Leona Aglukkaq

[Health, December 3rd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, transfers to the provinces and territories have increased to $40 billion by the end of the decade.

It also gives me an opportunity to talk about more investments we are making. We have created the Mental Health Commission of Canada; we have made significant investments in food safety; we funded the creation of medical residents positions; we fund national organizations like the Canadian Institute for Health Information and the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. The list goes on.

[Health, December 3rd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, they are the ones who cut the transfers.

We are also funding more than 10,000 health research projects across the country. We have introduced debt forgiveness programs for doctors and nurses who work in rural and remote areas. The opposition talks a good game, but our government is taking concrete actions.

[Health, December 3rd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, our government is absolutely playing a leadership role when it comes to health care. I appreciate the hon. member's question because it gives me an opportunity to talk about all the great investments our government is making. Transfers to the provinces and territories are at record levels and will increase to approximately $40 billion per year by the end of the decade—

[Health, November 29th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, our approach has been to work with the provinces and the drug companies so that they can share information about drug shortages publicly and on a website. Also, it was encouraging that at this year's health ministers meeting, all ministers agreed to work collaboratively on this issue.

We will continue to monitor whether companies make the information available to doctors and patients, and if they do not, then we will be open to considering passing other legislation. We have made significant investments related to tuberculosis research in Canada.

[Health, November 28th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the prescribing of drugs is a provincial jurisdiction, so provincial health ministers and doctors have a major role in limiting the abuse.

The decisions on whether to approve a drug will be made by scientists based on their expert assessment of the science and safety. The opposition wants us to politically interfere in a scientific safety process.

We will stand up for the patients.

[Health, November 28th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the issue of prescription drug abuse is bigger than one specific pill. That is why our government announced tough new licensing rules that will help to prevent drugs like OxyContin from being illegally distributed.

I want to make sure that if Health Canada scientists say these drugs can be beneficial, that these will then be available to the patients who need them. Unlike the opposition, we will not politically interfere in science.

[Health, November 27th, 2012]

Again, Mr. Speaker, the prescribing of drugs is provincial jurisdiction, so provincial health ministers and doctors have a major role in limiting abuse. Decisions on whether to approve a drug are made by scientists based on their expert assessment of the science and safety.

The opposition wants us to politically interfere in the scientific safety process. Why does the member think the opposition knows more about science than doctors?

[Health, November 27th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the prescribing of drugs is provincial jurisdiction, so provincial health ministers—

[Health, November 22nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is absolutely right. Our government is playing a leadership role. Unlike the previous government that balanced the books on the backs of the provinces and the territories, we are increasing the health transfers to historic levels of nearly $40 billion by the end of the decade.

In fact, the Canadian Institute for Health Information found that the provinces were spending less than our 6% annual increases. These numbers show that the federal share of health care spending is increasing. We are also the single largest investor in Canada for health science and research, investing $1 billion per year in health research and innovation.

[Health, November 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, Health Canada has been very clear that caffeinated energy drinks are not recommended for children. Last year our government announced a new approach to regulating energy drinks that would include limits on the levels of caffeine in these products. It also includes improved labelling in order to support consumers and parents in making informed decisions. The new measures will help Canadians make informed decisions about the amount of caffeine they consume.