Debates of Nov. 26th, 2020

Health—Main Estimates, 2020-21

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

We have resume. The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Madam Chair, I am pleased to rise virtually from my home this evening to speak about the actions taken by the government to address the broader consequences of COVID-19.

This pandemic is the biggest public health crisis that we have experienced in our lifetime, and that is something with which most everybody in the House agrees. It has had profound and unprecedented impacts on the health, social and economic well-being of people in Canada. Our top priority continues to be to protect the health and safety of all Canadians.

COVID-19 has underscored that our health, our economy and our society are closely intertwined. The health of Canadians is strongly influenced by the social and economic conditions in which we are born, live, learn, work and play. The pandemic has also shown us that threats to public health can have broad societal impacts both directly and through unintended consequences of public health countermeasures. These broader consequences include interruptions to education among our children and youth and widespread unemployment and economic instability among working-aged and older Canadians. We have seen increases across a range of health outcomes and risk factors.

For example, more people are indicating that they are experiencing poor mental health problems, problems with substance use, intimate partner and family violence, sedentary behaviour, food insecurity and housing instability.

We are also reminded that while COVID-19 is affecting us all, it is not affecting all of us equally. Some Canadians are shouldering a far heavier burden than others in terms of the health, social and economic consequences of the pandemic. These groups include: seniors; children and youth; women; workers providing essential services, such as those in hospitals, residential care settings and the food supply chain; migrant workers; low-income and precariously employed workers; racialized populations; indigenous peoples; and people living with disabilities. In many cases, these disproportionate impacts are linked to pre-existing vulnerability inequities in society, which have only been further heightened due to the pandemic.

For example, long-term care residents have been hit the hardest, accounting for approximately 75% of COVID-19-related deaths as of November 19. We are also seeing evidence that communities with a higher proportion of visible minorities are experiencing higher infection mortality rates from COVID-19.

In Toronto, for example, people who identify as members of a racialized group make up 52% of the total population, yet, as of the end of the September, have accounted for nearly 80% of confirmed COVID-19 cases where race data was reported.

The social and economic tolls of the pandemic and the necessary public health countermeasures are also unevenly felt.

For example, women, racialized Canadians, lower-income earners and young people bore the brunt of losses at the beginning of the pandemic and have experienced a slower pace of economic recovery. School closures and the shift to online learning have created particular challenges for families with fewer financial resources or less access to high-speed Internet and computing devices, which may compromise their children's educational performance and social development.

Increased economic instability has widened and deepened food insecurity in Canada, especially for lower-income households that may already face higher levels of financial, material, physical and mental stress. Public health measures put in place to mitigate COVID-19, such as physical distancing and quarantine, have created additional challenges for survivors of family violence and the organizations that serve them. These unequal social and economic impacts may, over time, lead to widening health and social inequities.

The unprecedented nature of this public health threat has called for an unprecedented government response, and this is precisely what we have sought to deliver. Since the start of the pandemic, the Government of Canada has taken extraordinary steps to address the broader health, social and economic impacts of COVID-19.

Recognizing the importance on the mental health of Canadians, the Public Health Agency of Canada has provided additional funds to address the increased demand for crisis support services. These include $7.5 million to support Kids Help Phone in providing mental health support services to young people during the COVID-19 pandemic; and $21 million for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and its partners to implement a pan-Canadian suicide prevention service that provides access to 24/7 bilingual crisis support from trained responders. This service is currently providing crisis support via voice 27/7 and via text in the evening hours.

The Government of Canada has also invested $46 million to date to support a new mental health and substance use support portal that the minister spoke of earlier, Wellness Together Canada. The portal provides Canadians with free access to credible information and supports to help address their mental health and substance use issues. Canadians can access different levels of support, depending on their needs, ranging from information to self-assessment tools to connecting to peer support, social workers, psychologists and other professionals for confidential texts or phone sessions.

As the pandemic has unfolded in Canada, it has become clear that we need to improve our understanding of and our ability to prevent and respond to the impacts of COVID-19 among vulnerable populations in Canada. Accordingly, we are working with our partners to gather more detailed and complete data, including by race, ethnicity and indigenous identity. Federal, provincial and territorial public health partners have agreed to a new national data set for COVID-19, which includes new variables to help understand the impact of racialized groups in Canada.

In addition, we are also funding research activities to generate urgent evidence to support decision-making during the pandemic through a range of research grants. Studies are under way to analyze changes in mental health, self-harm, suicide attempts and substance-related harms during the COVID-19 period.

Studies are also under way to identify other impacts of the pandemic, such as attitudes and practices related to COVID-19 and containment measures, daily mobility and changes in social activities, social isolation and stigma, and food security.

Tragically, in many communities, COVID-19 is worsening the parallel public health crisis of opioid overdoses. In response, we have taken action to ensure communities have the tools and support they need to keep people at risk of overdose safe during the outbreak, including additional funding for safer supply of products and overdose prevention sites.

We are continuing to deliver our regular public health programs for Canadians under these unprecedented circumstances and working closely with funding recipients to find innovative solutions to adapt their community-based initiatives to the pandemic context.

We have all seen the promising early results of several global vaccine candidates in the news. The Government of Canada continues to actively work to secure access to these and other vaccines and treatments to protect Canadians from the virus and support our recovery from the pandemic. Particular attention is being paid to ensuring that the rollout of any future vaccines prioritize high-risk populations and those who help keep our pandemic response, economy and society running.

The immunization partnership fund supports Canadian initiatives to improve vaccination confidence and uptake. Our government has continued to invest in the health of Canadians by extending this program for two additional years to ensure that Canadians, including those who are most marginalized, have the information and supports they need to confidently receive COVID-19 and other life-saving vaccines.

Beyond the health portfolio, the government has marshalled a whole-of-federal government response to protecting Canadians from the broader consequences of COVID-19. Key measures include direct financial supports for Canadians impacted by the pandemic, including through the Canada emergency response benefit, the Canada recovery sickness benefit and the Canada recovery caregiving benefit.

We have also invested millions of dollars to provide help for Canadians experiencing food insecurity and homelessness; for seniors facing barriers to accessing essential services; for victims of stigma, racism and discrimination; and for women and children fleeing violence.

Through the safe return to class fund, the federal government provided $2 billion to support the reopening of schools and to keep kids and staff safe in the classroom.

Through the safe restart agreement with provinces and territories, we have invested over $19 billion to support the safe restart of Canada's economy. Recently we also announced $1.5 billion to help Canadians in under-represented groups and those in sectors that have been hardest hit by the pandemic, such as construction, transportation and hospitality, to quickly access supports to re-enter the workforce.

These initiatives have been necessary to protect Canadians from this pandemic, while attending to the broader impacts experienced throughout our communities.

We recognize that the pandemic is not over, and that more needs to be done. COVID-19 has revealed the best of our systems, structures and behaviours, while also exposing the gaps that need to be addressed. It has revealed long-standing social and economic weaknesses that have placed our most vulnerable members of society at risk.

However, it has also shown us what our country is capable of when we unite under the common goal of protecting and supporting one another. We have an opportunity now, as we continue to care for each other through these uncertain times, to build back as a stronger and more resilient Canada.

I have a couple of questions for the minister.

Before I start, members have probably noticed this caterpillar on top of my lip, this crazy moustache. Of course, the minister knows why I am growing this mo. It is because it is Movember and Movember focuses on men's mental health and suicide prevention.

Timely access to health services is of critical importance when one is faced with mental health and addiction issues. As such, the Government of Canada has committed to work with the provinces and territories to increase the availability of high-quality mental health and addiction services for Canadians.

As we focus on keeping ourselves, our families and our loved ones physically safe and healthy, we are seeing that the pandemic is also having substantial mental health impacts that require attention and support. Could the minister please tell us what the government is doing to deliver on its commitment to improve access to mental health services for Canadians?

More specifically, what is Canada's health research investment agency, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, doing to support the mental health of Canadians, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Madam Chair, I want to thank the member for his incredible work and advocacy in mental health. We can tell by his remarks and his speech that he is passionate and knowledgeable about the subject.

I am so thrilled he is talking about men's mental health because we know men struggle just as much as women do. Oftentimes society stigmatizes men who are struggling. It is harder for them to reach out.

It is harder for men to access services for a whole bunch of reasons, but we have to stand together. This is a perfect example of exactly that, a man advocating for better men's mental health. I thank the member for highlighting the need for men's mental health services.

It is very important that we better understand mental health and substance use because this is one of the areas where I think Canadians struggle. Sometimes they get access and the help they need, but access does not always lead to the kinds of improvements they need in their mental health or the mental health of their loved ones.

As a member of Parliament and a candidate in a federal election, I hear many stories when I knock on doors to talk to people about the things that concern them or they wish were better in their lives. Frequently, one of the things people talk about is access to mental health care.

That is why our government has been focused so significantly on supporting the provinces and territories with fiscal transfers dedicated to mental health services, as well as funding for innovative and timely research through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. It is a $13.5-million investment to date to provide evidence to decision-makers on mental health responses in the context of COVID-19.

This is important because we are seeing a worsening of people's mental health and substance use in this time of extreme stress, grief and loneliness. Combined with Wellness Together Canada, the investment through the safe restart agreement, we have already made investments in the capacity of the provinces and territories to deliver on mental health services.

With our commitment to supporting virtual care, and ensuring Canadians have free access to professionals through Wellness Together, we are taking this situation very seriously. I thank the member for his advocacy and expertise in this area.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Madam Chair, as this pandemic has unfolded in Canada, it has become clear the health consequences of the pandemic differ across populations. Those Canadians who were at greater risk of poor health before the pandemic are likely to be at greater risk of suffering its consequences.

There is also emerging evidence that COVID-19 may be widening health inequalities. More information on certain groups at a higher risk for exposure to or severe outcomes of COVID-19 is needed. Given this, what racialized data has the federal government gathered on COVID-19 and the health of Canadians? How will improved data inform next steps?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Madam Chair, the member has highlighted a significant gap in our capacity to understand the differences in how COVID-19 is affecting Canadians. That is why we have been supporting the work of provincial-territorial partners to expand their capacity to collect data and disaggregated data as well as many other factors, so we can better understand—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Calgary Nose Hill.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Madam Chair, my questions will relate to how long Canadians are expected to remain in lockdown and how many Canadians are projected to die of COVID-19 under the government's current projected vaccination and rapid-testing plan.

What percentage of the Canadian population, assuming the efficacy rates of various vaccine candidates, will need to be vaccinated before herd immunity is achieved in Canada?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Madam Chair, vaccination is an extremely important tool in the battle against COVID-19, as we all know, but so are the many other things that will prevent COVID-19 from spreading in our communities.

Until we have mass vaccination, in fact until we see the world have access to vaccination, we will continue to need to be careful and to protect our loved ones. Of course—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Calgary Nose Hill.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Madam Chair, a paper in The Lancet recently suggested that, depending on vaccine efficacy, the percentage of people who need to be vaccinated against COVID to achieve herd immunity is between 60% and 90%. This depends, again, on the efficacy of the vaccine.

Based on the minister's current projection, when will herd immunity be achieved in Canada for COVID-19?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Madam Chair, of course vaccination is going to be a very important tool. There are a number of questions still, though, about immunity from COVID-19. For example, we do not know how long immunity lasts. We do not know, necessarily, if people will need to be vaccinated in an annual way, as is done for influenza. These are questions—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Calgary Nose Hill.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Madam Chair, is the minister managing to herd immunity, to zero cases of COVID or to some other measure with her current plan?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Madam Chair, I will just say it is Canada's plan. It is the provinces and territories working along with the federal government. Of course, we would all love to see zero cases of COVID-19, but in the interim what we are managing toward is—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Calgary Nose Hill.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Madam Chair, based on the efficacy rate of the Pfizer vaccine, we would need about 44 million doses to achieve herd immunity in Canada, looking at a very conservative projection rate on herd immunity. When will 44 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine be available in Canada?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Madam Chair, this is why it is great that Canada has a diverse portfolio of a variety of different kinds of vaccines. Some will be more effective than others, some will have different kinds of populations that they might be indicated for, so this diversity of vaccines is going to serve Canadians well—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Calgary Nose Hill.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Madam Chair, will 44 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine be available in Canada?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Madam Chair, we have more doses per capita of vaccines than any other country in the world.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Madam Chair, when will 44 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine be available in Canada?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Madam Chair, we have more doses per capita than any country in the world.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Madam Chair, when will 44 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine be available in Canada?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Madam Chair, Canada has procured more doses per capita of vaccines than any country in the world. We are in good stead to serve Canadians.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Madam Chair, how many Canadians are projected to die of COVID-19 before the first dose of COVID vaccine is delivered in Canada?