Jeannot Castonguay

[Committees of the House, December 11th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for raising this issue. I will try to provide an explanation of the current situation.

The agreement reached in September 2000 between first ministers laid the foundation for the recent reports by all 14 jurisdictions—federal, provincial and territorial—on comparable health indicators. This is related, somewhat, to the point raised, about the importance of accountability.

All 14 reports were released on September 30 of this year. Some reports in the media referred to them as “report cards”.

The mandate provided by the first ministers to their health ministers was clear. It was to begin a process of comprehensive and regular reporting to Canadians. This reporting is not only to inform Canadians about their health and health system, but also to provide valuable information for governments and health care providers, allowing them to make better informed choices.

These reports were examined independently by the various auditors general in order to ensure the highest possible degree of reliability of the information.

Before mentioning a few of the highlights of those reports, I want to underline the very high degree of cooperation between all jurisdictions in producing these reports, the first of their kind.

What have we learned from these reports about health status? The federal report shows that Canadians are living longer than ever, and have one of the highest life expectancies in the world. Life expectancy for Canadians reached 79 years in 1999, compared with less than 75 years in 1979.

Compared with other developed countries, the proportion of babies born with a low birth weight is relatively low.

What have we learned about health outcomes? That the potential years of life lost due to heart attack, such as acute myocardial infarction, or unintentional injury have declined significantly from 1979 to 1999.

What have we learned about the quality of services? In the area of patient satisfaction, Statistics Canada survey data shows that more than 84% of Canadians rated the quality of the overall health services they received as being either excellent or very good in 2000-01. An estimated 88% of Canadians reported having a regular family physician in 2001.

There is still room for improvement, but at least we have an idea of where we are at in the area of health.

This is a first step toward public accountability. In two years' time, the same exercise will be undertaken. The provinces will strengthen the agreements between themselves in order to establish a base for comparison and to be accountable to Canadians. This was, incidentally, one of the recommendations in the Romanow report. He said, “Accountability must be improved”.

I completely agree with this and I believe that this is one of the points raised by my colleague. There must be accountability to Canadians when it comes to how public funds are spent. It is their money. We must administer and manage it well. That is what we intend to do in cooperation with the provinces and territories.

[Health, December 6th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, our reception of the Auditor General report was highly positive. It is always a pleasure to receive her reports. It is, in the end, this information that will enable us to work together to improve the situation of all Canadians.

We are well aware of the point my colleague is raising. We are equally aware of the fact that there is room for improvement when it comes to the reporting required of these people. This is why we wish to sit down with representatives of the various departments in order to ensure—

[Health, December 6th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to inform the House that the provincial health ministers are meting today in Toronto with the federal Minister of Health.

In a spirit of collaboration and cooperation, they will be examining ways to develop and improve a health care system that will meet the needs of Canadians and reflect the contents of the very significant reports available to us, namely the Romanow, Kirby and Clair reports—

[Supply, December 5th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for speaking from the heart.

I had the opportunity to work in the health sector for several years before being elected here. We often hear about medically necessary services. Should that be defined somewhere so that we know exactly what we are talking about, or should it be left open as it is at the present? Everyone argues about what should and should not be covered.

I would like the member to comment on this.

[Criminal Code, December 4th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, along the line of what I was saying earlier, when I talked about Bill C-13, which my hon. colleague is very familiar with, I think this is another bill that reinforces existing measures, while perhaps still allowing people to slip through the cracks.

We must realize that no matter how many laws we have, there will always be people who manage to skirt around them. Obviously, if we have bills that at least allow us to penalize these people when we catch them, hopefully this will improve the situation.

Again, I am convinced that we are heading in the right direction with Bill C-13, which will be debated in the House shortly, and I am very happy with my hon. colleague's participation in this debate.

[Criminal Code, December 4th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, first I want to thank my colleague, with whom I have been working for nearly two years already in the Standing Committee on Health. I think that the questions that he raises are of interest to all Canadians. I will try to better respond to his concerns to clear up this issue once and for all.

He mentioned that sperm is imported from prisons. I checked with Health Canada. To the department's knowledge, no sperm from prisoners is imported, contrary to the information that was given to the member in committee when he asked the question. In reading the transcript of the committee proceedings, it is obvious that the public official who answered the question did not understand that the member was talking about prisoners. That is why his answer was affirmative.

In Canada, donor semen intended for use in assisted conception is regulated under the Food and Drugs Act and the Processing and Distribution of Semen for Assisted Conception Regulations, better known as the Semen Regulations.

These regulations set out stringent requirements which are aimed at ensuring the safety of donor semen used in assisted conception in Canada.

These requirements apply to all donor semen distributed in this country; this includes semen processed in Canada and abroad.

Specifically, it is prohibited to distribute donor semen in Canada that does not meet the mandatory exclusion criteria and testing requirements of the Semen Regulations.

These requirements, which, I emphasize, are applicable to all donors, are designed to exclude semen from donors at high risk for infection with various infectious agents, such as HIV and hepatitis B and C.

Under the Semen Regulations, it is prohibited to import donor semen that does not meet Canadian regulatory requirements. Canadian importers are responsible for ensuring the safety of all imported donor semen.

Importers, indeed all Canadian establishments involved in the processing or distribution of donor semen, are subject to mandatory inspections as part of Health Canada's compliance and enforcement programme.

I have explained how the Semen Regulations serve to protect the health and safety of people using donor semen. Currently, there is no legislation to regulate the importation of ova for reproductive purposes or embryos for any purpose.

To address this and similar issues, Bill C-13 will create the Assisted Human Reproduction Agency of Canada to oversee all health and safety issues that could impact people through the processing, importation, distribution or use of embryos for any purpose as well as gametes for reproductive purposes.

In summary, the current and proposed regulatory frameworks for cells, tissues and organs, including reproductive material, are part of Health Canada's ongoing efforts to standardize safety practices and to provide the ability to address emerging issues such as new pathogens in a timely manner.

I hope this will ease the concerns of my hon. colleague.

[Health, December 3rd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I am trying to keep the discussion in relatively simple terms, so that everyone can understand. Perhaps I am not making myself clear.

For two days, I have been saying in this House that we have two very interesting reports, namely the Kirby report and the Romanow report. A few moments ago, the Prime Minister mentioned that we had reports, be it the Mazankowski report or the Clair report, that will provide background for the debate. We will have this debate in the House to ensure—

[Health, December 3rd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps my hon. colleague would like me to give him a hug. We can do that later in the hall.

The beauty of this Parliament is that people here are entitled to their opinion. We are having debates. On the basis of these debates, we will be able to come up with very meaningful programs for all Canadians.

With the information available to us and following the debates we are no doubt going to have in this House, we will be able to sit down with our provincial counterparts and develop great programs—

[Health, December 3rd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, this is an important question. In fact, as we discussed yesterday, we have two excellent reports. The commissions consulted all Canadians throughout the country. They even drew upon what is being done elsewhere in the world.

This is why I indicated yesterday—and you no doubt understood—that on Friday of this week, the Minister of Health will meet with the provincial ministers to see, in light of these important reports, how the health care system can be improved for Canadians. This is the approach we have taken and will continue to take.

[Terrorism, December 2nd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, this question allows me to finish my explanation. It must be understood that there has not been a smallpox epidemic for many years, and there were virtually no bulk supplies of vaccine available anywhere.

Last year, after the tragic events of September, the vaccine producers started up operations again. We have placed our order and will obtain what we need.

In the meantime, we have been wise enough to work with the rest of the world, so that if ever there were an epidemic anywhere, we would work together—