Health committee  I would agree with that. I have two quick things. One is that, in overarching policies related to health, there be a dedicated child and youth component. Jim has spoken about some of the challenges in the recruitment of specialized personnel. Again, Ontario is what I know. Ont

Health committee  It's a great question. It's the only model of its kind in Canada and we're proud of the innovation. The folks who developed it and who are expanding it are certainly presenting it in many environments. I'm sure they'd be happy to go to Halifax, Nova Scotia—it's a beautiful place

Health committee  We are at 105% today. I checked that. The stats I know are from Ontario. We have approximately 900 pediatric beds, and the bulk of those are in children's hospitals, and then there are some small pediatric units in larger community hospitals principally in the GTA. We have fewe

Health committee  If you're going to give me a medical degree in the process, I'm happy to answer the question.

Health committee  Mike, in Ottawa at CHEO—these are the numbers I would be familiar with—only one in eight children whose severe dental pain requires hospital care gets it in the clinically appropriate wait time. We do have a serious issue there. The Canadian Paediatric Society for many, many year

Health committee  Certainly, we've had a historic underfunding of the mental health and addictions system that has collided against a very significant increase in demand, particularly starting in 2009 in the child and youth health world. That needs to be resourced. That needs to be responded to. A

Health committee  I hear you on the teething. I have a four-year-old, so it's a recent enough memory. You have my empathy. It is a concern. It is one of many supply chain problems we're facing, from a supply perspective. I'm told by our pharmacists that the result of ramping up production should

Health committee  Let me finish, because there's a real warning here: Don't try this at home. Pharmacists are extremely helpful and they will work with you to help you make the calculation and make sure this is done in a safe manner.

Health committee  Mr. Chair, if possible, I would add something in terms of what the federal government could do. Three-quarters of medication used on Canadian children has never been tested on Canadian children, because we do not, in this country, have a regime of pediatric clinical trials. In

Health committee  Yes, I believe you, but I have not had the chance to review how the program will be implemented. It is an interim program, from what I understand. You are right, in principle. In Ontario, we have the Healthy Smiles Ontario program, but access is very limited. I do not have the e

Health committee  All right, let me ask you a question then. That is allowed. Which is the best option: improving an existing system or doing nothing?

Health committee  Giving families something is better than not giving them anything, if those are the only two options.

Health committee  In Ontario, we have a system and we could improve it. That would make things much easier for families and for health care organizations.

Health committee  I'm not entirely sure what that looks like, but if what it produces at the end—

Health committee  I'm going to go back to the hospital after this, right? For me, it's all about being able to find staff, hire staff for stand-up programs and cut wait times. For me, very practically, very tangibly, it's about improving my ability to do that. It's about not having to rely on phil