Debates of May 29th, 2024

Department of Health—Main Estimates, 2024-25

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Madam Chair, we are so proud of the quality of our product in Quebec and across Canada. It is really important to ensure that the quality is maintained.

Regarding avian flu, the situation is good right now, fortunately for the animals, but also for the population in general. We will continue to monitor the situation. I will certainly work with the member on the issue of exporting our product.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Madam Speaker, I will try to pick up the pace a bit. I still have a lot of material to get through.

Could the minister tell me how much progress has been made toward the implementation of the DNA testing that was developed by chicken farmers to detect chicken that is brought across the border falsely declared as spent fowl? This has been a problem for several years. The farmers developed the test, and it is effective. It would be very easy for the CFIA to incorporate it at inspection sites. I would like the minister to talk to me about that.

Would it also be possible to endorse these farmers' animal welfare program with CFIA certification? That is something else that might be very easy to do. It is a simple annual audit. This is a request from the industry.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Madam Chair, there are lots of questions and lots of details.

These questions are really important. I will send a response as soon as possible with all the details.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Madam Chair, when it comes to front-of-package labelling, the minister is aware of the situation, because I spoke to him recently. I want to talk to him about the cranberry situation. It is a healthy fruit, but it often has added sugar. Sugar is added because, once the fruit is dried, it has a bitter taste that needs to be balanced out. Cranberry farmers are really worried about seeing their products labelled as if they were just candy, as if they contained a lot of sugar.

Is the minister prepared to consider some sort of interim or exceptional measure? Could he explain to me why, when people in the industry proposed something like France's Nutri-Score system, which assigns each food the letter A, B, C, D or E and which would assign cranberries a B or C rather than an E, the CFIA did not take that into account?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Madam Chair, it is so important for consumers to be able to get information from the label. Generally speaking, there is too much sugar in our food and that is problematic. It is important for everyone in the country to have this information, especially when it comes to added sugar, which is not naturally present in food. Eating too much sugar leads to a lot of illnesses. It is a major threat to the general health of people across the country. We need to make the information accessible so that people can see it and make a choice.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Madam Chair, is the date for implementing this measure, which is scheduled for January 1, 2026, set in stone or can there be an extension for some suppliers who have a lot of packages in stock and would suffer significant losses? The minister can simply give me a quick yes or no answer.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Madam Chair, we have discussed this issue with the industry at great length, and the conversation will continue. Personally, I think it is important now that label information be made available to the public at large.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Madam Chair, I am going to talk about one final subsidiary issue.

I would like us to talk about people affected by thalidomide. A recent announcement extended the coverage period. I was very pleased to hear that, because there are people who were affected by that.

I would like the minister to tell me whether he thinks everyone will be covered. If a few exceptional cases should come to light involving people with substantial evidence, will he agree to cover those exceptions?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Madam Chair, the situation concerns me deeply and I will be providing more information soon. It takes a lot of time. Unfortunately, I am not prepared to answer that question right now.

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Madam Chair, as I begin this evening, I want to recognize that both ministers have been, for over three hours now, providing answers of substance to all parliamentarians, and I appreciate them for that.

I would like to start by following up on a letter I sent to the Minister of Health. We had a conversation about a month ago about renewing investments for support and training for HIV self-testing kits. As a reminder to the minister, in my community, the AIDS Committee of Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and Area recently expanded its services to Guelph Wellington and, for over the past year, has supported over 600 people in testing for HIV. Of the people engaged, 94% requested assistance from a peer worker to ensure they understood and completed the test correctly.

While the test kits remain available, the funding for support from a peer worker had ended. When we last spoke, the minister shared that he was planning to look into this. Can he share if the federal government will resume funding for the support of these self-test kits and, if so, when?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Madam Chair, I appreciate the continued conversation on this topic and the member's very earnest advocacy. It is an area in which we know that, when folks get tested, we can get them the drugs they need. It becomes a very manageable condition rather than what it had been in the past, which was a death sentence. It is totally remarkable for me to be able to talk with folks and see the transformation they can have.

In the first order, in the pilot project, the test kits will continue, as I have mentioned. As for the support around them, we are continuing to look at how that might be possible. Obviously, there is provincial jurisdiction and provincial partners need to be coming to the table with their own action in this space. We really need to make sure that people get tested. That is not just a federal responsibility.

These kits will continue to be available. We are looking at how we might have supports around that. This was a pilot project, and we are helping provinces, but they really need to be stepping up as well.

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Madam Chair, would the minister or a member of his team be open to accept a meeting with ACCKWA to hear directly from it about how important the support is for these test kits?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Madam Chair, I would absolutely welcome that. There is one thing I could say really quickly. The member could give me more time, if he chooses, so I can get back to this. If he wants to give me a little more time on that piece, I have something else to add.

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Madam Chair, I need to move to the next question.

My next question is on a concerning limitation in Bill C-64 brought to me by a senior in my community. The bill, of course, is designed to provide coverage for specific prescription drugs and products intended for contraception and the treatment of diabetes. My concern and that of this constituent is that critical equipment to administer medication and monitor blood sugar levels for people with diabetes, like real-time continuous glucose monitoring devices, is not included. Instead, the Health Canada website states, “the federal government is announcing its intention to establish a fund to support access to diabetes devices and supplies.”

Glucose monitoring devices cost between $2,000 and $6,000 per year and are a crucial part of diabetes management. While providing insulin is an important measure and the Greens support it wholeheartedly, I am concerned that this senior is still on the hook for hundreds of dollars a month for this essential tool in managing her diabetes, even with the passage, once we get there, of Bill C-64.

Will the minister commit to establishing this fund to ensure that glucose monitoring devices required by diabetics will be covered across the country, and if so, by when?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Madam Chair, I think the fund is established specifically for that purpose. It is going to vary province to province, but what I want to see for those in need who are in income insecure situations is that we have the ability to do that.

Now that I have a chance, I will go back to the other issue. One thing to note about sexual health and contraceptives is that we are having conversations in the pharma space, like the one I am having with Manitoba, because it is really taking leadership there, to see how we can spread and increase the action around sexual health. To me, that certainly includes action on AIDS.

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Madam Chair, I am encouraged to hear that on both fronts. I appreciate that.

I would like to tell the minister about another constituent of mine, Noor Ayesha. Noor is battling an incurable rare cancer. For it, she requires an oral drug. The name is Pemazyre. It has been approved by Health Canada but is not recommended by the Canadian drug agency for public coverage. Noor's oncologist recommends that she take this drug to help her live longer, but it costs $800 U.S. per tablet and has to be taken daily. It is a cost of over $15,000 U.S. per month.

Here is what Dr. Jennifer Knox, a medical oncologist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, had to say about Pemazyre: “this drug represents real progress, a key scientific and clinical advancement.” Noor's family has had to turn to starting a GoFundMe to help her fight cancer and live longer because the Canadian drug agency has not recommended Pemazyre for coverage.

What steps is the government taking to address this gap between Health Canada's approval of rare cancer drugs and the CDA's recommendations for public coverage in order to ensure that patients like Noor can access the treatment they need without prohibitive costs?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Madam Chair, in the first order, I want to say to the member and to Noor and her family how sorry I am that she is going through this, and how dreadfully difficult it would be to get that diagnosis and live with that condition and then have to worry about medication on top of it.

We do have action on drugs for rare diseases. We are negotiating now with provinces to try to identify what drugs we can look at to help folks who have a rare condition and need rare drugs so they can get help dealing with these extraordinary costs. One of the reasons it is so important that we take the collective action we are taking with pharmacare and take these steps is that we need to get to a world where everybody gets the medication they need and they are not in the kind of situation that the member described Noor is in.

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Madam Chair, can the minister share more about what can be done in working with provinces and territories to address this seeming gap? The issue, it seems, is that Noor cannot access the drug because it is approved by Health Canada but not listed by the Canadian drug agency as recommended for public coverage.

Can he share more, just briefly, about what can be done in working with provinces and territories to address this?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Madam Chair, given the level of specificity, perhaps the member could send me the details and I can get back to him directly. I want to be precise and I want to dig into the specific circumstances that relate to that exact drug. It is a very fair question. I want to do that for both him and Noor.

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Madam Chair, absolutely, I would be happy to do that. I appreciate the specificity.

I would next like to ask about Dylan and Kim. They are two of many parents in my community who have shared with me what it is like to raise a child living with CF. In their case, it is their son Jackson. As we know, kids like Jackson need expensive medication, such as Trikafta, which can significantly improve their quality of life. However, given the high cost of Trikafta and other CF drugs, many families struggle to afford it unless they are covered by private insurance. Those with access only have it because of private insurance through their employer. It often means that the value of this coverage is actually more than the person makes in terms of their salary. Of course, no child should go without essential treatment because of their family's financial constraints.

Can the minister share when the government plans to move forward with the pharmacare program that would include drugs such as Trikafta and maybe, at minimum, require private insurers to cover the drugs that public plans do? I understand this is already the case in Quebec and something CF Canada is calling for.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Madam Chair, first of all, for Dylan and Kim, I appreciate the member's advocacy. I cannot imagine how difficult that circumstance is, and that is exactly what we want to shut down. This is precisely why we are acting on pharmacare.

One very important question we have is about which model to use. We have a pilot in P.E.I. that is working very well, which is based on a fill-in-the-gaps model. The model that Bill C-64 is based on is a universal model. We are now looking at those two models in a real-world setting to see which one is best to use as a delivery mechanism for all drugs. We have a committee that will be looking at that over the next year, which will really paint that path forward.

These are very active matters of consideration, and this is one of the reasons it is so important that we establish that bedrock, which is the legislative foundation for pharmacare in Bill C-64, and take this action. In this way, we can make sure that we get to help families such as that of Dylan and Kim. That is envisioned in Bill C-64, and very much in my heart and in my mind as we are working on this.

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Madam Chair, as the minister likely knows, because the word “pharmacare” is restricted to contraceptives and diabetes, I hesitate to use it at this point. I know that is the minister's vision for where he wants it to go. However, I am thinking about parents, such as Dylan and Kim, who want to understand more about when this could be expanded to them. Could we at least hear the minister's aspiration for when he would look to see that expansion in place?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Madam Chair, I would say that our health care system has always been iterative. We have built it out a piece at a time. However, one of the most frustrating things for me, as health minister, is to go to different parts of the country and hear stories of things that we could do on a preventative basis and are not doing. I mean, we could talk about Iqaluit. I was up talking with Inuit leaders about tuberculosis outbreaks there. There are things that we still have happening—

[The Deputy Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member.

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Madam Chair, I would love to continue that conversation with the minister.

As the minister knows, Canada also has one of the highest rates of MS in the world, with more than 90,000 Canadians living with this disease. Of course, while the cause is still unknown, emerging research has highlighted the potential for significant advancements in the prevention of MS.

I have heard directly from constituents that they want to see the Government of Canada commit $15 million to fund MS research in partnership with MS Canada, focusing on prevention, repair and regeneration.

I understand that the minister also met with MS Canada earlier this month. Can he share what it will take for the government to commit these funds?