Bonnie Brown

[Quarantine Act, May 6th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the legislative design of Bill C-12 supports a prudent approach consistent with responsible government spending, that is, to determine an appropriate level of compensation only after an incident or an outbreak. It does provide the flexibility to provide compensation to industry in the event that quarantine facilities are required to isolate at risk travellers.

It does not speak directly to the issue of compensation for travellers detained under quarantine powers, but the Government of Canada could provide assistance to travellers who are inconvenienced by such measures.

In the event of a public health crisis, the government has the ability to, first, assess the situation and determine the need for an appropriate level of compensation based on the merits of each case, and then determine the possible means of compensation.

[Quarantine Act, May 6th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, there was some discussion about that, but we were reassured that customs officers would not be doing any in depth medical evaluation. It will be a simple kind of screening and they will have the training to prepare them to do that. None of us want to burden these very important officials of the Government of Canada with more work than they can handle. None of us want to slow down the customs process for travellers and tourists, et cetera. They will simply be a sort of first line and adequate medical personnel will be available to do any evaluation that needs to be done.

[Quarantine Act, May 6th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments of my colleague. While he is not a formal member of the health committee, he tries to attend frequently to keep himself updated.

The first thing I would like to say about this bill is that if there is any one issue in the House that should not be subject to partisan politics, it is the provision of public health measures in this new world that we live in. It is to be hoped that all members here present today will support this bill in order that the provisions of it can be put in place, because basically they are there to protect the health of Canadians.

My colleague is correct in saying that those of us who are from the metropolitan area of Toronto and close to the Pearson International Airport were tremendously struck by the rippling impacts of SARS. Most of us knew at least one family, perhaps the family of a health care worker, that had been quarantined over a period of time, and we knew about the impact that had on the other members of the family, all as a matter of protection for the wider community and a measure that we agreed with.

Once a disease like this gets started, the ripple effects on personal, family and children's lives and on the economy make it a far bigger thing than one thinks it is going to be when one first hears of it. That is why we were so delighted to have the appointment of a new Minister of State for Public Health, the member for St. Paul's, and the acquisition of a chief public health officer to coordinate these efforts across the country. I invite all members to go to their offices in suburban Ottawa. They are most impressive to see and will reassure members about their role as parliamentarians in protecting the public health of Canadians.

[Quarantine Act, May 6th, 2005]

Madam Speaker, the Quarantine Act addresses the largest group of people coming into this country. That takes place at our airports. Air travel is another factor where people arrive at our border quite ill or on the verge of becoming quite ill. The main measures of this bill would be taken at airports.

However, at other border crossing points, the usual measures would apply and there are both provincial and municipal police forces that can do whatever job the RCMP used to do. I do not believe that RCMP officers were actually picking people out of cars and saying, “You look sick. You had better go into quarantine”. I think that would be a misuse of their time. I think it is creating a myth to suggest they used to do that at all.

[Quarantine Act, May 6th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today on Bill C-12, the new Quarantine Act. We are updating the Quarantine Act because the piece of legislation we are working with is absolutely antiquated. It has not been significantly modernized since 1872.

The purpose of the Quarantine Act is very clear and straightforward. It offers protection to the Canadian public at our border points of entry by authorizing the use of public health measures to prevent communicable diseases from entering the country and spreading throughout the population. Our recent experience with SARS has not been forgotten. With the global threat of avian influenza and the heightened risk of a human pandemic, health experts and the public are acutely aware that new diseases can swiftly emerge and change in such a manner that all governments require a modern set of tools at their disposal to ensure rapid and decisive action.

Many of us will remember the important work undertaken by Dr. David Naylor, chair of the national advisory committee on SARS and public health. The newly proposed Quarantine Act reflects action taken by this government in a direct response to the recommendations put forth in the Naylor report and later echoed by the Senate committee.

In a modern era, diseases do not arrive by boat on transatlantic voyages. They arrive by plane and present themselves at our doorsteps within hours. By moving forward this important piece of public health protection legislation, the Government of Canada will have the authority to address immediate concerns related to global disease transmission, a cross-border issue of growing importance.

As members may recall, Bill C-36 was the first attempt to modernize the Quarantine Act. The bill was introduced in the last parliamentary session on May 12, 2004, but died on the order paper when the election was called.

Last fall, Bill C-12 was reintroduced. This revised bill reflected the comments of many stakeholders including provincial and territorial public health experts. After an extensive review process, including witness testimony and amendments adopted by the Standing Committee on Health, the bill was passed by the House of Commons on December 10, 2004.

Recently, the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology underwent a similar examination process of Bill C-12. Amendments were adopted by committee members specifically related to the tabling of quarantine regulations. The House committee on health had asked that these regulations be tabled, so that it could review them. The Senate saw that amendment in the bill and decided that it would like to see the regulations as well.

If the House concurs today in the proposed amendments, the tabling of regulations under Bill C-12 will reflect the role of the Senate of Canada by reinforcing the equivalent authority of this chamber in the parliamentary legislative process.

Canadians want protection. They expect government to draw upon an array of modern tools to manage future risks to public health. The revised Quarantine Act before us complements provincial and territorial public health legislation, for each jurisdiction is responsible for maintaining public health.

The federal Quarantine Act will operate as the first line of defence. It will play a mitigating role in protecting the health of Canadians from the importation of disease. The importance of jurisdictions working together is paramount when protecting public health, even more so when health threats emerge. The complementary legislative design of Bill C-12 helps to create a web of protection for Canadians.

Indeed, we do not need another health crisis to reinforce the critical importance of working in concert with our provincial and territorial partners.

After the SARS crisis, the Government of Canada moved immediately to strengthen public health. This act would become an important instrument in carrying out that commitment for it would add another tool in the pan-Canadian toolbox for public health. The newly created Public Health Agency of Canada and the appointment of the Chief Public Health Officer will serve in the management of any new infectious disease outbreak.

It is not only our obligation to Canadians that we need to consider. Currently, the World Health Organization is undertaking revisions to the international health regulations. Canada is a major player in that process.

Bill C-12, our new Quarantine Act, complements this effort. It is compatible with global public health efforts. This new legislation appropriately balances individual rights and freedoms in the protection of the public good. In a globalized world, it reflects the increased complexity in public health, making linkages with other authorities to support a coordinated response capacity, and including local and provincial partners, customs officials, the RCMP and the World Health Organization.

Revisions to Bill C-12 would ensure better communication, collaboration and cooperation among partners, as well as better clarity about who does what when. It would build on the expertise and the strengths already in place in the disease management spectrum to ensure that Canadians are safeguarded by a seamless public health system throughout this country.

Once enacted, our new Quarantine Act would ensure that the Government of Canada has the proper legislative tools to respond rapidly and effectively in the event of our next public health crisis.

In the spirit of collaboration, it is my wish that House members demonstrate ongoing support for the work and contributions made toward strengthening this bill on behalf of the Standing Committee on Health of this House and the Senate of Canada.

[Committees of the House, May 4th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Health. Your committee has considered votes 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 under health in the main estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2006, minus the amounts granted in the interim supply, and reports the same to the House.

[Parliament of Canada Act, March 23rd, 2005]

Madam Speaker, I wish to be recorded as voting no to the motion.

[Committees of the House, March 22nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Health. Your committee recommends that, notwithstanding the fourth report of the committee presented in the House of Commons on Friday, February 16, the government enact the proposed regulations amending the tobacco reporting regulations with an amendment.

I also have the honour to present, in both official languages, the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Health. We recommend that, notwithstanding the fourth report, the government take under consideration a recommendation with respect to the proposed regulations amending the tobacco reporting regulations.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a response to this report.

I also have the honour to present, in both official languages, the seventh report of the Standing Committee on Health. Your committee adopted a motion on Monday, March 21, calling on the government to immediately extend compensation to all those who contracted hepatitis C from tainted blood.

[Department of Social Development Act, December 1st, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite will be familiar with the local offices of the former Department of Human Resources Development. In most communities there is such an office. As that department has been divided in two, those same offices will serve both of the new departments. The two departments will share the existing programs service delivery network.

Social Development Canada is responsible for the network of call centres by telephone and the online web services. Human Resources and Skills Development Canada is responsible for the national in person service delivery network. That would be those offices to which I was referring, the human resource client centres. Additionally, Social Development Canada will provide corporate services to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. Those corporate services include human resources systems and financial and administrative services.

From the perspective of the member opposite, his constituents will continue to use the telephone lines, or the Internet or the local office that they have always used. There still will be three ways of contacting Social Development Canada and HRSDC, the same communication abilities for an average constituent as they had when this was one department.

[Department of Social Development Act, December 1st, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I welcome this opportunity to rise and speak in favour of Bill C-22.

The basic purpose of the bill is to formally establish the new Social Development Department, the one that was created last December when the former Department of Human Resources Development was divided into two parts. This division was part of the government's move to strengthen Canada's social foundations.

Bill C-22 is more than a simple piece of housekeeping. By enabling the Social Development Department to obtain legal status, the bill complements the many other ways the government is moving to strengthen Canada's social foundations and to improve the way that government does business with Canadians.

In other words, supporting Bill C-22 means we would be doing more than just giving legal status to a government department. It means that we support the fact that the Government of Canada is committed to serving Canadians in a fair, inclusive and efficient way. It means that by giving this new department a mandate to focus on social development policies and programs, members of the House recognize the importance of social development as one of the key defining features of our country and of the government's concern for individual Canadians.

With this legislation, we are both providing Social Development Canada with an appropriate legal status and we are confirming that we are in accord with the department's mandate.

What is the mandate we are confirming for Social Development Canada? The mandate is straightforward. It is to strengthen Canada's social foundations by promoting social well-being and income security for all Canadians. While the mandate is straightforward, the department's activities in support of this mandate are both many and wide-ranging.

Social development has become the point of convergence for all social policies and programs for children, families and caregivers, persons with disabilities and seniors. The department is also responsible for the voluntary sector. In concrete terms, this new department represents $53 billion at work for Canadians. Most of this money goes out as income support to Canadians themselves, such as seniors, people with disabilities and children.

The new department was also created to provide a centre of expertise on social policy and programs for the benefit of all Canadians. As such, it provides a focal point for social policy development within the Government of Canada.

The objective is to ensure a holistic approach to social policy through this department's relationship with other government departments and agencies, such as, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, Health Canada, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Finance Canada, Heritage Canada, Justice Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and the Canada Revenue Agency.

Many of the programs and policies of these other federal government departments can have an impact on the social policy interests of Canadians. The role of Social Development Canada is to work cooperatively with each of them to ensure that common objectives are identified and met.

This new department is also working in areas of shared responsibility with the provinces and territories. In a federal system like ours, where jurisdiction for social development is often shared with our colleagues in the provinces and territories, this particular federal-provincial-territorial liaison function is extremely important. For example, the department will be working with its provincial and territorial counterparts on a plan to establish a new national early learning and child care system. That is just one of the many areas of federal-provincial-territorial cooperation in which the Minister of Social Development and his department are engaged.

They are also working closely with representatives of stakeholder communities. These include child care experts, representatives of persons with disabilities, representatives of seniors and seniors organizations, and many other groups who from time to time need our attention and support.

All this activity can be rolled up into one statement which defines the goal of Social Development Canada. That goal is to ensure the social expectations of Canadians are understood and can be translated into policies, programs, and agreements that meet individual needs while respecting national objectives.

To put it in concrete terms, the new department is working in a number of ways to ensure key social objectives are met. Among these objectives are: continuing income security for seniors; helping people with disabilities to participate fully in Canadian society; re-enforcing the need for children to have the best possible start in life; and supporting the roles and activities of the voluntary and not for profit sectors in our society.

The bill would ensure that we could accomplish these objectives under an organizational structure that would provide integrated policy development and program delivery in a cost effective way. Indeed the two departments, that is Social Development Canada and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, have been designed in a way that minimize disruption and ensures that Canadians continue to receive a seamless, single window service.

There are some specific ways the new Department of Social Development is already hard at work to meet its mandate. By bringing together income security and other social programs for seniors, families and children and persons with disabilities under one roof, the department is providing a focal point for social policy at the federal level. By supporting the work of the Minister of Social Development and the Minister of State for Families and Caregivers and their work with stakeholders, the department is addressing major social issues affecting Canadians, including child care, early childhood development and approaches to ensure the active participation and dignity of seniors and Canadians with disabilities.

Social Development Canada is working to deliver the programs and services that Canadians have come to expect from their federal government. The bill would ensure that the department and its 12,000 employees across the country could continue to deliver all these needed programs and services.

I am proud to stand here in support of the bill, and I encourage all members of the House to join me in supporting it.