Health committee  I don't have a lot of depth of knowledge in terms of ovarian cancer. I'm not sure if I have anyone at the table today who can help you. If not, we can take that back and come back to you.

Health committee  Thank you for the question. At the moment, there is no plan to renew the Women’s Health Strategy. What makes Canada very different from other countries, as I imagine you know, are jurisdictional challenges. The provinces and territories are responsible for the delivery of health services.

Health committee  Thank you for the question. I'm not familiar with that work by the WHO. It doesn't surprise me. Pregnant women, kids and babies are more vulnerable, generally, to a number of conditions. This is fairly new work, in terms of looking at the impact of climate change. It's something the department is looking at, as we looked at sex- and gender-based analysis.

Health committee  I could take that question back. There may be some good examples in one area or another area. Sometimes these examples are more localized. They're not even province-wide. One challenge is the diversity of how health care systems are delivered across the country and the various focuses or priorities.

Health committee  I would turn to my colleagues at CIHR. I also wonder, Annie, if you want to speak to the breast cancer screening guideline work.

Health committee  Thank you for that question. That would be for me. I'm not specifically aware of discussions between the federal government and provincial jurisdictions on that matter. I would expect that other jurisdictions are looking at it closely. I was certainly very happy to see that initiative from B.C.

Health committee  Thank you for the question. I don't believe there's anyone on the panel who has the specific knowledge for that question. We can take it back. I can tell you that, in some of the other issues we're representing, our focus is really working with providers to improve their capacity and knowledge to deliver services properly, and not on recruiting other health care workers or looking at workers with foreign credentials.

Health committee  Thank you for that. It's hard. I can't see my colleagues in the room. If anyone's putting their hand up to answer, I'll step back, but I think that's something we'll have to take back. I just want to recognize that these are challenges not just for women but for everyone in the health care system.

Health committee  Thank you for the question. I’d like to be sure I understood you. Are you asking for examples of general differences, rather than on a particular health topic?

Health committee  That’s a broad statement that covers a number of situations and conditions. For example, in cases of heart attack, women’s symptoms are different from men’s. Sometimes they go unrecognized. Women themselves may not recognize the symptoms. A misdiagnosis can therefore ensue. I’ll let my colleague Ed Morgan talk about medical devices.

Health committee  That's a big question. You know, we're very well aware of the misinformation and disinformation campaigns and the public discourse that's anti-trans and anti-2SLGBTQ2. A lot of the context is really around the social context and where people are at. It's a challenge that I think every jurisdiction and every community is going to have to meet with different things.

Health committee  I am not an expert in the Canada Health Act, but I hear you. There have been deductions to New Brunswick. I guess it depends on your point of view whether they are significant or not. In 2020, there was $334,000. That may not be having the impact you desire. There are limits to the Canada Health Act.

Health committee  Thank you for the question. If I'm understanding your question properly, it's really about priority setting generally. It's very much an iterative process. Very often, priorities are determined through long-standing work, trends that are emerging or issues that are being presented to government or to the department.

Health committee  I can speak for Health Canada. I'll let my colleagues from the Public Health Agency and CIHR speak for themselves. Generally speaking, the health portfolio is seen as a lead in sex- and gender-based analysis. I just want to clarify that, in the rest of the department, it's GBA.

Health committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and honourable members. Thank you for the last-minute accommodations. You've already introduced me, so I won't say again who I am, but I'm with the health programs and strategic initiatives directorate at the strategic policy branch of Health Canada.