Debates of Nov. 26th, 2014

Health

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is all very confusing. We understand that the practice of medicine is a provincial jurisdiction, yet the government has accepted a licence application for a reprocessed device. Therefore, it is clearly involved in the regulation of these devices at some level.

We know that Health Canada has jurisdiction over new devices. Quite frankly, I do not see the difference between jurisdiction for regulating new devices and for regulating reprocessed devices. I would also suggest that these devices are being reprocessed in the United States exclusively, as far as I can understand. Therefore, the federal government would derive some jurisdiction from the fact that it has jurisdiction over international trade.

In 2004, the Auditor General recommended some federal jurisdiction over this matter. I would hope the government will listen to the Auditor General's report from that period.

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his comments. Clearly, he is concerned about this issue, and I know Canadians, obviously, share a deep concern for health care.

I would be pleased to make officials from Health Canada available to the hon. member to provide to him a fuller explanation than can be offered through a late show debate, just to offer a full reassurance to him.

In a nutshell, having the appropriate regulatory oversight of medical device reprocessing is important to this government. For this reason, Health Canada will apply the existing federal Food and Drugs Act and medical device regulations to incoming licence applications from commercial reprocessors of single-use devices. In doing so, it will hold reprocessed devices to comparable standards of safety and effectiveness as new devices, and will subject commercial reprocessors to the same regulatory requirements as manufacturers of new devices.

The recent passage of Vanessa's Law has also strengthened Canada's already strong drug and medical device safety system.

Public Safety

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the investigation into the collapse of the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake revealed many things, including an assertion that this tragedy could have been avoided altogether.

The report touches upon the essential role of heavy urban search and rescue teams and the importance of federal funding in supporting these teams—funding that has recently vanished. It is gone because the current Conservative government cut the joint preparedness program entirely, which may limit the ability of the teams to respond and also threatens their very existence.

The final report of the Elliot Lake commission provided a clear recommendation, to which the government should listen.

It stated:

The need for public security and safety requires the reinstatement of federal funding for HUSAR/TF3, in particular, considering its trans-border responsibilities. It seems unfair that provincial and municipal taxpayers should bear the entire burden of this valuable national asset.

This recommendation comes two years after the joint preparedness program was axed, but there were already warnings in place about the necessity of federal money to support and maintain heavy urban search and rescue teams when the cuts were made. Those warnings came from a 2007 Public Safety Canada evaluation, which found that, without federal funding, there was a risk that some or all of the heavy urban search and rescue teams would actually not survive.

However, the government is not receptive to this argument. The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness says:

...the majority of emergencies in Canada are local in nature and are managed by local or provincial governments.

What is lost in that argument is the nature of the events these highly specialized teams—and I will reiterate, these highly specialized teams—respond to, which is not applicable to most emergencies.

These teams respond to extraordinary events like the one we saw in Elliot Lake. With only five teams in all of Canada, they work out of province when needed.

The 2007 Public Safety report noted that the provinces consider heavy search and rescue to be a federal government initiative and that regional municipalities do not have sufficient budgets to maintain a nationally deployable heavy urban search and rescue capability and capacity, especially one that has largely been built using federal funds.

We do not want to be discussing this after another tragedy, especially if Public Safety's predictions of teams lost to a funding vacuum come to pass.

Will the minister learn from Elliot Lake's experience and stop cutting programs that help ensure the safety and security of Canadians?

Once again, I remind members that this is an issue of public safety. We need to ensure that we are ready when crises such as this one occur.

Again, I will reiterate. Will the minister learn from Elliot Lake's experience and stop cutting programs that help ensure the safety and security of Canadians?

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to address the concerns raised by the member for Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing regarding the federal government's commitment to heavy urban search and rescue in light of the recent report into the tragic collapse of the Algoma Central mall in Elliot Lake on June 23, 2012. I was born in Sudbury, Ontario, and so this tragedy certainly weighs heavily on many of my former neighbours and us.

Our government is committed to keeping Canadians safe. The untimely deaths of Ms. Doloris Perizzolo and Lucie Aylwin resulting from the rooftop parking deck collapsing into the mall should be a constant reminder regarding this important role, including the role the government must always play at all levels toward ensuring that events such as at Elliot Lake are never repeated.

The majority of emergencies in Canada are local in nature, and managed by local or provincial governments. As a former councillor and a former acting mayor, I was well trained in emergency preparedness, including for whether disaster would hit at our airport, Canada's largest airport, or we were preparing for a large public health outbreak. That being said, our Conservative government will continue to invest in programs that keep Canadians safe and is always available to assist the provinces and territories if necessary.

The joint emergency preparedness program was closely examined. The original objectives of this program, namely to enhance local emergency preparedness and response capacity, have been met. As this is a provincial responsibility, we encourage communities to invest in emergency preparedness. Our government has also invested $200 million in disaster mitigation. We will always take appropriate action to keep Canadians safe while ensuring fiscal responsibility.

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, clearly, this government does not understand anything. The final report of the Elliot Lake inquiry underlined the critical importance of having quality heavy urban search and rescue teams in Canada. Since there are only five such teams in the entire country, it is pretty unrealistic to assume that they will all be located in the same province.

Unfortunately rather than improve these services, in 2012 the Conservatives cut funding for the program that supports these units across the country. We know that budget 2012 was full of indiscriminate budget cuts in order for the Conservatives to accumulate surpluses to fund a pre-election spending spree. If Canadians had to choose between pre-election goodies and heavy urban search and rescue teams, I am sure they would make the right choice.

I will ask the question again: will the minister take into account the recommendation that came out of the Elliot Lake inquiry and restore funding for heavy urban search and rescue response in order to save lives in the event of a disaster?

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the primary responsibility of any government is the safety and security of its citizens. Recognizing this critical role and the importance of having the appropriate resources and training to support municipalities, provinces, and territories during emergencies such as the mall collapse, the government has supported enhancing the capacity of the urban search and rescue teams across the country. Over a 10-year period, the Government of Canada invested over $30 million to enhance these capabilities. During this period, most of the goals established by the program had been met.

The Bélanger report into the Elliot Lake mall collapse articulates a number of concerns regarding the use or activities, which are being assessed by the government. However, much of the report focuses on the preventable nature of this incident and whether fundamental measures had been taken to address engineering concerns. Preventing accidents through sound mitigation programming is critical if tragedies such as the one at Elliot Lake are to be prevented.

To this end, the government, through economic action plan 2014, announced the establishment of $200 million in funding for the creation of the national disaster mitigation program. Working with our provincial and territorial partners, this program focuses on identifying and mitigating priority risks that may impact Canadian families and the communities in which they live.

[The Deputy Speaker, Joe Comartin]

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

(The House adjourned at 7:59 p.m.)