Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The CMA and our 85,000 members are proud to empower and engage with our patients, and to provide the highest quality of health care for Canadians. Like many other organizations representing small businesses in Canada, the CMA remains seriously concern

Finance committee  Thank you. This news led to an immediate reaction. People called us. That said, I think senior management would be better able to share details in this regard. I'll ask Mr. Feeley to answer you. His answer will be more specific than mine would be.

Finance committee  Thank you for the question. I'll let Mr. Feeley provide more details after I've made a few general comments. You raised an important point among many others that are causing problems. That's why we're asking for more time to conduct a further review and to find better answers t

Finance committee  Thank you for the question. That is a very important question. We recognize the importance of offering credits, but the whole health care system is actually in need of reform. As I said in my opening remarks, the Canadian health care system was designed to provide care at hospi

Finance committee  Thank you. Hello ladies and gentlemen. The Canadian Medical Association's 2018 pre-budget brief has been provided to you so I will not use our time rehashing our recommendations in detail. But I want to be clear: acting on the CMA's key recommendation—that the federal governmen

Health committee  Yes, I will ask Jeff to complete this.

Health committee  First, I would like to make it clear that brain maturation does not follow a linear curve. It develops more in the first years of life. At that point, the brain develops in size a great deal. Then the connections become established. That is more or less how things happen.

Health committee  In the final years of maturation, there is a plateau. We know that the earlier in life dependence occurs, the stronger it will become, because of the fact that the brain is perhaps more malleable and that habits are acquired at a younger age. As a consequence, the later cannabis

Health committee  I will tell you—and I'll ask Jeff to go on with it—that it's damaging if they can at the age of 12, before they are 25.... If it's done a little every day for a long time, it will be damaging for sure. I don't know how we can manage it in the proper way. Mr. Blackmer, would you

Health committee  The product is recommended only when all other methods have been shown to be inadequate, especially with terminal patients or those with chronic problems that cannot be managed otherwise. Actually, very few physicians prescribe it. We talk about it, but in our offices, we can't

Health committee  You have brought up a number of points. It’s a very good question that needs to be considered. Education means that people must be well-informed. Up to now, there has not been much discussion about it. Since it was illegal, people were doing it in secret. Now, young people, as

Health committee  For the damage to the brain, I think it is the same, but smoking cannabis has a high incidence of pulmonary and cardiovascular incidents and it's worse on that side. For addiction, I think it's also the same because it's an imprint on the brain. We are very concerned about the

Health committee  This recommendation doesn't come alone. It comes with a good education. When it is legalized, it will be permitted to push forward a good educational program for youth.

Health committee  If they are really well aware at the age of 12, 13, or 14, they may stay away from this more. If they decide at the age of 21 to take it, it will be their judgment and the damage will be less. But if they are already damaged in the brain at the age of 16, 17, 18, or 19, it will b

Health committee  We see these people every day in our offices. We see how they are suffering from this and they regret it, but because it is associated with addiction, they can't quit it. We have to support them when they want to leave this bad habit they've taken up.