Health committee  Yes, and that is what the majority of Health ministers would like to see happen. Currently, neither the medical evidence nor the evidence related to costs is preeminent. Political lobbying seems to have precedence, and I acknowledge that reality. I also do lobbying, but in favour of a general system.

Health committee  Thank you for the question. When we talk about conclusive evidence, we are talking about all of the evidence. It is not just a matter of the medical impact the medicines can have, but also their cost. As politicians, when recommendations are submitted to you, as is being done today, you try to find a balance.

Health committee  I think you heard from Professor Perry that it has to be based on the evidence, the evidence, the evidence. It is clear that in our country, because of its size and population, that we need one system to work in collaboration with the federal government, the provinces, and the territories.

Health committee  It is, and it's also to take it out of the hands of politicians. I'll go further than Professor Coyle. In January we had a meeting with the provincial and territorial health ministers. They were all there. The most support we got was when we said we needed an independent committee to accept what was on the formulary.

Health committee  It should be universal for sure, and then it should be based on the evidence. I think if we stick with those two, we will save the money we need to get reinvested in our health care system. Universality is what our health care system is. Dr. Carrie talked about physiotherapists or chiropractors; those will still exist.

Health committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Casey and committee members. You have copies of both our submission and my speaking notes, and I'll try to stick to them. First of all, merci, and a big thank you to your team, Monsieur Gagnon and company. My first scheduled appearance was May 17, and we've been juggling dates because it's been so important for us to appear in front of you.

Human Resources committee  No. Sorry, I don't have those statistics here.

Human Resources committee  Thank you.

Human Resources committee  In health care, everything is about flexibility and rotation. There's nothing more sacred than your rotation, because of the 24/7 business. We have a rotation of 10 hours, 12 hours, 8 hours, 4 hours, which I don't personally like, but they do exist. A lot of older workers will take the 4-hour shift.

Human Resources committee  It's the dissatisfaction with what's happening in the system. If there's no progress or if you feel you can't provide good care, you leave. After so many years, it shows, and then they do retire. Our problem is yes, there is a bulge of nurses ready to retire, but the studies show that of nurses with two years of experience, 60% are saying they're not staying in the system.

Human Resources committee  Yes. You have to be in the system. To have patients in hallways, families concerned, not being able to answer their questions, not enough staff, it can be a very sad situation. Saying that, there's great experience out there. But when that's a constant.... Most of our facilities should be working on an 85% capacity; they're working at 125%, 150%.

Human Resources committee  A role for the federal government is bringing that flexibility to employers in all regions. Rural regions are probably the worst off in our long-term care sector. If you want to see an older workforce, go into those areas. One reason is because they are so committed to their community they simply can't leave, and that's where you see the 70-year-olds.

Human Resources committee  It's any occupational health and safety programs, because we have to realize that health care is one of the less safe areas of our system. We need to build a culture of safety, and if we take that experience and say, no, this is not how you should be doing it, you should protect your back, knees, environment, that would be a great area.

Human Resources committee  In the entire sector.

Human Resources committee  I really believe we have to build bridges between the more senior nurses and our recent graduates. I say this everywhere I go, here or at the health committee, this is not strictly under provincial or territorial jurisdiction. In the case of this project, we have been working with the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec.