Health committee  I think we have a unique opportunity through the 2014 accord. There is an opportunity, when those transfers are committed, to ensure that they actually do have strings attached to them and that there's an accountability framework to ensure that meaningful change actually happens as a result of the transfers.

Health committee  The federal government can certainly play an essential role in developing national standards and structures and in supporting innovation. Community health centres are a vital part of a new community-based strategy for long-term, home-based care for chronic disease management. I must say that from our polling, the public also expects it.

Health committee  Thank you very much. I'll be as brief as I can. Health professionals have an essential and fundamental role in promoting healthy lifestyles, especially among seniors, where they can have an enormous benefit in preventing falls and in promoting better nutrition, healthier bones, etc.

Health committee  It is absolutely. All too often we hear that same story about community care access, getting providers out to the home with the necessary support systems, whether informal caregivers...and giving them support; getting pharmaceuticals for management of chronic disease; and getting providers, doctors, and nurses visiting in the home setting.

Health committee  It's certainly not unique to your province; it's right across this country. As provincial budgets are being pressured or restricted, we're looking in Ontario, for instance, where I work, at about a 1% increase. When you look at inflation, however, going at a higher rate than that, that 1% actually represents a reduction in services.

Health committee  There are several important initiatives we could look at internationally, in particular in Scandinavia. We have to understand that the issue we're facing is that of building a chronic disease management system around our acute care facilities. We have a very good acute care system, but we haven't built or accommodated an aging population that has chronic diseases.