credible information about the vaccine. On April 28 the health minister told this House, in response to questions from this side of the House, that the government would stockpile H1N1 vaccine, but it did not happen. On August 12 the health minister told the country that the government was prepared for this fall's outbreak, but it was caught off guard. On October 20, just two weeks ago, the health minister told Canadians that the vaccine would be available to all Canadians in early November and just late last week she began to say, “Well actually, we do not mean early November, we actually mean we might get it done by Christmas”.

It is this constant inability to get a clear story out to Canadians that has caused enormous confusion and anxiety in Canadian families. One of the reasons why this has occurred is that the Conservative government chose as a deliberate strategy to spend more than $60 million promoting its own economic action plan and only one-tenth of that on public information. This seems to me a scandalous display of partisanship when the clear duty of government is to inform the public about public health risks.

We also need to talk about the lack of leadership in all these areas, a lack of leadership and coordination between the federal government, the provinces and the territories.

My colleague evoked the need to invest $400 million. It was in the 2006 budget. The clear intention of that 2006 budget, a Conservative budget, was to provide resources so that we could have front-line public health services at the level that a modern civilized country like Canada should have. Instead, the money was not spent and we are now in a situation of frantic improvisation by hard-pressed public health authorities who deserve better from the federal Government of Canada, that is to say, leadership and clear direction.

The health minister, instead of accepting responsibility for these failures, has said, “We do not deliver health care”. The fact is that these pandemics do not care about jurisdictions. The role of the federal government is to provide coordination, planning and investment, and to burden share with hard-pressed local, provincial and territorial authorities.

We have had clinics shut down in Alberta, New Brunswick and Manitoba. We have had Ontario hospitals saying that they do not have room for any potential surge of H1N1 patients. In St. John's and Halifax local authorities report dwindling vaccine supplies. This is unworthy of a country of our reputation, and the failure is squarely at the door of the Conservative government.

The Prime Minister himself has been absent throughout this matter. At a moment when we would expect a Prime Minister to stand up and take leadership of this issue, he has been entirely absent.

He has not met with the premiers of the provinces and the territories nor with health officials. He has not shown any leadership during this crisis.

I want to remind the House that this is not the first public health emergency in which the government has failed to respond. We had the nuclear medicine fiascos, not one interruption of nuclear medicine but two on this government's watch. Now we have the H1N1. It begins to resemble a pattern of negligence, a pattern of incompetence, a pattern of “we just do not care about this issue”, and behind all of that, it seems to me, is an ideological disposition which holds, “What do we care? This is not the function of a federal government”. This side of the House believes passionately in the role of an active and compassionate federal government in providing leadership in the protection of the public health of Canadian citizens.

We on this side are attempting to do our job. We raised questions about the H1N1 epidemic the minute it made its presence known, its presence evident in Mexico. The minute it was sequenced in Canada, we began to ask for action. We have been asking for action consistently, and today's opposition motion puts forward extremely concrete proposals that are meant in a constructive spirit. Their chief intent is for the federal government to step up and provide resources to hard-pressed provincial and territorial authorities. We feel that this, if done, would begin to restore Canada's reputation as a country with a first-class public health system right across the country.

I want to make it clear that the Auditor General's report, which makes it clear that there has been a complete failure to provide comprehensive national emergency planning, adds an additional dimension to this debate, which has come to our attention, thanks to her excellent report. In the light of the Auditor General's report, the supply day motion now under debate, standing in the name of the member for St. Paul's, merits amendment.

I now, therefore, move:

That the motion be amended by adding the following:

...and (d) implement the recommendations of the Auditor General of Canada pertaining to emergency management as set forth in Chapter Seven of her 2009 fall report to the House of Commons.

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Acting Speaker Conservative Barry Devolin

The amendment is in order.

I must inform hon. members that an amendment to an opposition motion may be moved only with the consent of the sponsor of the motion.

Therefore, I ask the hon. member for St. Paul's if she consents to the amendment being moved?

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:15 p.m.

Liberal

Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON

I do.

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:15 p.m.

Conservative

Rob Clarke Conservative Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore.

Today we hear about partisanship, scandal and politicizing a worldwide H1N1 crisis.

What I have seen here today being mocked is myself being a first nations person but, most of all, a Canadian, an aboriginal Canadian who served my country to protect everyone in this world and in this country of Canada to keep it safe.

Would the hon. member please update the House on how he believes that distributing a ten percenter depicting an aboriginal child with a thermometer is helping Canadians? Was it his idea? If so, did he talk to his colleague and ask her to do the same thing with the ten percenter depicting a first nations child with a body bag? How is this helping Canadians to get the message out of helping?

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:15 p.m.

Liberal

Michael Ignatieff Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON

Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge with gratitude the public service of the hon. member opposite. This side of the House would always treat that public service with the greatest respect.

The issue before the House is the public information of the Government of Canada. The issue before the House is whether the government has done its job to provide clear, timely and accurate information to the people of Canada about the public health challenges that they face in respect of H1N1.

It is our view that this message has been confused, dilatory and underfunded. That is the position we have taken. We have tried to point out that had the government spent less money on self-promotion and more money on public health promotion, we would avoid the confusion that we see in the lines across the country.

It is extremely important that everybody behaves responsibly in relation to the H1N1 epidemic and provide accurate and timely information to all Canadians. It is also no secret that northern aboriginal communities face particular challenges which are the responsibility of federal authorities. We have been very critical of the ways in which federal authorities have failed to provide accurate and timely public health information to that community.

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:20 p.m.

NDP

Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have been speaking with families on the James Bay coast whose loved ones are living in unheated tents, thanks to the fact that the government has abandoned basic infrastructure needs and left them abandoned in a sewage crisis.

What we are seeing with H1N1 is not a surprise. This was seen coming for some time. The World Health Organization was focused on this. In our first nations communities we are seeing the return of tuberculosis on northern reserves. Our young people are dying at young ages from all kinds of ailments, from contamination and from a lack of medical services. They were the most vulnerable.

The government saw what happened this spring with H1N1 hitting the reserves in northern Manitoba. It knew what was coming and yet in our communities there is fear because they feel that once again they have been abandoned. They are the most susceptible to H1N1, because we have 15 and 20 people living in two bedroom homes.

Does the hon. member see this as part of a larger pattern of abandonment of isolated first nations communities by the government?

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:20 p.m.

Liberal

Michael Ignatieff Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his comments based on his experience of northern communities.

Like him, I have often been shocked by the situation of northern communities and the difficulties that they face in providing adequate health services.

This party is associated with the Kelowna accord and very clear commitments to fund improvements in aboriginal health, aboriginal education and aboriginal housing. We are disappointed with the reaction of the government to these challenges. We have pointed out the ways in which it has failed to respond quickly enough to aboriginal communities.

When I met aboriginal leaders from Manitoba, they pointed out the very sharp contrast between their sense of whether their communities are prepared to meet this epidemic and the public claims by the Minister of Health. There is a gap between the lived experience of these chiefs and what the Minister of Health has been saying about the state of preparation to meet the outbreak. We are very concerned about that issue.

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:20 p.m.

Nunavut Nunavut

Conservative

Leona Aglukkaq ConservativeMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Kildonan—St. Paul.

The hon. member for St. Paul's has put forth a motion concerning the H1N1 flu pandemic. This motion comes in three parts. The first part asks for the maximum possible support from the federal government in handling the H1N1 flu pandemic. I am pleased to say that this objective has been achieved, and more.

Second, it has requested that $400 million be reserved for pandemic preparedness. So far, we have spent over $1 billion for pandemic planning. This has helped us plan and prepare for this pandemic and the onslaught of the second wave.

However, what I disagree with is the partisan politics the opposition continues to play, to the detriment of all Canadians. These partisan politics are harmful in two ways. First, they are adding to the confusion that has been reported through the media and needlessly worrying Canadians. This confusion is dangerous and counteractive to the objectives of the expert medical advice given to us.

Second, it is using a motion regarding the H1N1 pandemic to stop the government from conducting its regular business. Our economic action plan is solid and has enabled our country to weather the recession far better than other countries.

I want to take a moment to offer my sincere appreciation and gratitude to the many Canadians patiently working through this pandemic virus outbreak with us and to the front-line workers who are working tirelessly to vaccinate as many Canadians as fast as possible.

Canadians, their governments, medical experts and health workers alike know that H1N1 is a preventable disease. That is why we are turning out in unprecedented numbers for the vaccine.

Together we are spreading the word about taking real concrete action instead of spreading myth and confusion. We are demonstrating a sense of social responsibility that is simply unparalleled in the history of public health in this country. As the vaccine campaigns continue into December, we believe all of our efforts will pay off.

All of this work deserves to be supported and built upon, not overlooked and criticized. We are all in this together and we need to continue our co-operation.

This government and our provincial and territorial counterparts have been making real concrete and tangible efforts to protect the health of Canadians. Ensuring timely access to a safe and effective vaccine for every Canadian who needs and wants to be immunized has been a cornerstone of the Canadian pandemic influenza plan for the health sector.

I want to set the record straight about the responsible, well thought out and entirely appropriate decisions the Government of Canada has taken on this file. Vaccines protect Canadians from becoming infected and helps prevent the spread of disease in our communities and, not surprisingly for the H1N1 flu outbreak, vaccines are a critical part of our public health response.

Canada's regulatory authorities have long recognized the unique challenges that would be posed by an influenza pandemic resulting from a completely novel strain virus like H1N1. New vaccines typically take years to be authorized, but in an influenza pandemic of the sort we are currently experiencing where infection has spread rapidly around the world in a few short months, standard vaccine development and regulatory processes are simply not viable.

In 2007, Health Canada began working with the WHO, the USFDA and others to establish a type of safety data that would be required to allow for the eventual approval of a vaccine in the event a pandemic was declared. Advance planning has meant we were able to move quickly on vaccines.

As soon as the WHO identified the novel H1N1 influenza strain, our process and expectations were clearly laid out for our manufacturer. Any potential roadblocks or ambiguity about the process forward had been cleared.

As many are aware, Canada's H1N1 vaccine supplier is GlaxoSmithKline. All provinces and territories in Canada agreed there was a strong public health rationale for securing a domestic vaccine production capacity in Canada. This reduced the risk of having to scramble for supplies at the last minute, compete with other countries or face the risk of products being stuck at border crossings. All governments had that foresight.

Just a few years ago, few countries and very few people were interested in influenza. The manufacturing capacity was much lower and there were not necessarily the options open to us today. Adjuvants, for example, were not an option until we saw an H5N1 emerge, prompting further influenza vaccine research and development.

Our domestic manufacturer actually has an adjuvant to offer, while others do not have similar new technology. This is one reason why, following a competitive tendering process, GSK was the successful bidder. At the time, Canada's public health community applauded this forward-looking, pro-active decision.

Because we had a guaranteed supplier able to meet all of our vaccine requirements, we could make an informed decision regarding our vaccine order. GSK's manufacturing facility and processes had already been assessed by our regulator. The company knew in advance what safety data requirements it had to meet for its H1N1 vaccine to be approved. As a result of this, we knew there would be no regulatory delays in getting vaccines to Canadians.

In short, for opposition members who have been quick to criticize and use this pandemic shamefully for partisan needs, I say this. To date, more than six million doses of adjuvanted H1N1 flu vaccine have been delivered to the provinces and territories. That is currently more H1N1 flu vaccine per capita than any other country in the world.

Let me be clear. All decisions that have involved the purchase, medical advice and roll out of the vaccine have been done in agreement with the provinces and territories. This government has also worked closely with first nations and the provinces to ensure that vaccination was a key component of the overall strategy to fight the H1N1 influenza.

We have ordered enough H1N1 flu vaccine for every Canadian from coast to coast to coast who needs and wants to be immunized. No one will be left behind, and, yes, the H1N1 flu vaccine, a safe and effective vaccine, will be available to Canadians in a timely way.

Looking back to June of this year, I am reminded about what our Chief Public Health Officer said. He said that if all went well, the vaccine would be ready by the end of October. He said that the goal would be to get enough vaccine for all Canadians by Christmas.

Four months later, the reality is we had the vaccine ready by the end of October, and our goal is still to get enough vaccine out to Canadians by Christmas.

We have not cut corners on safety. We have acted in a responsible and deliberate way that balances the need to ensure a safe and effective vaccine is available with the need to stay ahead of any outbreak.

This is a tough balancing act, but we believe we have the balance right.

Since the new virus surfaced in April, we have made hundreds of difficult decisions, all guided by the best available science and expert advice. We have informed Canadians about these decisions every step of the way. We have been upfront with everyone about the global challenges we are dealing with in this worldwide pandemic.

Last week witnessed the beginning of the largest mass immunization campaign in Canadian history. Because we knew it would be impossible to vaccinate everyone at one time, the Government of Canada, in co-operation with the provinces and territories, jointly determined sequencing guidelines for the distribution of the H1N1 flu vaccine. This was done to ensure that vaccine programs could target priority groups first, allowing those who needed the vaccine most to get it first.

I want to assure the House that the Government of Canada, along with the provinces and territories, have been working diligently to distribute and administer the H1N1 flu vaccine as quickly, safely and broadly as we possibly can. The Government of Canada has been in constant contact with GSK and the provinces and territories and is sharing information with the provinces and territories on each week's supply.

Canada's supply is secure. The contract with GSK is to produce enough vaccine to meet Canadians' needs first. There has been constant communication, both at the working level and at the senior management level, to share information on vaccine availability in each jurisdiction.

Again, I want to express my gratitude and appreciation to the many health care workers working at clinics. These are very challenging and unique circumstances they are working under. Jurisdictions are giving more vaccine per day than they ever have given in history.

Together, all governments are ensuring Canadians will be able to have access to our number one defence in this pandemic, and that is the H1N1 vaccine.

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:30 p.m.

Liberal

Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON

Mr. Speaker, I want to make it very clear that this is about putting people before politics.

We are very concerned that only one company was used to produce pandemic vaccine. Despite what has been said, that this was in 2001, in 2004 it was recommended to use more than one company. The rule in preparedness is backup, backup, backup.

Not only was one company used but one production line. We ordered the vaccine late and we gambled on when a second wave would come. We gambled that it would come in November or December. What would have happened if it came in September or October, as it did in the past? The second wave arrived and the vaccine rollout began the next week. Those who were vaccinated last week will not be protected for 10 to 14 days.

Why, when the minister said that they would be protected by mid-November, is it now Christmas? Why did she not follow the 2004 recommendations?

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:30 p.m.

Conservative

Leona Aglukkaq Conservative Nunavut, NU

Mr. Speaker, we have been following the 2006 pandemic plan that was approved by provinces and territories. We invested $1 billion to get that pandemic plan implemented across the country.

Dealing with this pandemic has been a challenge. It has involved great co-operation from provinces and territories. The chief medical officers of every province, Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Quebec and Ontario have all been working together collectively to get the vaccine produced.

The decision of the medical experts at the time was it was important to ensure vaccine was also available for the regular flu season, recognizing that over 4,000 Canadians die every year from the regular flu. This came from the province's recommendations and we agreed to that. Then afterwards we started production of the regular vaccine for H1N1.

We are ahead of schedule. We are getting the information out to all Canadians. The vaccine is being rolled out by provinces and territories. In fact, in some jurisdictions the vaccination program will be completed by next week.

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:35 p.m.

NDP

Carol Hughes NDP Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON

Mr. Speaker, again we see there is not much of a difference between how the Liberals and Conservatives manage crises, such as the one we have before us today on H1N1.

One just has to remember the delayed response on SARS under the Liberal government.

The Liberal colleague from St. Paul's commented on the government's use of earmarked funds for a situation that would arise such as this one. One knows that the Liberals are not committed to earmarked funds, given the fact that they took $57 billion out of EI funds.

Given the fact that we have seen such big lineups and the fact that we have heard at the health committee that there is a problem with regard to additional medical staff, is the minister committed to putting more dollars into those areas?

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:35 p.m.

Conservative

Leona Aglukkaq Conservative Nunavut, NU

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, to get the pandemic plan in place we invested $1 billion. Our government agreed to it in 2006. That $1 billion has been invested in a number areas, whether it be developing antivirals and so on.

The key to managing a pandemic is to work in partnership with our partners, and that is the provinces and the territories. That is exactly what we are doing.

As part of the pandemic plan, we have also agreed to fund the vaccine, to purchase it for every Canadian who wants it or needs it. We made a commitment to purchase 50.4 million vaccines for all Canadians as part of this investment in managing the pandemic.

We continue to work with the provinces and territories. One of the things that we also agreed to in Winnipeg, at the federal, provincial and territorial ministers conference, was we would have mutual aid agreements in place for Canada. We signed off on those agreements, which would allow us to assist each other should we have an outbreak in one jurisdiction and so on. These mutual aid agreements allow us to work together without any borders in dealing with a pandemic. That is one of the good components of the pandemic plan that has been well thought out for Canada.

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:35 p.m.

Conservative

The Acting Speaker Conservative Barry Devolin

It is my duty, pursuant to Standing Order 38, to inform the House that the questions to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment are as follows: the hon. member for Edmonton—Strathcona, The Environment.

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:35 p.m.

Conservative

Joy Smith Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB

Mr. Speaker, I would like to focus my remarks on pandemic planning and communications. I want to preface my remarks by stating that without the Canadian pandemic influenza plan, adopted in 2006, our current goals would not be attainable. This includes ensuring access by December to a vaccine for all Canadians who need and want one. It includes ensuring that every level of government, medical professionals and scientific experts are involved and collaborate along the way so the right decisions are made based on the best medical evidence.

The position of the WHO with regard to a global pandemic has always been it is a question of when, not if. All countries are urged to develop or update their own plans for dealing with influenza. Canada's pandemic plan, developed and adopted by the federal government together with the provinces and territories, has been invaluable in responding to the current H1N1 outbreak. It has helped all governments respond at all levels, from the public health officials to local planners to first responders.

Among other elements, this plan provides a framework to guide the actions of all levels of government for prevention, preparedness and response and implementation activities. In adopting the plan, the federal government also took a number of important steps to strengthen pandemic readiness. We increased surveillance and monitoring of influenza outbreaks to detect cases and clusters of severe or emerging respiratory infections and to effectively prevent and contain their spread.

In addition, national case definitions and standardized laboratory tests and protocols were developed to ensure consistent approaches to diagnosing, managing and reporting cases of severe respiratory infection.

Budget 2006 provided $1 billion over five years, that is from 2006 to 2011, to further improve Canada's pandemic preparedness; $600 million to be allocated to departments and agencies for a variety of pandemic preparedness activities; and $400 million to be set aside as a contingency to be assessed if a pandemic were to occur. This money was used to strengthen federal capacity in seven major areas: vaccines and antivirals, surge capacity, prevention and early warning, emergency preparedness, critical science and regulation, risk communications, and federal-provincial-territorial and international collaboration.

The Public Health Agency of Canada received $384 million over five years to strengthen federal human public health capacity to prepare and respond to the threat of avian and pandemic influenza in several areas: vaccine development capacity and purchase of antivirals and an early warning surveillance in collaboration with the WHO.

In addition, Health Canada received $15.5 million to address public health emergency planning for first nation communities and for regulatory work on vaccines and antivirals.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research also received funding of $21.5 million. This continues to support over 140 pandemic and influenza-related projects that contribute to managing the current influenza outbreak. This funding was a significant investment that showed foresight, leadership and commitment to the health and well-being of all Canadians.

It is because of this investment that Canada has been on the leading edge of the global response. In fact, other countries have commented on how well Canada has been responding.

Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization, specifically commended Canada for all its efforts. I think Canadians would agree that given the circumstances, we are well prepared on all levels and have responded based on this planning, acting in co-operation and collaboration with the provinces and the territories, following the best medical evidence available at the time.

This government knows how important it is not only to respond but to communicate with Canadians during a pandemic. Inevitably the public will have concerns, fears and many questions about it. We place great value in ensuring all Canadians have the right information to make decisions for their families and for their loved ones.

One of our key responsibilities is to make sure Canadians have reliable, up to date and comprehensive information on H1N1, how to protect themselves and how to manage during the outbreak. Right from the beginning, the Government of Canada has been up front, transparent and diligent in sharing what we knew, and as we learned more about this new virus, sharing that new information as well.

We are learning more about H1N1 every day. We continue to strive to share what we know with Canadians so that they see us as a trusted source of information. We know where Canadians are looking for this information and we are responding to their needs.

If we look at the traffic on the Public Health Agency of Canada website, there were a total of 4.1 million visits to the site between April 24 and November 1. On the 1-800 O Canada information line, a total of 24,247 calls have been received since September 24, nearly all of them from the general public.

On October 13, the Public Health Agency of Canada launched its H1N1 preparedness guide. It is extremely popular among Canadians. To date, 390,000 guides have been ordered via the 1-800 O Canada number, 26,000 copies have been downloaded from our website at www.fightflu.ca, and 650,000 copies have been distributed to 6,550 Canada Post offices. Already a reprint of two million copies is being done this week and distributed to Service Canada and Canada Post.

The launch of the H1N1 preparedness guide was an opportunity for the Minister of Health and Canada's Chief Public Health Officer to meet with people all across the country, including people living in remote and isolated communities, to talk about what the Government of Canada is doing to protect the health of all Canadians during the pandemic.

There is a huge amount of interest and the Government of Canada is keeping up with demand by providing factual, relevant and timely information on this virus. In particular, Canadians want information on the symptoms of this flu and what to do if a loved one falls sick. This information is included in our preparedness guide, on our website, in our marketing campaign and in all our many communications vehicles.

Last Tuesday, after the vaccination clinics had started across the country, we saw a huge increase in visits to the fightflu.ca website that we manage at the Public Health Agency on behalf of the provinces and territories. The all-time high previously was 600,000 visits. We received more than three times that number of visits on Tuesday.

Not only are large numbers of Canadians visiting the site, they are spending more time on these pages, which means they are reading the information and they are going deeper to find additional information. There is also ample evidence that Canadians want to get vaccinated and we are working with all our partners to make sure that they do just that. Our outreach strategy is working, and thanks to our comprehensive approach to collaboration, we are prepared for what may come this winter.

This large-scale and comprehensive approach to informing Canadians is unprecedented in Canadian history. Our extensive preparation and close collaboration with the provinces, territories and public health authorities have enabled us to provide Canadians with a constant flow of clear, factual information to help them deal with this public health emergency. Our pandemic plan is the culmination of an extensive dialogue in collaboration with provincial and territorial public health authorities, health care workers, scientific experts and academics.

It is this foresight and preparation that has enabled Canada to respond as quickly and as effectively as it has to the H1N1 virus. It is the years of comprehensive planning with all our partners that has made our country a global leader before and during this flu pandemic.

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:45 p.m.

Liberal

Sukh Dhaliwal Liberal Newton—North Delta, BC

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Kildonan—St. Paul mentioned that there are thousands of pieces of information out there, but it is very clear that there has been no clear information, responsible planning or adequate funding for those Canadians who have difficulty understanding English or French. This is very consistent with the comments made by the hon. Minister of Citizenship and Immigration last summer when he expressed his disdain for those Canadians who have difficulty speaking English or French.

I would ask the hon. member for Kildonan—St. Paul how she would like to see this situation rectified instead of this gross mismanagement by her government.

Opposition Motion--HealthBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:45 p.m.

Conservative

Joy Smith Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB

Mr. Speaker, in actual fact, the information has gone out in both official languages here in Canada. Up north there have been additional languages addressed as well with information and pamphlets. I know there has been a lot of attention paid to all groups to ensure that they do get the information.

It is very regrettable that members opposite tried to use this pandemic as a venue to put fear into the population. We need to work in partnership. We are working in partnership with the provinces and territories. We need all opposition parties to work with us on this pandemic.