Debates of May 29th, 2024

Department of Health—Main Estimates, 2024-25

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in some regions of the country, there have not been a sufficient number of dentists who have signed up for the program.

What steps are being taken to ensure, in rural and northern areas, that there are dentists available in the program?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, one of the things that we are doing is dispelling a lot of misinformation. Unfortunately, we have seen, in particular areas, Conservative misinformation and other misinformation. They have tried to say that there is a lot of administrative burden.

The good news is, when we get a few providers in a region, we see an explosion, because Canadians see that there was misinformation and that the program is easy to use.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, one of the implementation elements is a portal for dentists so that all dentists are eligible, and they can simply bill the program. There is a target date.

Will the ministry meet that date to ensure that all dentists are eligible for the program?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, absolutely. I think the progress, so far, has been really amazing. We have heard from so many providers that they want the portal that the member is talking about. The date of July 8 is going to be met. We are on track for it.

I think we are going to see a real lift in terms of the number of providers who participate and the number of people who get served.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the pharmacare bill that the NDP also pushed for, which we are happy to see move out of committee and back into the House, should be out of the House within the next few days with the support, hopefully, of all members of Parliament.

Does the minister have a plan for negotiating with all provinces once the bill passes through the Senate and gets royal assent?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to particularly thank the member for Vancouver Kingsway for his work. It was a pleasure to work with him on this.

Absolutely. I have had conversations with every one of my provincial and territorial counterparts. It is my expectation that as soon as we get royal assent, we will be in a position to negotiate directly. I have already had early conversations with every jurisdiction.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, for provinces that sign agreements with the federal government to move ahead on pharmacare, what will be the earliest date that diabetes medication, and contraception medication and devices will be covered?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the good news is that the bill will be headed out of the House very soon. I hope it is going to get out of the Senate soon. It is my expectation that it would be certainly this year that we would see the first drugs flowing. It really would depend on how fast we can get royal assent, but I want—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have some other questions that will not be as easy on minister. The first is the issue of keeping profit out of health care. Conservative premiers across the country have been trying to take advantage of the health care system to allow for-profit corporations to take over. Can the minister explain to Canadians what he is doing to stop Conservative premiers from strangling the health care system and allowing profit to take over?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the first thing is the interpretation letters that we need to issue, which I think will be critically important in helping to stem that. Second, we recognize that provinces may have taken some actions coming out of COVID to try to reduce burden but that we need to see the gaps closed and public systems protected. Under the Canada Health Act, we have made reductions in instances where private health care has been present, and we have the ability to do that in other places.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in Ontario there is a Conservative Premier, Doug Ford. He has underspent his health budget by $1.7 billion. The health care spending there is among the lowest in Canada. Hospital capacity has been shrinking and doctors and nurses have been getting burnt out. Patients are receiving terrible care in Ontario.

Can the minister tell the House why the Prime Minister was praising Doug Ford's approach on health care when things are getting so much worse in Ontario?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in the first order, there is the government of Nova Scotia and there is the government of Manitoba, and I am sure there are going to be others, where elections get decided on health. I am sure Ontario will be no different.

My approach as health minister has been to try to focus on the positives. There are lots of places I disagree with my provincial counterparts, but one of the reasons that common indicators are so important is that we would be able to see in data how people are doing and get people to ask—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in Saskatchewan, a Conservative Premier, Scott Moe, is taking advantage of loopholes the Liberals have failed to close that allow him to send patients to out-of-province, for-profit clinics to receive surgery. I simply want to know why the government and the minister do not close the loopholes that Conservatives are using.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have talked with Minister Hindley in Saskatchewan, and we had a conversation about the essential nature of public care. That is where we have to be, and I want to see that done through collaboration and co-operation. I think that is the best way to get there. It is going to be the continued approach, but the Canada Health Act is my responsibility, obviously, to enforce, and keeping care public is essential.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to long-term care standards, with seniors living in long-term care homes, there were horrible effects during the COVID-19 pandemic. Seniors died from negligence. Families lost loved ones before they could say goodbye. Can the minister inform the House when Canadians can expect to see mandatory standards for the quality of care in long-term care homes?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, obviously, what happened in long-term care facilities across the country was devastating coming out of the pandemic, and that is one of the reasons that in our supply and confidence agreement, we have an agreement to move forward with the safe long-term care act. I look forward to working in an expeditious manner with the member opposite to realize its fulfillment.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I hope it would have the same impact as we have had on pharmacare and dental care.

More than 54% of long-term care homes in Canada are privately owned; 57% of long-term care homes in Ontario are for profit. New Democrats, as the minister knows, have committed to removing profit from long-term care because the health of vulnerable seniors should go ahead of profit. Will the minister commit to removing profit from long-term care so seniors get the best level of care possible?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will agree that every senior has to be able to have access to the care they need. Our aging with dignity agreements have that at their core. That is what a very significant part of the spending on the tailored bilateral agreements was about. However, I certainly want to say that we want to continue to work with the member to make sure that it is affordable for every senior to be able to get the care that they need, ideally to age at home, and where that is not possible, to be able to go to a home they can afford.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in the last election, the government promised to hire 50,000 new personal support workers. Records show so far that it has been a little over 9,000. Why has the government not put in place better wages and working conditions, and why have they not met the goal of 50,000 new PSWs?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is a very big priority for me to get an agreement on personal support workers signed with each and every province and territory. I hope to have more news on that soon, but it is an objective that I share with the member, a commitment we made and a commitment I intend to keep.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, now I will move on to women's health care. Abortion is health care, and the Liberals promised to expand access to sexual and reproductive health. Abortion care is still inaccessible for far too many women, especially in northern and rural communities.

Clinic 554 in Fredericton, the last remaining abortion clinic in New Brunswick, closed its doors earlier this year. Can the minister explain why the government failed to save Clinic 554 and what his government is doing to hold provinces accountable when they restrict abortion care? When will the government re-establish abortion care in New Brunswick?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, of course abortion care is absolutely essential health care, and all women should have access to it no matter where they are in the country. There are still options in New Brunswick, but not enough of them. This is a conversation I have had with Minister Fitch with respect to the clinic that has been referenced. That is obviously under provincial jurisdiction, but there have been instances where we have withheld, because of actions taken on this issue, transfers under the Canada Health Act, but I would like to be able to fix this, again, with co-operation. It is essential that women have access to the care they need. Also, we talked about pharmacare and what we are doing—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby.