Health committee  Thank you very much. It's indeed an honour to be invited to speak to this committee. I've been in practice now for approximately 20 years. I graduated from McMaster University, where I attended medical school. I went on to the University of Ottawa, where I trained in general an

Health committee  Yes, it is.

Health committee  That's actually an excellent question. Lakeview is funded completely outside the taxpayer's purse. We funded the centre ourselves. We did not ask the provincial or federal government for any funding for the centre. In terms of the procedures that are performed there, we are to

Health committee  No, we're totally respectful of—

Health committee  No.

Health committee  Exactly. Of course, the challenge from an operational point of view is that if a procedure is covered by the provincial government, such as a hernia, for example, we can only bill the province for the procedural fee alone, so that the owners ourselves would have to absorb all the

Health committee  I do. In general it's obviously in the millions. The lead conditions associated with obesity—high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, cardiac disease, heart attacks—are massive components of health care costs. There are actually specific cost-analysis studies that look

Health committee  Speaking personally, there haven't been any issues raised with the efficiency of approving the lap band as a medical device. It was approved initially by Health Canada in the late eighties. In 1993 the first laparoscopic, or less invasive, procedure was carried out. The band ha

Health committee  For the lap band, there's no evidence that Health Canada has been slower at approving it than in Europe and the United States. We actually just came back from Mont-Tremblant, where we had a lap band meeting. The actual innovator of the lap band was there, and we had a dialogue

Health committee  That's an interesting point. As with any health care policy, prevention is always prime above treating the disorder. However, we're here now. The evidence shows that if you can get children exercising at an early age and prevent childhood obesity and prevent early obesity, then

Health committee  You bring up an excellent point, but to reverse obesity with exercise and diet alone is virtually impossible. From the studies that show us it can be done, usually 1% or 2% of the population can keep the weight off after two years.

Health committee  The lap band has variable funding across Canada. Alberta funds the lap band. Quebec funds the lap band. The challenge, though, is the amount of funding required to fund a procedure like the lap band, because it really is a chronic condition. It requires very intense follow-up and

Health committee  I am the primary owner, yes.

Health committee  Yes. It was funded...and it was an ambitious project.

Health committee  Correct.