Leona Aglukkaq

[Health, March 8th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, we take the matter very seriously. The NDP members do not. This morning the member for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord filibustered a motion that would deal with this matter at the Standing Committee on Health.

We are doing our part to provide support to the provinces and territories in accessing alternative sources for their drugs. The member should be talking to the member from the health committee. Perhaps the motion will be supported at committee tomorrow.

[Health, March 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, we are very disappointed with Sandoz. It should not have withheld information from the provinces and the territories for as long as it did, which has made the situation worse. It is responsible for managing the safe supply of its products in Canada and for taking steps to prevent supply interruptions that could lead to shortages.

Again I will say that we are doing everything we can to assist the provinces and the territories in addressing this matter.

[Health, March 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to reassure Canadians that we are working on this 24/7. When it comes to the approval, it is in our collective interest to resolve this shortage. Industry and professional health care associations must be responsible and continue to work on measures beyond information sharing so that they can create stability in their supply chain and prevent drug shortages.

My department is helping the provinces and the territories by fast-tracking approvals without compromising our high standards of safety and efficacy.

[Health, March 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, we have been working around the clock to provide support to the provinces and the territories as we are keenly aware of how important this is to families and friends.

I want to be very clear that the shortage has been created largely by the decision of the provinces and territories to pick a sole source supplier, and that supplier cannot provide the drugs now. As health minister, I am taking action to help the provinces and territories address this. I have provided to them a list of drug companies in Canada that are already approved to make the--

[Health, March 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, we are taking this situation very seriously. Contrary to the fearmongering of the member across, the issue goes far beyond the direct intervening of health care services on first nation reserves. Provinces and territories are taking action for their jurisdictions as well. My department continues to fund prescription drug abuse prevention and treatments for first nation communities, including committing to the level of support and services.

[Health, February 29th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud our government announced funding to support new research on rare diseases. This investment will go a long way to improving the lives of people who suffer from these diseases. Rare diseases are often chronic and life threatening. There are about 7,000 rare diseases and the number is growing.

Our goal is to save lives and ensure that people with these diseases receive treatments that are timely and effective.

[Health, February 27th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, our government is playing a leadership role when it comes to dealing with drug shortages. We are doing our part to ensure that the information about drug shortages is made available as quickly as possible. We are also working to ensure relevant information and access to safe alternatives is not held up in red tape. If some industry players do not meet their responsibilities in providing information in a timely manner, we will consider all other options.

[Health, February 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, our government promotes healthy living through a number of initiatives as I outlined earlier. These are programs and initiatives such as the children's fitness tax credit, Canada's Food Guide, and the Canadian physical activity guide. That is why ministers at the 2010 federal, provincial and territorial meetings on health approved for the very first time in Canada the 2010 Declaration on Prevention and Promotion. Included in that envelope are initiatives on sodium, trans fats and so on. We will continue to work with the provinces and territories.

[Health, February 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to promoting healthy lifestyles to support Canadians in maintaining healthy weights. Our government, in partnership with the provinces and the territories, launched the national dialogue on childhood obesity earlier this year. I was very pleased to discuss this important issue with the health ministers in November so that we can turn the tide on childhood obesity.

Our government further promotes healthy living through initiatives such as the child fitness tax credit, the Canada food guide, the Canadian physical activity guidelines, the 2010 health ministers' declaration on--

[Health, February 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, as I stated earlier, I have instructed my department to continue to engage with the stakeholders to identify the challenges and how best to overcome these challenges without adding a regulatory process.

At the same time, we will continue to use tools such as the Canada food guide and the nutrition fact tables to provide Canadians the information they need to make informed choices about the amount of trans fat in their food.