Committee
Consult the user guide
For assistance, please contact us
Consult the user guide
For assistance, please contact us
Add search criteria
Results: 1 - 15 of 28
View Rona Ambrose Profile
CPC (AB)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the committee. I want to thank all of you for the work you do on the health committee. I know many of you are passionate about the issues of health, and I thank you for your commitment to that.
I'm joined by Simon Kennedy, Health Canada's new deputy minister; Krista Outhwaite, our newly appointed president of the Public Health Agency of Canada; and Dr. Gregory Taylor, whom you've met before, Canada's chief public health officer. I know he'll be here for the second half. You might want to ask him about his trip to Guinea and Sierra Leone to visit our troops and others who are working on the front dealing with Ebola. I'm sure he'll have some great things to share with you.
Michel Perron is here on behalf of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. He's also new. Last time I know you met Dr. Alain Beaudet.
We also have Dr. Bruce Archibald, who's the president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. I think you've met Bruce as well.
Mr. Chair, I'd like to start by sharing an update on some of the key issues that we've been working on recently. I'll begin by talking about Canada's health care system, the pressures it's facing, and the opportunities for improvement through innovation. I will then highlight some recent activities on priority issues such as family violence and the safety of drugs in food.
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, Canada spent around $215 billion on health care just in 2014. Provinces and territories, which are responsible for the delivery of health care to Canadians, are working very hard to ensure their systems continue to meet the needs of Canadians, but with an aging population, chronic disease, and economic uncertainty, the job of financing and delivering quality care is not getting easier.
Our government continues to be a strong partner for the provinces and territories when it comes to record transfer dollars. Since 2006, federal health transfers have increased by almost 70% and are on track to increase from $34 billion this year to more than $40 billion annually by the end of the decade—an all-time high.
This ongoing federal investment in healthcare is providing provinces and territories with the financial predictability and flexibility they need to respond to the priorities and pressures within their jurisdictions.
In addition of course, federal support for health research through the CIHR as well as targeted investments in areas such as mental health, cancer prevention, and patient safety are helping to improve the accessibility and quality of health care for Canadians.
But to build on the record transfers and the targeted investments I just mentioned, we're also taking a number of other measures to improve the health of Canadians and reduce pressure on the health care system. To date we've leveraged over $27 million in private sector investments to advance healthy living partnerships. I'm very pleased with the momentum we've seen across Canada.
Last year we launched the play exchange, in collaboration with Canadian Tire, LIFT Philanthropy Partners, and the CBC, to find the best ideas that would encourage Canadians to live healthier and active lives. We announced the winning idea in January: the Canadian Cancer Society of Quebec and their idea called “trottibus”, which is a walking school bus. This is an innovative program that gives elementary schoolchildren a safe and fun way to get to school while being active. Trottibus is going to receive $1 million in funding from the federal government to launch their great idea across the country.
Other social innovation projects are encouraging all children to get active early in life so that we can make some real headway in terms of preventing chronic diseases, obesity, and other health issues. We're also supporting health care innovation through investments from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. In fact our government now is the single-largest contributor to health research in Canada, investing roughly $1 billion every year.
Since its launch in 2011, the strategy for patient-oriented research has been working to bring improvements from the latest research straight to the bedsides of patients. I was pleased to see that budget 2015 provided additional funds so that we can build on this success, including an important partnership with the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement.
Canadians benefit from a health system that provides access to high-quality care and supports good health outcomes, but we can't afford to be complacent in the face of an aging society, changing technology, and new economic and fiscal realities. That is why we have been committed to supporting innovation that improves the quality and affordability of health care.
As you know, the advisory panel on health care innovation that I launched last June has spent the last 10 months exploring the top areas of innovation in Canada and abroad with the goal of identifying how the federal government can support those ideas that hold the greatest promise. The panel has now met with more than 500 individuals including patients, families, business leaders, economists, and researchers. As we speak, the panel is busy analyzing what they've heard, and I look forward to receiving their final report in June.
I'd also like to talk about another issue. It's one that does not receive the attention that it deserves as a pressing public health concern, and that's family violence. Family violence has undeniable impacts on the health of the women, children, and even men, who are victimized. There are also very significant impacts on our health care and justice systems.
Family violence can lead to chronic pain and disease, substance abuse, depression, anxiety, self-harm, and many other serious and lifelong afflictions for its victims. That's why this past winter I was pleased to announce a federal investment of $100 million over 10 years to help address family violence and support the health of victims of violence. This investment will support health professionals and community organizations in improving the physical and mental health of victims of violence, and help stop intergenerational cycles of violence.
In addition to our efforts to address family violence and support innovation to improve the sustainability of the health care system, we have made significant progress on a number of key drug safety issues. Canadians want and deserve to depend on and trust the care they receive. To that end, I'd like to thank the committee for its thoughtful study of our government's signature patient safety legislation, Vanessa's Law. Building on the consultations that we held with Canadians prior to its introduction, this committee's careful review of Vanessa's Law, including the helpful amendments that were brought forward by MP Young, served to strengthen the bill and will improve the transparency that Canadians expect.
Vanessa's Law, as you know, introduces the most significant improvements to drug safety in Canada in more than 50 years. It allows me, as minister, to recall unsafe drugs and to impose tough new penalties, including jail time and fines up to $5 million per day, instead of what is the current $5,000 a day. It also compels drug companies to do further testing and revise labels in plain language to clearly reflect health risk information, including updates for health warnings for children. It will also enhance surveillance by requiring mandatory adverse drug reaction reporting by health care institutions, and requires new transparency for Health Canada's regulatory decisions about drug approvals.
To ensure the new transparency powers are providing the kind of information that Canadian families and researchers are looking for, we've also just launched further consultations asking about the types of information that are most useful to improve drug safety. Beyond the improvements in Vanessa's Law, we're making great progress and increasing transparency through Health Canada's regulatory transparency and openness framework. In addition to posting summaries of drug safety reviews that patients and medical professionals can use to make informed decisions, we are now also publishing more detailed inspection information on companies and facilities that make drugs. This includes inspection dates, licence status, types of risks observed, and measures that are taken by Health Canada. Patients can also check Health Canada's clinical trials database to determine if a trial they are interested in has met regulatory requirements.
Another priority of mine is tackling the issue of drug abuse and addiction in Canada. There's no question that addiction to dangerous drugs has a devastating and widespread impact on Canadian families and communities. In line with recommendations from this committee, I am pleased that the marketing campaign launched last fall by Health Canada is helping parents talk with their teenagers about the dangers of smoking marijuana and prescription drug abuse. The campaign addresses both of those things, because too many of our young people are abusing drugs that are meant to heal them.
Our government also recognizes that those struggling with drug addictions need help to recover a drug-free life. From a federal perspective, of course, we provide assistance for prevention and treatment projects under our national anti-drug strategy. We've now committed over $44 million to expand the strategy to include prescription drug abuse and are continuing to work with the provinces to improve drug treatment.
I've now met and will continue to meet with physicians, pharmacists, first nations, law enforcement, addictions specialists, medical experts, and of course parents to discuss how we can collectively tackle prescription drug abuse.
Finally, our government continues to make very real investments to strengthen our food safety system. As only the latest example, I recently announced a five-year investment of more than $30 million in the CFIA's new food safety information network. Through this modern network, food safety experts will be better connected, and laboratories will be able to share urgently needed surveillance information and food safety data, using a secure web platform. This will put us in an even better position to protect Canadians from food safety risk by improving our ability to actually anticipate, detect, and then effectively deal with food safety issues. This investment will continue to build on the record levels of funding we've already provided, as well as the improved powers such as tougher penalties, enhanced controls on E. coli, new meat labelling requirements, and improved inspection oversight.
In conclusion, those are just some of the priorities that will be supported through the funding our government has allocated to the Health portfolio. This year's main estimates, notably, include investments for first nations health, for our ongoing contribution to the international response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and the key research and food safety investments that I have already mentioned.
I'll leave it at that. If committee members have any questions, my officials and I would be very pleased to answer them. Thank you.
View Cathy McLeod Profile
CPC (BC)
Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, both to the minister and to all the officials who are here today. It's always a nice opportunity, and really an important opportunity, as we talk about the main estimates.
I think one of the things that is critically important, of course, is the transfers that we do to the provinces. It's certainly an enormous part of our support for the health care system in Canada. Over the last number of months, I've had a lot of constituents writing to me and suggesting that there has been a cut in terms of the transfers to the provinces, which, Minister, as you're probably aware, is totally inaccurate. I believe that the misinformation should be, and I'm trying to ensure that it is, corrected.
We can certainly see in the budget document where the trajectory has gone in terms of these transfer payments. I understand that our government is going to be increasing payments to the provinces by over $27 billion over the next five years. We have done significant measures in terms of trying to support additional physicians coming into Canada.
I would appreciate if you could set the record straight in terms of the transfers to the provinces and where we're going, and where our commitment is as a government to what is very important in terms of the provinces being able to deliver health care.
View Rona Ambrose Profile
CPC (AB)
Yes, absolutely.
When Finance Minister Jim Flaherty renewed our commitment to the provinces and territories at the end of the health accord, he renewed, for the next 10 years, record-level funding. Of course, that includes an escalator of 6% up to 2016, and after that a 3% escalator for the provinces. That means that by the end of the decade that amount will reach $40 billion annually. That's a 70% increase in federal transfers, just for health care, since 2006.
That is very important to the provinces and territories because it has allowed them to plan their own budgets in a much more predictable way, and it's probably the area in which they are struggling the most when they think about the impact on other parts of their own provincial budgets. Let's remember that health care takes up a great deal of the federal budget, but it takes a great deal, if not 50%, of most provincial budgets, so they are struggling with figuring out ways to curb costs at the provincial level, because otherwise they're going to have to look at the impact it has on other services.
I think one of the things we should think about is the latest information out of the Canadian Institute of Health Information. Since the year 2000 health spending by provinces and territories grew by less than 5%, and since 2010, spending by provinces grew by less than 3%. So if you think about that and the amount of increase and the escalator we're applying to the funding we give to provinces and territories every year, that means that for the next three years, with a 6% escalator, our transfer increases are projected to continue to rise at more than double the rate of health spending increases by the provinces. We are well in line with providing them with the appropriate amount necessary.
However, I think the other part of the discussion has to be around money, because while health transfers are at record levels, the truth is that provinces are trying to find ways to curb their costs, because if you look 20 years out and if we continue down the track we're on, it would basically take up the entire budget of every province, and that's completely unsustainable.
That's why we're focused on innovation. That's why we're focused on working on the recommendations that come out of the panel in June, with the provinces and territories, to look at what we can do to innovate our health care system. If we don't do that, I think we're letting Canadians down, because we invest heavily per capita in health care, but we don't have the best health care system in the world. I like to brag about this health care system, but there are areas in which we can improve, and I think only through innovation will that happen.
We are making those investments in innovation and we'll continue to have that conversation with the provinces about supporting them in areas, such as the strategic patient-oriented research partnership we have with the provinces, and other investments we made recently in the budget.
This is a good time to have this conversation because we have money on the table for the next 10 years in health care. Let's talk about the smart way to spend it, and the best way to get the best possible outcomes for Canadians. I think that's what our government is focused on now with the provinces, and I think it will benefit the health care system.
View Niki Ashton Profile
NDP (MB)
View Niki Ashton Profile
2015-05-07 16:23
Great, thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Minister Ambrose, I want to go back to what I think are some of the more urgent issues facing our country when it comes to health, and those are the challenges faced by indigenous communities.
I'm very troubled by the statement that you made earlier with regard to the reductions in budgets that we've seen to be at about 15% since 2011 not counting as cuts but as sunsetting.
Minister Ambrose, if we are to simply stick with the idea of sunsetting, we're talking about programs that were never replaced and certainly not replaced in terms of the critical care that was provided to communities. I know in certain cases those programs were indigenous, run by indigenous people; indigenous health professionals catered to indigenous communities and had high rates of success. Given that we've figured out there has been a slash of 15% to primary health care budgets since 2011, I'm wondering how you and your government can excuse that kind of a cut in an area where it's needed most.
View Rona Ambrose Profile
CPC (AB)
You might want to repeat that question to the deputy minister, but he assures me, in fact, that there is no decrease. There is in fact an increase of $164.8 million, and that is for renewal of growth in first nations and Inuit health programs and services, an increase in funding level change for implementation of the British Columbia tripartite framework, an increase in the renewal of the first nations water and waste water action plan, and an increase in a territorial health investment fund.
But further to that, one of the things that came out in the Auditor General's report about first nations health is this jurisdictional issue. I would encourage you as a member from Manitoba, and I've encouraged the Manitoba government and first nations from Manitoba, to think about the innovative idea that's happening in British Columbia where we have the province, the federal government, and first nations creating health—
View Niki Ashton Profile
NDP (MB)
View Niki Ashton Profile
2015-05-07 16:25
That's fine and I appreciate that, but my role here is as a Canadian parliamentarian and I do want to bring it back to primary health care. The statements that you referred to cover a wide range, and if you would be—
View Niki Ashton Profile
NDP (MB)
View Niki Ashton Profile
2015-05-07 16:25
Perhaps you could provide us with the information in health care for the aboriginal file, Minister Ambrose.
View Rona Ambrose Profile
CPC (AB)
Again, we deliver health care with the provinces for first nations. In terms of the funding that has gone into first nations health from the first nations and Inuit health branch at Health Canada, there's now an increase of 30%.
In terms of what appears in the estimates, Simon can go through the technical aspect of that, but there is no decrease. In fact, there is an increase of $168 million, and I would encourage you to ask him to explain that technicality to you so that you can see—
View Niki Ashton Profile
NDP (MB)
View Niki Ashton Profile
2015-05-07 16:26
Absolutely, and I would welcome that material, if you could present it in writing to our committee here.
I do want to single out one of the programs that was proven to be very successful and falls under this category that you referred to as sunsetting, which you've said is not cutting, and which I think anybody in the universe that sees the value of these programs sees as cuts. I refer to the strengthening families maternal child health program, an incredible program in Manitoba, seen as a best practice. I was told it would be sunsetted despite the fact that it responds to a major need regarding maternal and child health on first nations, a supposed priority of this government certainly when it comes to anyone outside of Canada.
So I'm wondering, here's an example of an indigenous-led health program that should be supported and grown, and instead your government deprioritized it. Will you provide stable and secure funding for this program in the future and certainly see fit to support similar programs focused on maternal child health in indigenous communities across the country?
View Rona Ambrose Profile
CPC (AB)
Yes. We have made generous investments around the issue of maternal and child health on first nations. If you are referring to a program that is delivered on first nations, yes, it sunsetted but it's been renewed, so it will be in the supplementary estimates. That's what I was referring to. It might look like there's a reduction in the estimates, but we have renewed these programs under the federal aboriginal health program initiative. They were sunsetted, but they will appear in the supplementary estimates.
View Wladyslaw Lizon Profile
CPC (ON)
Okay. It doesn't look like I have much time.
Thank you very much, Minister, and all the officials, for coming. I'll ask a very quick question.
Minister, I would like to ask you if you could update this committee on the tripartite agreement that's been in place in B.C. for about a year. I know you've been to B.C. to discuss it. Please update us. What changes do you see in the first nations in B.C.?
View Rona Ambrose Profile
CPC (AB)
Sir, I'd be happy to. In fact, I am a very enthusiastic supporter of what's happening in British Columbia, and I believe very strongly that this is the policy answer for other first nations, provincial governments, and Health Canada for the delivery of health care to first nations. It's progressive, it's groundbreaking, it's integrated, and it is doing fantastic things in terms of empowering the first nations members to not only be accountable for their own health but actually be involved in the creation of their own health programs.
The transfer happened, of course, in late 2013, where British Columbia first nations now have responsibility for their own health services. Health Canada still provides the funding, and Health Canada in no way has left the table. Health Canada is there every step of the way, working with the First Nations Health Authority and the provincial government to integrate the services at the provincial level.
But what this means now is that when the Province of British Columbia speaks about health, it says it has seven health authorities, and it includes the First Nations Health Authority in all of its plans as a government when it comes to first nations health. The funding is in no way offloaded. We still are providing the funding, but it's a really transformative, fantastic way to integrate health services in a way that empowers first nations communities and integrates them into what is really the health service delivery model of the province.
We're hoping to have conversations. I've spoken to all of my health minister colleagues across the country. We are hoping to sit down soon with Saskatchewan to discuss the same model. We have been encouraged by Manitoba, but we haven't had conversations with them yet, We've discussed this with first nations in Alberta.
It's a big undertaking, but British Columbia, the first nations in British Columbia, and Grand Chief Doug Kelly have proven that it can be done. We're at the one-year anniversary, and we're seeing some very good, positive results. I met with the committee and the health authority on Monday, and I'm just absolutely thrilled to see the enthusiasm at the community level to take charge of their own health. It's really excellent.
We hope that other provinces will also be interested in talking to us about this same model.
View Wladyslaw Lizon Profile
CPC (ON)
Would you say this is a model that can be adopted across the country to provide health care for first nations?
View Rona Ambrose Profile
CPC (AB)
Every province is unique. All the aboriginal communities would have to come together. It may not be exactly like British Columbia, but it is an excellent model, and we're already seeing really great things happen on the ground there. I think it's a model to be emulated, and I'm very hopeful that other provinces will start the conversation and stop the haggling over constitutional jurisdiction and start to think about the fact that every aboriginal person who lives in their province is a citizen of their province. We need to focus on that and the delivery of health care to them as opposed to who's responsible and the finger pointing. I'm very hopeful we'll be able to do that.
Results: 1 - 15 of 28 | Page: 1 of 2

1
2
>
>|
Export As: XML CSV RSS

For more data options, please see Open Data