Ujjal Dosanjh

[Supply, November 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Chair, this, obviously, is a very serious issue and criminal proceedings are underway and civil litigation is also underway as I understand it. I did say that I would be happy to take a look at the situation once all those issues have gone by and determine whether we can do more without an inquiry.

I will look at the issue of an inquiry because I do not believe one should rule out anything, but the hon. member should know that Health Canada has made some fundamental changes and by the time the criminal proceedings and civil proceedings come to a conclusion we may have learned more. We may not need an inquiry to tell us what we already know but I would be happy to keep an mind open on the issue.

[Supply, November 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Chair, the information that I have been just given by the officials is that the tobacco funding is in fact going up, but if there is a specific example of $70,000 being cut from a specific project, I would be happy to hear from my colleagues across the aisle and take a look at it.

[Supply, November 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Chair, I think the member raises a very important question. I will not continue to say that I am new here, but I am relatively new and I have not looked at that issue. The member raises a very important issue. I am prepared to take a look at it and see how far we can go.

[Supply, November 23rd, 2004]

Hon. Mr. Chair--and I keep saying hon. Mr. Chair because that is what I used to say when I was in the provincial legislature, and you are honourable nonetheless, Mr. Chair--home care is on the national agenda. There is absolutely no question about it. That is why in fact in the most recent accord we made some progress in coming to a consensus about what we should have at least in three different areas: in the end of life care we should have by 2006 in place with some palliative specific drugs available to people; post-acute care, two-week period at least, by 2006; and mental issues, mental health in terms of a two-week period. That is a beginning.

I must admit that it is not as large a beginning as I would have liked it to be, but the difficulty is that we have to arrive at a consensus with provinces across the country.

Some money for home care and catastrophic coverage was included in the 2003 accord. More money has now been included in the current accord for home care and catastrophic coverage. I believe that has to happen, but it has to happen in working with the provinces and the territories. It is very important that we do that. When we set those kinds of standards that we have set in the current accord, then we are working toward home care that is nationally available in a similar fashion across the country. It may be slow, but we will get there.

[Supply, November 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Chair, this in fact is an issue that caught my eye when I got here as the Minister of Health. More particularly, when I was the attorney general in British Columbia, the chief justice of British Columbia took me aside one day and said to me, “Look, there are dozens of people appearing in the criminal courts of this province every day that probably were FAS affected and we should do something about it”.

When I got here I felt that I should take a look at it. I have been very interested in it. I am very supportive of the approach taken by the hon. member. In fact, I support the efforts of our own member for Mississauga South, who has introduced a private member's bill this sitting.

We are looking at this issue. I have been given all the arguments that have been made, as the member has just said. I will err on the side of making a mistake with respect to the charter but proceeding with this issue if I could, so there is a constant battle that is being waged on this issue in terms of the possible charter challenge that might exist.

But I want to make sure that we overcome it and that we overcome it with evidence if we can. I am working very hard on this issue.

I am sharing this with the member because this is an issue of public interest. It is not a partisan issue. When I tell the member what the real difficulties are, I want to make sure that we are able to work together across the aisle in reaching the destination that we want to reach, that is, to reduce the--

[Supply, November 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Chair, that used to happen because it was obviously feasible and doable.

[Supply, November 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Chair, I understand that this is exactly where the bulk purchasing happened and it made sense.

[Supply, November 23rd, 2004]

My history is only four months long, Mr. Chair, but I understand there has been some bulk purchasing. I will be happy to get the details for the hon. member.

[Supply, November 23rd, 2004]

Since the member has brought it to my attention, Mr. Chair, I will be happy to look into that situation and provide a wholesome answer to the hon. member.

[Supply, November 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Chair, I would ask the hon. member to specify what particular situation she is talking about and where. I will be happy to get the information so that I can answer her with the specifics rather than in a general sense.

In a general sense, the hon. member is making the right point. If aboriginal organizations on the ground are prepared to deliver health care, then we should be assisting them in becoming self-sufficient. There is no question in my mind about that.

The hon. member raised a very specific question. I would be happy to have an answer available for her. I would be happy to talk to her. In fact, if she wants me to table the answers--