Colin Carrie

[December 8th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the statistics cited are from wave one of the pandemic. This wave took place from April until late August.

As already stated, more recent statistics demonstrate a marked improvement in aboriginal health outcomes relating to H1N1. In all three categories, hospitalizations, ICU admissions and mortality, there is a dramatic decline. Of note, we, in wave two, were seeing fewer children and pregnant women hospitalized.

I am pleased to see that the efforts we have undertaken with our aboriginal partners reflected in the steady decline of the spread and severity of H1N1 in aboriginal communities.

We will continue to work with our partners to monitor this pandemic and, as we learn, we will of course always improve at what we do.

[December 8th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is committed to protecting the health and well-being of all Canadians, including first nations, Métis and Inuit populations. Reflective of this, our government committed $305 million in budget 2009 over the next two years to strengthen current programs and improve health outcomes.

We have dedicated an additional $135 million that will go toward improving health services, infrastructure in first nations communities, including health clinics and nursing stations.

Budget 2009 provides two-year targeted funding of $165 million for the completion of drinking water and waste water infrastructure projects to address health and safety priorities in 18 first nations communities across the country.

Budget 2009 also provides $400 million over two years to support on-reserve housing, dedicated to new social housing projects, remediation of existing social housing stock, and complementary housing activities.

To combat H1N1 and maintain the level of community health that all Canadians expect and deserve including aboriginal people, we have stockpiled and distributed antiviral medications to the provinces and territories, overseen production and distribution of the H1N1 vaccine, and procured additional emergency supplies to complement provincial-territorial stockpiles. We continue to conduct surveillance and lead the federal-provincial-territorial effort on providing timely public health advice.

Antiviral drugs and a safe and effective pandemic vaccine are key infection prevention and control measures of the Government of Canada's H1N1 response efforts to protect the health and safety of all Canadians against the flu virus.

We have increased antiviral drugs in the national emergency stockpile system in order to provide provinces and territories with surge capacity in the event that their stocks become overwhelmed as they treat Canadians with influenza-like symptoms during this H1N1 flu outbreak.

According to the experts getting immunized with the H1N1 flu vaccine is the best way for Canadians to protect themselves and those around them from getting the H1N1 flu virus.

The Government of Canada continues to work with the vaccine manufacturer to supply provinces and territories with doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine on a weekly basis. As of the end of this week, approximately 24 million doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine have been distributed to provinces and territories. We are on target to immunize all Canadians who need and want the vaccine by the end of December. This of course includes first nations, Métis and Inuit populations. To date, based on numbers of doses of the vaccine we have distributed and the rate at which the provinces and territories have been administering it, at least one-third of Canadians have been immunized.

We have established a national surveillance system for tracking the H1N1 virus and providing detailed analyses of its impact in Canada. This surveillance system is integrated in our longstanding FluWatch system that was established 13 years ago. The lessons learned from these analyses not only inform our response to H1N1, but also help improve our understanding of pandemics in general. This system has been expanded to include aboriginal people in the general population and is complemented by first nations on-reserve specific data collected through Health Canada.

I am able to report that as of late November, our wave two data shows that first nations living on-reserve accounted for 1.3% of hospitalizations and 1.7% of all deaths in Canada. Considering that first nations living on-reserve account for 1.4% of the population, these numbers are within the expected proportion for wave two.

In terms of the off-reserve aboriginal population for the period August 30 to November 28, aboriginal people living off-reserve represented approximately 3.8% of all hospitalized cases, 6.4% of all ICU admissions and 7% of all deaths. While still slightly disproportionate compared to the general population, this is likely due to the fact that a higher percentage of aboriginal people possess the risk factors for increased health impacts due to H1N1. These factors include underlying medical conditions such as diabetes and living in remote and isolated communities.

[December 2nd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to conclude by noting that, thanks to years of planning, Canada was ready to respond.

First, we made the right investments in public health capacity, science and pandemic preparedness. Second, we have been fortunate to have negotiated a long-term agreement with a domestic vaccine supplier to meet all of our vaccine needs in the event of a pandemic. Third, we have been fortunate to have such an excellent collaboration in Canada across all levels of government. We have been fortunate to have the decisive leadership necessary to manage this outbreak without panic and in a deliberate, evidence informed manner.

Mr. Speaker, I will take this opportunity to wish you, your family and the member opposite a very merry Christmas.

[December 2nd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity to elaborate on the response offered on October 5 by my colleague, the Minister of Health, to the hon. member's question concerning the rollout of the H1N1 vaccine in Canada relative to our neighbours in the south.

Canada's vaccine rollout, the largest mass immunization effort that has ever been attempted in this country, has proven to be remarkably successful. It is very unfortunate that the member was not in committee today, because many of her new direct questions were answered in committee by officials and they were very positive responses for the government. She will be happy to know that.

Earlier this week, Canada's chief public health officer confirmed that by the end of this week some 21 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine will have been distributed across this country. More to the point, by the end of next week, assuming that all goes as planned, we will have delivered enough vaccine to provincial and territorial health officials to immunize roughly 75% of Canadians, the target that we set this summer when we announced our immunization targets.

The Government of Canada has always maintained that its overarching priority was to ensure that we get a safe and effective H1N1 vaccine into the arms of Canadians in a timely way. We made it clear that we are not competing with other countries to see who would get there first and that we would not cut corners where safety was concerned. We promised that nobody would be left behind and that by Christmas, every single Canadian who needed or wanted to be immunized would be able to access the vaccine.

I am confident the member opposite will agree with me that we have met all of these commitments and that Canadians have reason to be proud of the successful partnership between the Government of Canada and the provinces and territories to respond to the H1N1 outbreak.

When members reflect back to just a few short months ago, when the World Health Organization confirmed the emergence of a novel strain of influenza virus that might be a precursor to a global influenza pandemic, I am sure they would agree that Canada has accomplished a great deal.

For sure, there have been a few bumps along the road. That can only be expected when complex and sensitive policy decisions need to be made against a backdrop of constantly evolving science and knowledge about a new virus that the world has never previously seen and whose characteristics and attack rates are unknown and about a vaccine to protect against that virus that needs to be developed from scratch, safety tested, mass produced and delivered to tens of millions of people.

At the end of the day, the bottom line remains: Canada was up to the challenge. We delivered on our commitments. We made the right decisions and we met our duty to Canadians. That is what Canadians care about. Based on reports from the provinces and territories, we can safely say that roughly one-third of Canadians have already been vaccinated. Since our H1N1 vaccine rollout began at the end of October, we delivered enough vaccine for every Canadian identified as part of a target group. Last week, every province opened their vaccine clinics to all Canadians.

I have some great facts to bring forward for the member so she will know how well Canada has done and how well this Conservative government has delivered for Canadians.

Just six weeks into the H1N1 vaccine rollout, we have already distributed over 20 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine across every region of Canada. Rural and remote regions of the country have not been left behind. People residing in these communities, many of them aboriginal and Inuit people, were among the primary target groups for vaccination. At this stage, on a per capita basis, we have more vaccine distributed and more people immunized than almost any other country in the world.

We never accepted the notion that we were competing with other jurisdictions to be first out of the gate. We did what we committed to do.

[World AIDS Day, December 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, today, December 1, marks the 21st commemoration of World AIDS Day. On this day communities in Canada and around the world honour those who have died from this disease and those who continue to live with the effects of HIV-AIDS.

Despite significant advances in medical treatment, there are still no cures or vaccines to prevent the spread of HIV.

Our government remains committed to a comprehensive long-term approach to HIV and AIDS in Canada and globally. Under the federal initiative to address HIV and AIDS in Canada, we are working in partnership with the provinces and territories, community-based organizations and others to prevent the spread of HIV, promote awareness and provide care and support to people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS.

This government's international efforts to address HIV and AIDS continue to be based on sound public health evidence, built on a foundation of human rights, gender equality and the protection of the rights of children and other vulnerable groups.

In closing, I ask everyone to join me today in wearing a red ribbon to raise awareness and to show support for those living with or affected by HIV and AIDS.

[November 19th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, during the first three weeks of immunization, from October 26 to November 16, 2009, approximately 93% of first nation on reserve communities held immunization clinics. It is also a very positive achievement that 100% of remote and isolated first nation communities have held vaccine clinics.

As of mid-November, over 162,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine have been administered on reserve and approximately 40% of the on reserve first nations population has been vaccinated.

We are also seeing excellent collaboration with all of our partners, including the provinces, territories, first nations leadership and other government entities, such as the Public Health Agency and Indian and Northern Affairs.

A concrete example of this is the virtual summit that took place on November 10. This summit, hosted by PHAC, AFN and Health Canada, provided information on H1N1 to first nations in an innovative way via the Internet. This event was a success and an excellent example of the good work being done under the AFN-INAC-Health Canada communications protocol--

[November 19th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, with respect to the member for Hull—Aylmer's assertion that plans have stalled, I wish to assure this House that the government understands fully our responsibility to protect the health and well-being of all Canadians, including first nations living on reserve.

Given that the provision of health services to first nations people is a shared responsibility between the federal and provincial governments, Health Canada has worked closely with provincial governments and other partners to help ensure that first nations communities have access to the health services they need when they exhibit influenza-like symptoms.

We recognize that individuals with underlying medical conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other chronic illnesses, as well as pregnancy, may be at greater risk for complications from the influenza. Because first nations communities have a higher incidence of many of these conditions, first nations communities may see higher rates of complications from respiratory illnesses.

This fundamental consideration continues to guide Health Canada's work with its partners to address H1N1. Based on the pandemic plan that has been in place since 2006, this government has responded quickly and appropriately to H1N1 influenza. We have implemented the Canadian pandemic influenza plan for the health sector, including the specific activities which relate to pandemic planning for on reserve first nations as outlined in annex B of the plan.

At the community and regional levels, we have been actively planning for the fall-winter influenza season. Virtually all first nations communities have a pandemic plan in place. The vast majority of plans have been tested. Some remote and isolated first nations communities, as in other remote communities, face additional challenges, including the distance required to travel to hospitals for acute care, access to running water, and adequate housing. Most provinces have recognized these particular challenges and are looking at the pandemic guidelines from this perspective.

In preparing for and responding to wave one of the H1N1 pandemic, Health Canada sent medical supplies and equipment to all nursing stations in first nations communities, including those in Manitoba. These crucial supplies included items such as personal protective equipment for front line health workers and pain relief medication. We also prepositioned anti-viral medications in nursing stations for early treatment of influenza-like illnesses. Supplies and anti-virals continue to be replenished as needed as we combat wave two.

Health Canada supports first nations communities across Canada to help ensure their readiness to deal with the current pandemic. When we saw increased illness reported against northern Manitoba, the Government of Canada worked closely with first nations leadership, Manitoba Health and Healthy Living, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and regional health authorities to ensure a timely co-ordinated and integrated response.

In Manitoba, we worked with the province to establish human resource pools consisting of physicians, nurse practitioners and nurses to assist with the response in first nations communities. In anticipation of the vaccine approval that occurred on October 21, 2009, we shifted the primary focus of our planning and response from treatment to prevention.

Health Canada has now finalized preparations for mass vaccination of all on reserve first nations who want it. Vaccination-related activities include: providing training and additional health professionals to assist communities in vaccination once provinces supply the vaccine; procuring mass immunization supplies; and working with provinces, territories and other federal departments and agencies and first nations organizations to ensure consistent and culturally-appropriate information is available regarding the H1N1 vaccine.

As we move forward to address H1N1 on reserve, we do so in full collaboration with our partners. This includes the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, as well as the Assembly of First Nations. On September 19, 2009, the department signed a communications protocol with National Chief Atleo of the Assembly of First Nations and the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

This protocol formalizes our working relationship and reflects the deep commitment all three organizations have to combatting H1N1.

[Peacekeeping, November 6th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, dating back as far as the late 1940s, Canada has had a proud tradition of peacekeeping. Canada's armed forces, Canadian diplomats, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police forces, as well as civilians have all taken part in peacekeeping efforts.

Last year, August 9 was declared National Peacekeepers' Day. This past summer, I had the privilege to celebrate with peacekeeping veterans in my riding of Oshawa. From this point on, every August 9, Canadian peacekeepers past and present will be honoured through events and activities held across Canada.

However, our recognition of their service does not stop there. We as a nation owe these men and women an everlasting debt of gratitude. The significant contributions made by our peacekeepers have helped shape Canada's identity. This year, during Veterans' Week, I ask all Canadians to remember and honour our peacekeepers, our veterans and the members of our Canadian armed forces, with whom the tradition of service continues.

Lest we forget.

[November 2nd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, the misinformation from the other side is unbelievable.

These rollouts have been discussed with all the provinces and territories in advance. We have enough out there, as I said earlier: six million doses. In the member's own province of Prince Edward Island, as I mentioned, we had 29,000 doses of the adjuvanted vaccine and 900 of the non-adjuvanted. This rollout was supposed to be for the high-risk people in the communities.

I am very happy to say that we have worked hard with the provinces and we will continue to work hard with the provinces on this rollout. This is a complicated thing, but again I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the health professionals especially in Prince Edward Island who are doing a good job of getting this done.

[November 2nd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to thank the member for Huron—Bruce for all his good work. Of course, I would like to commend all the health officials in his community and right across the country. I know these people who are working around the clock to do what is best for Canadians.

To put it into perspective, this is unprecedented. This is new. This has never happened before, and Canada has taken a lead in the world.

We have been working collaboratively from day one with our provincial and territorial partners. That is why we can stand here today and say Canada is doing the job, Canada is the envy of the world, and we are very proud of our health care professionals in the community.