Leona Aglukkaq

[Health, September 30th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, as I stated earlier, although we are disappointed with the Supreme Court of Canada's decision this morning, we will comply.

We have always believed that the system should be focused on preventing people from becoming drug addicts in the first place. Our government believes that spending more money on treatment and on support for individuals to get the help they need to get off drugs is the best investment we can provide to Canadians.

As part of that strategy, we have made significant investments to strengthen existing treatment efforts through the treatment action plan.

[Health, September 30th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, as I stated earlier, we are disappointed with the decision but we will comply. I also stated earlier that we believe the system should be focused on preventing people from becoming drug addicts in the first place.

The key pillar of our national anti-drug strategy is prevention and treatment for those with drug dependencies.

I said earlier that we will be reviewing the Supreme Court decision, and we will be doing that.

[Health, September 30th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, as I stated earlier, our government believes that spending more money on treatment and support to help people get off drugs is the best investment we can make.

As I also said earlier, we will be reviewing the decision. In fairness, the decision was made two hours ago. I stated that we will be reviewing it, and we will be reviewing it.

[Health, September 30th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, although we are disappointed with the Supreme Court of Canada's decision today, we will comply.

We believe that the system should be focused on preventing people from becoming drug addicts. A key pillar of the national anti-drug strategy is prevention and treatment for those with drug dependency. As part of our strategy, we have made significant investments to strengthen existing treatment efforts through the treatment action plan. We will be reviewing the court decision.

[Official Languages, September 30th, 2011]

Oh, come on.

[Health, September 29th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, it is the responsibility of the provinces and territories to decide whether or not to provide their residents with a publicly financed drug therapy.

Many jurisdictions already offer catastrophic drug coverage to their residents. We have continued to increase the funding to the provinces and territories. Each jurisdiction will then decide how those dollars are allocated to meet their residents' needs.

[Health, September 29th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, our government recognizes the importance of affordable access to drugs as part of our quality health care system.

We work with the provinces and the territories, which are responsible for deciding which drugs are publicly covered. That is why we have consistently increased transfers to the provinces and territories, by over 30% since we formed government, so that they can continue to meet the health care needs of their residents.

[Aboriginal Affairs, September 26th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, too many Canadians have to deal with the anguish of losing a loved one. That is why our government is funding programs that build on the strength of protective factors, such as ensuring family and community support systems are in place.

In budget 2010 our government invested $65 million to implement the national aboriginal youth suicide prevention strategy to assist over 150 community-based projects across Canada.

[Health, September 26th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, since forming government, we have been supporting the provinces and the territories with the rollout of the present accord, which expires in 2014. We are committed to extending the 6% annual increase in transfer payments to the provinces and the territories while we negotiate the accord, but it is also important that the federal moneys sent to them are also improving the health outcomes of Canadians.

[Questions on the Order Paper, September 19th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Institute for Health Information,CIHI, has been reporting on progress on wait times across jurisdictions. Its most recent edition of the “Wait Times Tables--A Comparison by Provinces, 2011”, released on March 21, 2011, provides a summary of provincial wait times data, primarily comprised of retrospective administrative data, in the five priority areas as of September 2010. This report provides the most comparable available information on wait times for a common point in time for all provinces. The report is available on the CIHI website, https://secure.cihi.ca/estore/productFamily.htm?locale=en&pf=PFC1599.

In terms of funding transferred to provincial and territorial governments, the federal government provided $5.5 billion in wait times commitments. This included a wait times reduction trust totalling $4.25 billion for the period of 2004-05 through 2008-09, followed by a $250 million annual wait times reduction transfer, from 2009-10 through 2013-14. To provide the public with greater certainty on timely access, budget 2007 announced additional funding of more than $1 billion over three years to support the development of patient wait times guarantees, including a $612 million trust; a $400 million enhancement to Canada health infoway funding; and a $30 million patient wait times guarantee pilot project fund. These targeted investments were intended to help the provinces and territories test and implement patient wait times guarantees. Further information on the allocation of federal funding for wait times by jurisdiction is available through the Department of Finance’s website, http://www.fin.gc.ca/fedprov/typhc_-eng.asp and http://www.fin.gc.ca/fedprov/mtp-eng.asp. .