Finance committee  Any time.

Finance committee  Thanks, Mike. Thank you for the question. The answer is a $1.2-billion transition fund over four years, whereby provinces and the federal government as well would look to expand primary care teams and to look to see what measures communities need and to implement them. Our young doctors want to work in a team-based care model that includes nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers and home care experts.

Finance committee  I do not have numbers for you. We did do our own study that said it would cost $1.3 billion to deal with the backlog of six procedures from the first wave alone. You can project and know that the cost of the second and third waves is going to be incredible. Doctors did scramble to get surgeries taken care of when there were fewer lockdowns, but it goes beyond surgery.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Julian, for your well wishes. They are very gratefully accepted on behalf of the CMA. I'm not an economist. I'm not a tax expert, but I am a family physician and I think that there is no question that the pandemic has fully laid bare the many deficiencies that exist in our health care system.

Finance committee  The CMA supports federally funded essential medications as a start to be scaled up. There is no question that doctors and patients every day struggle to find the right medication at the right cost, and unfortunately, in some instances, the right cost is never achieved. Again, with the loss of jobs during this pandemic, it's not just our seniors who are affected by this.

Finance committee  Between Monsieur Villeneuve and me, we have outlined the many needs of Canadians that will be required to be met as a result of the pandemic and aging and the state of pre-existing health care systems prior to the pandemic. Again, we implore the federal and provincial governments to come together in a co-operative and collaborative fashion to discuss those needs and what we'll need to meet those needs moving forward.

Finance committee  We are very pleased with what we saw with the introduction of Bill C-25 and the $4 billion one-time CHT top-up to address the backlog created by the first and second waves of the pandemic, but we know there are going to be higher costs. As I stated earlier, it is yet unknown what the true cost of the backlog will be from the first, second and third waves.

Finance committee  Thank you for the question. In the context of the pandemic, what we don't yet know is what the full impact will be on wait times and on mental health needs going forward, for example. We can safely predict that there will be a great need in increased costs. Clearly there needs to be a collaborative approach between the federal and provincial governments in working on how best to meet those needs going forward, in a system that was already challenged prior to the beginning of the pandemic.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am Dr. Ann Collins. Over the past three decades, I have taught family medicine, run a full-time family practice, served with the Canadian Armed Forces and worked for 20 years in nursing home care. Today it is my privilege to speak to you as president of the Canadian Medical Association, representing the sentiments and convictions of our 80,000 members.

Health committee  With respect to vaccine rollout, we have seen a marked reduction in cases in long-term care in this third wave of the pandemic. That is a good thing. We have called for and do support national standards that would improve oversight and accountability in long-term care going forward.

Health committee  Through you, Mr. Chair, I'm afraid I'll have to defer to legal experts who would be in a better position to address Mr. Davies' question. I do, however, want to commend the federal and provincial leaders who have signalled their intention to support the crisis in Ontario by encouraging health care professionals within their jurisdiction to answer the call of duty.

Health committee  Primary care is clearly the front door to the health care system, and as I've stated earlier, we don't know the full impact the pandemic has had with respect to wait times, and so on, but we know that those Canadians who do not have a family doctor are going to have a much harder time navigating the system to deal with issues such as their mental health care.

Health committee  Thank you for your question. I'll ask my colleague, Dr. Abdo Shabah to answer it.

Health committee  Through you, Mr. Chair, we commend the government for the added $4 billion directed to address the backlog and the million dollars for vaccine delivery. We are not yet fully aware of what the impact of this pandemic will be on backlogs. We know that there have been incredible increases in wait times.

Health committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's my honour to appear before you today. My name is Dr. Ann Collins. I am a retired family physician. I taught family medicine. I ran a full-time practice. I've served with the Canadian Armed Forces, and I've worked in nursing home care. Just yesterday, I was called back into service to administer much needed vaccines to people in my rural home community.