Debates of Nov. 26th, 2020

Health—Main Estimates, 2020-21

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

Mr. Chair, the impact of COVID-19 on mental health continues to affect Canadians' stress and well-being, and individuals with pre-existing conditions have been the hardest hit. The pandemic has also exacerbated inequities in accessing mental health care, with many unable to access their regular sources of support.

With the end to the pandemic apparently nowhere in sight, what is the government doing to help Canadians who are suffering now and those who will continue to suffer long-term consequences?

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

Mr. Chair, I will say I agree with the member opposite that it can feel like the pandemic is never going to end, but it will and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Canadians need to know that we will get there together and that we will stand strong with them as we work toward eliminating COVID-19 from Canada and, indeed, around the world.

We know that however much optimism we have about getting to the end of COVID, it still represents a high-degree period of stress and anxiety for many Canadians. That is why we launched, early on in the pandemic, Wellness Together Canada. Back in April, we knew that there were going to be challenges for Canadians as we were asking people to stay home, as they were being disrupted from their everyday lives and as they were worried about their jobs, their livelihoods, their health and the health and safety of their loved ones.

We launched this portal in April. It provides free incredible mental health and substance-use supports. It is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to Canadians. It is available in both official languages and there is translation for over 200 other languages. In fact, people can get free access to social workers, psychologists and other professionals by phone and by text. We have seen an enormous take-up of this service, and we encourage all Canadians who are struggling or who have family members who are struggling to use this free resource, which is available to all Canadians.

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

Mr. Chair, I am a big supporter of the Wellness Together portal.

What about Canadians without Internet access? How does Wellness Together Canada support them?

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

Mr. Chair, that is a great question. In fact, for those people without Internet access, they can access confidential chat sessions with social workers, psychologists or other professionals by phone or by text. To get started, there is a dedicated phone line for program navigators. Those program navigators stand by to help Canadians access the resources that are best suited to meet their needs.

This is really a unique service that is offered by the federal government directly to Canadians, which is very tailored to each person's specific needs. Again, I would encourage all members to let their constituents know about this additional free service. Some people in communities do not have benefits. They do not have access to mental health supports. Certainly, some people have been disrupted from seeing professionals face-to-face and this service can certainly help every Canadian that needs it.

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

Mr. Chair, on that same topic, what about those grieving the loss of a loved one or a relationship, employment or other area of their life that has been impacted negatively by COVID-19?

Could the minister tell us how the government will support them?

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

Mr. Chair, I will just say that grief is a large component of living through a pandemic. In fact, not only are people grieving the loss of loved ones, but they are grieving the loss of their routines. They are grieving the loss of contact with family. They are grieving the loss of normal life. There have been a number of times I have heard people talk about the need to get back to normal and their wish to be with people and friends.

This is very difficult for all Canadians and, in fact, Wellness Together Canada has experts and skilled professionals who deal exclusively in the area of grief, who can help individuals with the grief they are facing, with the loss that they are facing. We do have to stand together and this resource provides that support for people who are really struggling as a result of the incredible life changes that we all face now as a result of this pandemic.

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

Mr. Chair, I have just one quick question for the minister. How many people have accessed the Wellness Together portal so far since its inception?

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

Mr. Chair, I am so excited to talk about the Wellness Together portal. Almost half a million Canadians have accessed Wellness Together and some of them many times, so we have over 1.5 million uses of the portal.

The portal, by the way, has enough resources available for everyone, so again, we would really appreciate all parliamentarians making sure that Canadians know about Wellness Together. I know we have opportunities to communicate with our constituents in writing and other ways. Please make sure to let Canadians know about this free and valuable resource. It is private, it is confidential and it is helping Canadians get through a difficult time.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Mr. Chair, I am very pleased to participate in this debate. I want to commend our health critic, the member for Montcalm, who is undoubtedly here and following our work very closely. I want to thank the Minister of Health for being here this evening. She is here to get grilled, so to speak, until late tonight. I was a minister during the estimates process in Quebec, and I went through the same kind of thing. It is not necessarily easy, but it is always interesting. I also want to thank the members of all stripes who are participating in this process. I commend them for being here. I am sure the Chair will not mind if I take this opportunity to acknowledge my colleagues from Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot and Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, who are here with me this evening. I thank them very much for being here.

I am not my party's health critic, but I am the critic for intergovernmental affairs. One thing that has surprised me since coming back to the House of Commons is that the federal government is always quick to jump in and interfere in areas under the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces. I should not be surprised to see the same old, same old, as they say. However, the government does not always step up when it comes to taking care of its own business. I would even say that it neglects to take care of its own business.

It makes us wonder whether the government should perhaps try focusing on what it has to do, rather than always wanting to meddle in the provinces' jurisdictions, in areas where it has no authority. At the height of the crisis, the Prime Minister was, as usual, giving lectures. I say he was giving lectures because, like everyone, he was horrified by what happened in seniors' residences in Quebec, Ontario and now other provinces, particularly in Quebec's long-term care homes. Obviously, we were all horrified by what happened. I would not want anyone to think that the MNAs in Quebec City were any less horrified than we were here in Ottawa. No one in the National Assembly, at Queen's Park or in any other legislature in Canada wanted this to happen. No one wanted our seniors to end up in the situation that many of them found themselves in at the height of the crisis and are still in today.

The federal government saw a gap. It said that Quebec and the provinces were unable to manage this properly, so it decided to create national standards. Ottawa does not run any hospitals or seniors' homes, but Ottawa is going to create national standards because even though it has no experience in the matter, Ottawa always knows best and knows how things should be done. This is not a federal matter, but Ottawa knows best and will tell us how it works. Meanwhile, it is becoming clear that the federal government cannot even manage its own affairs, as we saw with the Wet'suwet'en crisis. What did the Prime Minister say when I told him he does not run any hospitals? He replied that no, he does not, but that the federal government does provide health services to indigenous peoples.

I want to clarify something. Off-reserve health services are the responsibility of the provinces and Quebec. They are the ones who provide those services to indigenous people. It is obvious how negligent the federal government is when it comes to the health of indigenous people when a few communities still do not have access to clean drinking water in this day and age. They do not have clean drinking water in 2020 in a G7 country. They do not have clean drinking water.

I think a lot of people, including people in Quebec City, are horrified by that. They think we should probably set provincial standards to make it clear to the federal government that it is not doing its job.

As Quebec's former public safety minister, I know that the federal government is not doing its job when it comes to police services. In northern communities, police services are provided by either the Sûreté du Québec or an indigenous police force, even though the Government of Quebec is in no way responsible for such services. In fact, Quebec taxpayers are footing the bill for police services in indigenous communities because the federal government is failing to do so.

Quebec had to create standards to make up for what the federal government was not doing. Now the federal government is saying it is going to show us how things should be done in seniors' homes.

Let me say a bit more about the pandemic, because that is top of mind for everyone.

As the Bloc Québécois's parliamentary leader astutely pointed out today, the federal government should have moved quickly to close the borders to prevent the virus spreading in Quebec and Canada, but it did so days, nay, weeks, too late, after the horse was out of the barn. As our colleague said, it was a failure.

The federal government should have approved rapid tests. It should have done it quickly so we could take samples, run an analysis and get results quickly. That is the crux of the problem, and it is critical in the fight against a pandemic. However, the government dragged its feet and it took weeks.

The federal government should have increased health transfers, not just to deal with the pandemic, but also to ensure the normal delivery of health services. For those who may not know this, seniors care is not covered by the health transfers. That means Quebec covers 100% of the operating costs of long-term care facilities. The federal government does not invest one cent, yet it wants to impose national standards on us.

The federal government already imposes so-called national standards. Under the Canada Health Act, five conditions must be met to obtain the meagre 17%, or perhaps just a little more, that the federal government deigns to send for health care. It originally promised to pay 50% of the cost. It did not keep its promise, and now it wants us to trust it to establish national standards for seniors' residences.

The government should have increased health transfers. It is constantly bragging about the $19 billion it says it sent to the provinces to combat the pandemic. The second wave has hit. It is time for the federal government to come back with more funding.

The federal government should have secured vaccines, but we have learned that the people of Mexico will be vaccinated before the people of Canada. Unbelievable. We may have reserved the largest number of vaccine doses, but that does not do us any good if they are not being administered.

I see that my time is running out, so I will wrap up.

I have to wonder if the federal government deliberately kept vulnerable populations vulnerable as a way to justify the introduction of these so-called national standards for our seniors after the fact. That would be despicable if true.

I hope that the federal government will do what the Government of Quebec is asking and give a date for when vaccinations will start. In the meantime, we are living in uncertainty. No one has the slightest idea when the vaccine will start being administered in Canada. Will it be in January? In July? Will it be this year, next year or the year after?

Nobody knows. All we know is that everyone in the world will get vaccines first, and then there might be some left for Quebec and Canada.

I will now ask the Minister of Health my first question.

How can the federal government lecture the provinces and Quebec on how to take care of our seniors, when it did such a poor job with its own responsibilities, including securing rapid tests and vaccines in order to get the vaccination process under way as soon as possible in Canada?

We still do not have an answer on when it will begin, though not for lack of asking.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Madam Chair, I will spend some time correcting some of the misinformation in my hon. colleague's speech.

Let me first talk about the work we have done to support Quebec and Quebeckers through COVID-19. Quebec received over $5 billion in the safe restart agreements. That was for testing, contact tracing, data, long-term care, mental health and a variety of other supports. In fact, Quebec has received in total supports from the federal government, including supports for people and businesses, $36 billion. This is good news for Quebeckers.

I will also say the guidance for long-term care homes the member opposite is talking about is national guidance, which was created with all medical officers of health at the table, including Dr. Arruda, who I know is serving Quebec tirelessly during the pandemic.

That national guidance was created with all medical officers of health early on, as we knew that if COVID-19 were to get into vulnerable congregate settings such as long-term care homes, it could have very tragic consequences. This is exactly what we saw in the province of Quebec and around the country in the first wave.

That is why, when the province asked for help through the deployment of the Canadian Red Cross and the Canadian military, Canadians sprung into action. I am so grateful for the work of the Canadian Armed Forces for helping Quebec out during a very difficult time. We still have a couple of hundred, if not more, people deployed right now in Quebec. I can get the member the exact number. We also have 296 Canadian Red Cross staff in 14 homes in Quebec right now, paid for by the federal government. This is in support of Quebeckers, who are struggling through the pandemic like all Canadians.

The last thing I will say is that this is a time for all provinces, territories and the federal government to pull together, because that is how we will get through this. When we support each other, we are there for each other with money, resources, staffing and support. That is exactly what we are doing at the federal level, making sure we spare nothing to support the provinces and territories as they deliver on their health care responsibilities.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Madam Chair, we do indeed need to pull together. We certainly do not need to be lectured.

The minister talked about the armed forces being brought in. I agree with her. We should be very grateful to the armed forces. However, Quebeckers pay for these armed forces, and it is only logical that when the need arises, as it does overseas, the armed forces are there to help. They were there, and that is quite fortunate.

Let's talk about universal pharmacare. There is one thing that the federal government can do something about without putting its grubby hands on universal pharmacare, a program that Quebec already has, and that is the price of drugs. Again, Ottawa is dragging its feet, which hurts those who need access to drugs at a reasonable price.

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

Madam Chair, ensuring that Canadians have access to pharmaceuticals at a reasonable cost is a top priority for me, despite the pandemic, which has consumed a lot of time, as members well know, and has been very pressing for all of us to respond to.

I will just say this: Our department continues to work on national pharmacare, including the standing up of the Canada drug agency. I do hope that Quebec fully participates in exploring how pharmacare and national pharmacare can be part of Quebec's supports for ensuring people in Quebec can access—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Vancouver Kingsway.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Chair, I have great respect for the minister and thank her for being here.

However, I must say that a lot of the answers from the government through the COVID-19 crisis have been unnecessarily general. I believe that parliamentarians and Canadians deserve clear and direct answers to responsible questions. Through the questions that I ask, I am hoping the minister will do Canadians the respect of answering the questions directly, if she can.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released a vaccine distribution strategy, which set a target date of November 15 for states to be ready for COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

What is Canada's target readiness date for vaccine distribution?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Madam Chair, I thank the member opposite for collaborating so closely on so many issues. I must say that I do enjoy working with him, despite our political differences.

The provinces and territories are working right now with the federal government on their readiness plans. As soon as a vaccine is available, we will be ready to deploy.

We have Health Canada regulators working around the clock to assess the vaccines that have applied for regulatory approval. We also have been working with provinces and territories to ensure they understand the specific requirements of the different types of vaccines, have the storage and transportation considerations under control, and—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Vancouver Kingsway.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Chair, I would appreciate the enforcement of time limits, please.

Once a vaccine has been approved, U.S. authorities plan to begin distribution within 24 hours. Are there plans in place for COVID-19 vaccines to be distributed in Canada within 24 hours of approval?

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

Madam Chair, as soon as the vaccines are approved, they will be able to be deployed in Canada. We are very grateful to the hard-working team at Procurement Canada and Health Canada who are working, as I said, very closely together to ensure that we are able to approve—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Vancouver Kingsway.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Chair, millions of Canadians will have to be vaccinated across Canada if and when a COVID vaccine is approved. Who does the minister anticipate will administer the vaccinations?

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

Madam Chair, the majority of vaccinations will be administered by provinces and territories, which have sophisticated immunization systems already. The federal government has responsibility for vaccination of some federal populations.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Chair, on August 31, the Prime Minister said the National Research Council would be able to produce hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses starting in November, and millions by the end of this year. Now, of course, not 90 days later, he says Canada has no capacity to produce vaccines at all.

How does the minister explain this blatant reversal on vaccine manufacturing?

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

Madam Chair, what I can say is this. Canada has not been a large player in biomanufacturing for a number of years. We have invested money to increase our capacity as a country, of course, to prepare for future health crises like this and because it is a valuable sector to have in Canada. I will say I am confident that the seven candidates we have procured are going to provide the diversity of vaccine candidates that will ensure that Canadians can get—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Vancouver Kingsway.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Chair, perhaps if the minister is not going to answer the question, she could do it succinctly so I can get more questions in.

Health officials also confirmed that the government failed to negotiate the right to produce vaccines in Canada, as other countries have done. This means Canadians will have to wait for a vaccine and lives are in the balance.

Why did the government fail to negotiate the right to produce vaccines in Canada?