Health committee  Yes, Hilary Geller is one of my assistant deputy ministers.

Health committee  As the minister noted when she gave her remarks on this issue, what is maybe not broadly known to the public is that even prior to the Respect for Communities Act, there was a series of requirements that needed to be met before Health Canada could actually authorize one of these

Health committee  In regard to the single biggest area, members will be familiar with the significant investments in the budget on indigenous priorities more generally, but with regard to the health portfolio, the biggest investment would be in infrastructure for on-reserve health facilities. For

Health committee  I think the minister probably covered that well. What I might be able to add, just by way of a bit of elaboration, is that the minister met her provincial and territorial colleagues in January in Vancouver. They had a two-day meeting. They reached agreement on the priority areas

Health committee  What I should note is that these devices, where they have nicotine, currently are actually not legal, so Health Canada has been pursuing enforcement measures. We have been working with the Canada Border Services Agency to make sure that when product comes in that contains nicotin

Health committee  At the end of the day, I think that would be a policy decision that governments would have to make, and we would also have to consult with the provincial and territorial governments. When we looked at the particular regulation that was out for discussion last year, one of the c

Health committee  I think one of the things that I'm sure is frustrating for parliamentarians—it's certainly frustrating for officials—is perhaps the way information is presented in the estimates. It's been a long-standing issue and I know many people are familiar with it. Actually, our funding

Health committee  The three major funding decreases in the estimates, when you kind of break it out, are primarily the sunsetting programs. Therefore, funding to support the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, that was mental wellness funding. There is money for first nations water an

Health committee  One of the things we are definitely doing is coming out with guidance for pharmaceutical firms that wish to bring forward tamper-proof formulations and be able to make a claim for tamper resistance. We actually are consulting. I don't have the date immediately top of mind, but ce

Health committee  Mr. Chair, maybe to clarify Health Canada's role, or at least the institution I have administrative responsibilities for, it is responsible for regulating the safety of organs and tissues for transplantation. We have provided funding over the last number of years to Canadian Bloo

Health committee  Mr. Chair, I think that probably at least a portion of the question is better directed to the minister. As officials, we work within the fiscal framework established by the government, and obviously as senior officials we will provide whatever information is required. I think t

Health committee  Certainly, where the minister has committed to provide information in her previous remarks, we can work to get that to the committee as quickly as possible.

Health committee  I think, Mr. Chair, we're just ready for questions, no statements.

Health committee  Mr. Chair, with regard to the blood system, I'm sure the various members of the committee know that Health Canada is the regulator and reviews applications from the blood operators when there's a desire to make a change. This was the system set up following the Krever commission.

Health committee  Members may know that Health Canada had put out a regulatory proposal—I don't remember exactly the date, but it was eight months ago, a year ago or so—and were out consulting on that proposal. That proposal laid out a series of proposed changes to food labelling, including provid