Rona Ambrose

[Food Safety, April 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, Canada has without a doubt one of the safest and healthiest food systems in the world, and in fact the Canadian Food Inspection Agency assures me that there have been no cuts to front-line food inspectors. Since 2006 there has been a net increase of over 750 inspectors, and economic action plan 2014 just recently committed to hiring even more inspectors. This is on top of the $500 million we have already invested. This brings almost $1 billion in new investment into the food safety system.

As I said, we have one of the healthiest and safest food systems in the world and we are going to keep it that way.

[Health, April 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the truth is immunization saves lives. It is truly one of the miracles of modern science.

We want Canadians to get immunized and we want to make sure they are immunizing their kids. To help Canadians keep track of their vaccinations and protect themselves and their families from preventable illnesses, we have launched a new tool, an app called ImmunizeCA. It is available for free on iTunes and Google Play, and we encourage Canadians to download it. It not only helps parents store and manage their families' vaccination records but also makes sure they never miss a vaccine and answers questions about illness outbreaks in their areas.

I encourage all Canadians this week and going forward to make sure they get immunized and immunize their kids to protect them against preventable illnesses.

[Health, April 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, in no area are confidence and transparency more important than in the decisions Health Canada makes that affect the health and safety of Canadians, so today I was pleased to launch the world-leading transparency openness framework and action plan for Health Canada. For the first time, very useful and relevant information about safety reviews of drugs will be posted online, transparently. The first posting today also added a new tool to assist in the prudent prescribing of Diane-35, based on the safety review I requested.

I will ensure that Health Canada continues to identify ways to be more open and transparent with Canadians each and every year.

[Health, April 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as I pointed out earlier, we have increased transfers to the provinces by 50%, and we are funding health care to the provinces and territories at the highest level in Canadian history.

As I have said repeatedly, the inefficiencies we do see in our health care system are not going to be fixed by more money. They are going to be fixed by collaboration, co-operation, and sharing best practices, and that is the kind of work I am endeavouring to do with the provinces and territories, specifically on innovative technologies and other ways and models of care that we know will actually make a difference in creating not only a more sustainable health care system but a more cost-effective health care system.

[Health, April 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, that is categorically false, because our government has increased transfers, since we have been elected government, by almost 50% to the provinces and territories.

I would challenge the member to stop being so negative about the work the provinces are doing. They are doing their best to deliver health care. Many of them are doing a great deal of work on trying to manage some of the very difficult issues around inefficiencies in our health care system and they acknowledge that more money is not going to make a difference.

I do work closely with the provinces and territories, specifically on issues around seniors, like dementia and Alzheimer's, and I will continue to do that.

[Health, April 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, first, the member knows full well that we are transferring more money to the provinces for health care than ever in the history of Canada.

Specific to seniors issues, since our government has taken power, it has invested $650 million in research areas related to aging, including more than $100 million just last year alone. Economic action plan 2014 also delivers a further $15 million to expand patient-oriented research and to tackle the growing onset of issues like dementia and related illnesses. In fact, we are hosting a summit, with France, in September to honour our commitment, with our G8 partners, to find a cure for dementia by 2025.

[Health, April 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as Canada's Minister of Health, I am very concerned about the health risks associated with smoking marijuana, particularly for youth, and I strongly oppose the Liberal leader's campaign to normalize and legalize marijuana.

Health Canada does not endorse the use of marijuana, nor does it consider it to be a medicine.

I do applaud the Canadian Medical Association's recent comments on the health risks associated with the use of marijuana, and of course the Quebec College of Physicians who recently said that cannabis is not a treatment recognized by the medical profession.

I applaud them for making sure to caution physicians on using this, and particularly cautioning parents around the health risks for their children.

[Health, April 1st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, our government has committed to health care in Canada by providing long-term sustainable health care funding—in fact, the highest recorded health transfer dollars in Canadian history—to the provinces and territories. We have increased transfers by almost 50% since we became government.

As I have said repeatedly, and Brad Wall said the same thing yesterday, this cannot just be about money. We have to work together with the provinces and territories on sustainability and innovation, and to that end, I have been working with my provincial and territorial partners. We are working together on a health innovation framework, and I am sure we will do a lot together on sustainability.

[Health, March 31st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, that is completely false. In fact, since 2006, our government has increased transfers for health to 50%.

We have also now committed to the provinces and territories what is the highest reported health transfer dollars in Canadian history, which will reach a record $40 billion by the end of the decade to provide predictability and sustainability.

I am surprised the member would ask this question, because one of the things that is new with our agreement with the provinces is that there are no strings attached and we are not interfering in provincial jurisdiction. We are providing the funding, but we are allowing provinces to make those decisions themselves for health care.

[Aboriginal Affairs, March 31st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I can reassure the member that the federal government is very committed to the work that we do with first nations. In fact, beyond the $40 billion that we are transferring to the provinces for health care, in addition we provide another $2.4 billion annually on top of this, toward programs and services aimed specifically at improving aboriginal health, including primary care nursing in 76 remote communities and, of course, investing $48 million to improve the quality of health services in aboriginal communities.