Questions on the Order Paper  With respect to chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI), the “liberation” procedure, and multiple sclerosis (MS): (a) does Health Canada recognize the International Union of Phebology (IUP), and is Canada a member; (b) does Health Canada recognize the IUP’s Consensus Document on the diagnosis and treatment of venous malformations; (c) will Health Canada be respecting the IUP’s standards regarding diagnosis and treatment of venous malformations; (d) will the government work with the provinces and territories to establish imaging and treatment guidelines for CCSVI and, if so, over what timeline and, if not, why not, (i) what are the benefits and risks associated with imaging and treatment techniques, (ii) what are the costs for each of the identified methods; (e) will the government, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, commit to imaging MS patients for venous malformations, and treating those patients who require interventions and, if not, why not and, if so, (i) over what timeline, (ii) what barriers would have to be overcome; (f) is CCSVI recognized as an official diagnosis and, if so, by what professional medical organizations and how is it defined; (g) what is the cause of narrow veins in the neck or thorax and what methods could possibly be undertaken to reduce their occurrence either in utero, in childhood, or in adulthood; (h) with what medical conditions is CCSVI associated; (i) what are the potential health impacts of CCSVI in the short-term, medium-term and long-term, both with and without treatment; (j) what percentage of MS patients show one or more blocked veins; (k) what veins, other than the jugular veins, are commonly blocked, damaged, or twisted in the human body, (i) what imaging procedures are used to identify the problems, (ii) what interventions are required to address the problems and why, (iii) what are the possible health impacts if left untreated, (iv) are interventions time sensitive, (v) what are the costs of imaging procedures and treatment; (l) what specific methods are used to investigate CCSVI, what costs are associated with each method, and what are the benefits and risks associated with these techniques; (m) where in Canada are these imaging methods available and, for each location, what procedures are offered and how much do they cost; (n) where in the world are private clinics emerging, what are their efficacy and safety records, and what are the imaging and treatment costs; (o) what percentage of MS patients show a reduction in MS attacks and brain lesions following the liberation procedure; (p) what percentage of MS patients with little or mild blockage show improvement following the liberation procedure; (q) what discussions is the government having regarding CCSVI, its imaging, and the possible link with MS; (r) what studies are government scientists conducting to assess the reliability and validity of imaging techniques, the possible association between CCSVI and MS, and to follow-up on patients who have undergone the liberation procedure; (s) how much money has the government allocated to research related to CCSVI, the liberation procedure and MS; (t) what is the estimated number of MS patients in Canada, and what is (i) the percentage who can no longer work, (ii) the percentage who depend on family caregivers, (iii) the percentage who require around-the-clock care from professional caregivers; (u) what is the estimated national annual economic impact of MS on families and healthcare plans; (v) what is the estimated national annual cost of disease-modifying therapies, including Copaxone and Interfon, for families and healthcare plans; (w) what are the projected imaging costs for CCSVI and treatment costs for MS patients who show a vascular abnormality; (x) what are the projected imaging costs for CCSVI and treatment costs for all MS patients; (y) what recommendations regarding CCSVI and imaging are being provided by the government to MS patients, particularly regarding (i) reputable imaging and treatment clinics, (ii) the pros and cons regarding venoplasty and stents, (iii) the need for continuing treatment regimes following any liberation procedure; (z) what steps is the government taking to educate MS patients about blogger patients and sham imaging and treatment centres; and (aa) what is the estimated number of Canadians who have gone overseas for imaging and treatment, and what tracking is being undertaken of their condition following such trips?

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns  With respect to nutrition in Canada: (a) does the government recognize good nutrition as a basic human right; (b) how is food insecurity defined by the government, and what factors are responsible for it in Canada; (c) what action, if any, has the government taken to address each of the factors as identified in the answer to (b); (d) what action, if any, has the government taken to promote nutrition in Canada and which specific populations have been targeted; (f) does Canada have a comprehensive initiative that aims to reduce undernutrition and hunger at the national scale and, if so, (i) what is it, and if not, (ii) why not; (g) what successes has the current government had in building on effective programs to reduce food insecurity, undernutrition and hunger, and what barriers has it had to overcome; (h) has the government facilitated communications between the provinces and territories concerning the best methods of improving infant, child and adolescent nutrition in Canada and, if so, (i) on what dates and what were the recommendations and, if not, (ii) why not; (i) what are the names of all food security, nutrition, hunger prevention, etc. stakeholders with whom the government meets; (j) what percentage of Canadian families seeks assistance from food banks, and how has this changed over the last 20 years; (k) what percentage of Canadian infants, children and adolescents require assistance from food banks to meet their nutritional needs, and are all their needs met; (l) what action, if any, has the government taken to address in particular the nutrition of pregnant women and children through two years of age; (m) what percentage of Canadian children and adolescents experience food insecurity or hunger, and how does this translate into numbers, how have these data changed over the last 20 years, and for what reasons; (n) has the government considered a national breakfast, lunch or snack program to help ensure that children and adolescents meet their nutritional needs; (o) how does the government define the categories overweight and obese, and what percentage of Canadian infants, children, and adolescents are overweight and obese; (p) how does socio-economic level impact overweight and obesity in Canadian infants, children, and adolescents; (q) what are the medical and psychological complications of child and adolescent overweight and obesity; (r) how has childhood overweight and obesity increased in Canada over the last 20 years, and what action, if any, has the current government taken to address the situation; (s) how has type 2 diabetes increased in Canadian children and adolescents over the last 20 years; (t) how many treatment centres for childhood and adolescent obesity exist in Canada, and has the government increased or decreased funding to these, and by what percentage; (u) what action, if any, has the government taken to expand the number of child obesity treatment centres; (v) what action, if any has the government taken to facilitate communications between the provinces and territories concerning successful overweight and obesity prevention and treatment programs, and replication of what is working well; (w) what action, if any, has the government taken to support research and evaluation of childhood overweight and obesity prevention, including behavioural, dietary, environmental, pharmacological, and physical activity approaches, and treatment initiatives; (x) what analysis, if any, has the government undertaken of nutrition programs in other jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom and the United States; and (y) what consideration, if any, has been given to the Pennsylvania program that has led to more than 80 supermarkets being set up in unserved areas in the last five years?

Multiple Sclerosis  Mr. Speaker, last night the House came together to support MS patients from across the country, fighting for diagnosis and treatment of CCSVI, or narrowed veins. This morning, the Subcommittee on Neurological Disease heard compelling testimony from Dr. Zamboni, who first described the treatment.

Multiple Sclerosis  Mr. Chair, just some points of clarification again. We do venoplasty of jugular veins when a dialysis catheter causes a stenosis, so we have done this prior to this work. With respect to the meeting that the government is planning, I would request that it needs to bring in experts on CCSVI.

Multiple Sclerosis  Mr. Chair, I thank the member for saying that we need to get there as quickly as possible. One hundred patients have had the treatment in Bulgaria and they have all had improvement in their symptoms. Their disability score has improved by 1.5 points on average. We need a compassionate route to treatment for patients who have no other options.

Multiple Sclerosis  Mr. Chair, the money for CIHR must be allocated to research that includes a treatment arm. Again, the MS Society has asked for $10 million. It would be terrific to hear that the $10 million is coming, but again, it must include a treatment arm. The MS societies in Canada and the U.S. did not give any money to studies with a treatment arm of the $2.4 million announced last week.

Multiple Sclerosis  Mr. Chair, there were some thoughts I heard earlier that need to be addressed. First, this is a real condition. CCSVI refers to narrowed veins. It is recognized by 47 countries. We know how to diagnose and treat it. We know that between 80% and 97% of MS patients have this condition.

Multiple Sclerosis  Mr. Chair, I thank the hon. member for his moving speech and for having the courage to say that the federal government has a role. I extend my best wishes to his sister and family. I want Canadians living with this disease to have their voice in Parliament tonight. Another letter states in part: I was diagnosed with MS exactly 14 years ago, and am at the point where I pretty much require round-the-clock care.

Multiple Sclerosis  Mr. Chair, I would like to thank my colleague for sharing something so deeply personal with us. I think he will appreciate one email I received. It states: I'm a child of an MS victim and I am writing this to you, to ask you if you have enough compassion to legalize a saving treatment.

Multiple Sclerosis  Mr. Chair, it is important to understand that the federal government must take federal leadership. The federal government is responsible for the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is neither efficient nor fair nor consistent with charter values for the Government of Canada to tolerate a limbo in which MS sufferers are simply told to wait the years it will take for those studies and in the meantime to put up with their discriminatory disqualification from a straightforward treatment of a diagnosable vascular condition.

Multiple Sclerosis  Madam Chair, Dr. Sandy McDonald, a cardiovascular surgeon in Barrie, Ontario, has seen the benefits of CCSVI treatment first-hand. He has performed six balloon angioplasties, pro bono, on MS patients this year. One of his patients was able to give up his walker. A teenage boy could walk up and down stairs for the first time in years.

Multiple Sclerosis  Madam Chair, it is unconscionable to be fighting over jurisdiction. I will repeat that the federal government has a role to play and that it needs to take leadership. I wonder if the hon. member could comment on whether it is fair that the liberation treatment, a simple surgery that sends a tiny balloon to a clogged jugular vein, is unavailable in Canada where it is considered experimental by health officials.

Multiple Sclerosis  Madam Chair, I came to the Hill to fight for neurological disease. That is why I started a subcommittee on neurological disease. For the past four weeks, I have not been to bed before 4 a.m., as I have talked to 1,000 patients across the country who are desperate. Some are suicidal.

Multiple Sclerosis  Madam Chair, that is not what I said at all. We absolutely need more research. In fact, I put 50 questions on the order paper that need to be thought about by the government to protect people today and going forward. The big problem is right now there is no diagnosis for CCSVI, a recognized condition by 47 countries.

Multiple Sclerosis  Madam Chair, there must be diagnosis and treatment of CCSVI and then we can follow the people with the research. I also want to point out that it is simply not fair or consistent with charter values to say that angioplasty correction of diagnosed venous insufficiency will be available to Canadians generally but not to people who happen also to be diagnosed with MS.