Anne McLellan

[Health, May 29th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member does, quite rightly, identify a real challenge for us. It is a challenge other countries face as well, which is why my predecessor put in place a secretariat to deal with organ and tissue transplantation and to create a council.

This is a federal-provincial-territorial endeavour. Some provinces are making more progress than others. However I think it is fair to say that this is an important step forward in bringing together some of the key clinicians, researchers and others in this area.

Yes, in the medium to long term we certainly hope to see a more coordinated approach that will lead to more organ--

[Health, May 29th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, my predecessor, with great foresight, created a secretariat in relation to organ and tissue transplantation in the city of Edmonton in the province of Alberta. In fact the council is hard at work.

I know the council has worked hard to develop a business plan. That business plan has been submitted to deputy ministers and I believe it is still under consideration.

If the hon. member wants further detail in relation to the work that has been done, the contracts that have been let and the future activities of--

[Health, May 29th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, it goes without saying that the government takes the fight against tobacco very seriously.

This morning I had the opportunity to spend time with about 400 young people from the Ottawa area, involved in a project called Exposé which is funded in part by my department. Exposé is an opportunity for young people to deliver an anti-smoking message in a very powerful way that reaches young people and makes sense for them.

I also had the opportunity to announce an additional $2 million in funding that is going to be focused on the campaign against second--

[Health, May 29th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I resent the fact that the hon. member suggests the travel advisory by the WHO was put in place because of exportation. The travel advisory was put in place because of three factors, the most important of which was community spread. That is beside the point. That would be factual, and the opposition does not appear to be much interested in that.

Let me reassure the hon. member that we have ramped up our procedures over the course of the SARS outbreak for outbound passengers. At Pearson and Vancouver airports those departing have to respond to a series of questions at the check-in counter.

[Health, May 29th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe what the hon. member who is a health professional is saying. In fact, Health Canada had a definition of probable cases of SARS reached in discussion, consultation, and agreement with chief medical officers from all provinces and territories.

That definition was in place before the WHO had finalized its definition. We have not changed that definition. However, because of recent discussions with the WHO, it is very likely that we will move to its definition of probable cases.

[Tobacco Control, May 28th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, as I have already indicated this afternoon, our government has a very aggressive approach to our tobacco control strategy. In fact, we are spending more on that strategy than ever before.

As I have already mentioned, we were instrumental in the drafting of the international framework for tobacco control and in taking action on low ignition propensity cigarettes. I wish to applaud my colleague from Scarborough East for making this an issue of importance to all of us. For the very first time information relating to anti-smoking is included within our mass media campaign denormalization messages.

[Health, May 28th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think what the government has done over the past number of years in terms of implementing an aggressive tobacco control strategy can be matched by any other country in the world.

In fact, I am very proud to say that Health Canada officials were instrumental in the drafting of the new framework for tobacco control which represents the first global effort to put in place a tobacco control strategy. The hon. member knows full well that we continue to research the issue of light and mild and in fact--

[Health, May 28th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, we are concerned. Unlike the opposition that apparently is only concerned about export, we are actually concerned about the health of Canadians. Therefore, we are just as concerned about the possibility of importation of cases from affected areas.

Let me reassure the hon. member that we are screening in relation to both outbound and inbound passengers. We make a risk assessment on a daily basis. We are in constant communication with the WHO. We are ramping up our screening procedures as quickly as possible.

[Health, May 28th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said over and over again, we have ramped up our screening procedures at the airports. The hon. member has concentrated on scanners at Vancouver and Pearson airports. In fact, we have instituted a pilot project in relation to scanners at both of those airports.

We have put more quarantine officers in airports. We have ensured that those coming into and leaving the country have information about the symptoms of SARS, especially for those coming into the country. We ensure that they not only provide us with travel locator information, but in fact they are required to respond to a series of questions. If in fact people answer any of those questions in the positive, they are then further screened by--

[Health, May 27th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, there are no mandatory measures recommended by the WHO.

I can reassure the hon. member and all members of the House that we are in daily communication with the WHO. It knows exactly what we are doing both in relation to screening inbound and outbound passengers. It knows exactly the schedule in relation to the ramp up of our procedures. As far as we know, the WHO is reassured that we are doing that which is necessary to protect the safety and health of Canadians.