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Results: 16 - 30 of 666
Connie Newman
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Connie Newman
2021-06-17 16:34
The short answer is no. I don't know that there are any creative programs, because what I hear is when people get into trouble. They will phone me and say, “Connie, what do I do about...?” or “Mrs. Smith is living in a.... How does she get to a vaccine site?” I communicate and I connect, so I know which button to push to solve that problem.
We all—including everybody on this line—need to understand that as we age, we become more isolated. Our friends pass away; we're disconnected; family is not there and we don't know who to call.
One of the friends I referred to has a son in New Zealand, so every now and then I get the phone call because his mother is in a personal care home. When you go to rural Manitoba, the need for community connection is huge. We know that if a small town in Manitoba is having a fair, everybody is there. Everybody knows each other.
That same thing happens across Canada. We haven't done fairs and events. My favourite, even in Winnipeg or if you go to rural Manitoba, is to ask, “Where are all the trucks?” All the trucks will be by the coffee shop, and that's where communication happens. That set of trucks takes care of everybody, and that is sadly missing. Here we go again: We don't have Wi-fi to connect those people when they can't connect themselves.
View Stéphane Lauzon Profile
Lib. (QC)
I see that the time is going by very quickly, and so would like to return to another subject.
Seniors were the focus of the programs that your organization supported. Have you noticed which services in particular, in the Quebec community you represent, were used most by seniors since the beginning of the pandemic?
Does your organization have trouble ensuring that services meet the needs of seniors and that it is easy for all of them to gain access?
How did the organizations you are familiar with ensure that the services were appropriate and accessible?
Serge Séguin
View Serge Séguin Profile
Serge Séguin
2021-06-17 17:00
Access to health care and social services was definitely difficult during the pandemic. It was hard to make a doctor's appointment. All kinds of minor and major operations that had been scheduled, such as hip replacements or knee problems, were postponed. Elderly people often have conditions like these. The specialists have been saying that delays in all of these operations are going to have a harmful impact on people's health.
View Adam van Koeverden Profile
Lib. (ON)
I thank the minister, Mr. Chair.
On June 2, the coroner's inquest into the death of Joyce Echaquan ended. Throughout the inquest, Canadians across the country learned new details about the mistreatment that Joyce Echaquan suffered shortly before her death.
What plans have been put in place to combat anti-indigenous racism in the health care system? What could the government do to ensure that the indigenous peoples, in particular indigenous women, have equitable access to health care?
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
I presume that all Canadians who were able attended the inquest or heard the reporting on those painful moments. This is what is experienced by many if not all indigenous people, who are apprehensive about a health care system that I consider to be first class, myself, but that has often treated them as second class or even third class persons.
During the coroner's inquest, we once again heard things about the reality of daily life for indigenous people who use the health care system, at a time when they are most vulnerable. I have been in almost daily contact with Joyce Echaquan's husband Carol Dubé, who is going through a very difficult time that he is facing with courage and strength. He and his family are still having some very hard times. As I said before, this is the reality experienced by some indigenous people who use the Canadian health care system, which is a jurisdiction jealously guarded by all provinces. That is the case everywhere in Canada.
My mandate is to put in place a law based on the distinctions, to combat anti-indigenous racism in the indigenous health care systems, in particular, but also to transform the system. Some elements have to operate at the same time. Obviously, this reform will be a lengthy and very difficult process, given the jurisdictional disputes that have existed in the past.
One thing that we announced in the budget was a $100 million fund in honour of Joyce Echaquan to combat racism in the health care system directly. I want to stress that this racism exists everywhere in Canada.
View Kerry-Lynne Findlay Profile
CPC (BC)
Thank you, Madam Chair.
This is for the Department of Health, for either Ms. Hoffman or Ms. Lemaire.
I certainly thank you all for being here today on rather short notice. We don't have a lot of time, but I do want to say that this review is long overdue. Bill C-14 called for a statutory review in June of 2020, and in the interim we have, instead, had an expanded MAID regime. The state of palliative care was supposed to be examined in the Bill C-14 review, so I'd like to start there.
The first annual report on MAID in Canada said that while many recipients of MAID had received some sort of palliative care, “it does not speak to the adequacy of the services offered. This may be an area for future study.”
I think that's part of what we're doing here.
Where are we on reviewing the quality of palliative care MAID recipients were offered or experienced? Also, do we have any way of knowing if any Canadians have chosen to end their lives through MAID because of a lack of quality palliative care or resources more generally?
Abby Hoffman
View Abby Hoffman Profile
Abby Hoffman
2021-06-07 19:46
Maybe, Ms. Findlay, I'll start and my colleague Ms. Lemaire may want to jump in here.
I think we will freely admit that just as we wrote in last year's report, there is only so much information we are able to gather through these reports that come from providers, which basically ask whether a person accessed palliative care and, if they didn't, whether they would have had access to it if they so wished.
We do know that some of the providers reported that for people who had palliative care and who chose to proceed with their assisted death in any event, the palliative care was not sufficient for them to get relief from their suffering or from the decline in capability and capacity that they were facing.
To be perfectly candid, I don't think we are in a position to really and truly say that we know, qualitatively speaking, what the nature of that palliative care is in each particular case. We are relying on the reports from those providing commentary to us about access to palliative care.
I think the work this committee will do, frankly, will be very welcome, but we are not aware of cases in which someone has said, “I don't have access to palliative care,” or “The palliative care realistically could be better and the consequence of that is that I am proceeding with my decision to end my life through a MAID procedure.”
View Kerry-Lynne Findlay Profile
CPC (BC)
Would you agree with me that there are differences and discrepancies across the provinces and territories in terms of the availability and quality of care? From the reports you're getting, they are not all offering exactly the same amount or in the same areas.
Abby Hoffman
View Abby Hoffman Profile
Abby Hoffman
2021-06-07 19:48
I think one could go further to say that even within the same community, different institutions and different hospitals may offer different levels of palliative care. We know that some institutions have well-established palliative care and end-of-life services and are well known because of these, while others may be better known for other things.
I would say it's not even a question of pan-Canadian variability. It could be within any given jurisdiction or within any given community for that matter.
This is one of the things we're trying to address through the funding to provinces and territories for an array of home care, palliative care and end-of-life care services, but we all acknowledge that there is a long way to go.
Jacquie Lemaire
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Jacquie Lemaire
2021-06-07 19:49
Yes. Thank you.
The only other thing I would add to what Abby said is that there was some initial research done. What comes to mind is research by Dr. James Downar, who's a palliative care physician and also a MAID provider, using administrative data in Ontario. It compared the socio-economic characteristics of decedents who received MAID to all decedents in Ontario, and from that initial research, in terms of comparing their use of palliative care services, between the two, there wasn't any difference.
Their initial findings were that there is not a difference in terms of access to palliative care services for people who receive MAID versus those who don't. Of course, that's just some research, and certainly more is required.
Stanley Kutcher
View Stanley Kutcher Profile
Hon. Stanley Kutcher
2021-06-07 20:09
Thank you very much for that.
I have a question on the palliative care.
You mentioned that there were great discrepancies across some centres on how palliative care is delivered. In your experience and to your knowledge of Canada's health care system, is that discrepancy similar to or vastly different from other types of health care interventions that are available across the country?
Abby Hoffman
View Abby Hoffman Profile
Abby Hoffman
2021-06-07 20:09
Briefly, inasmuch as palliative care is relatively newer, it might be somewhat dissimilar. On the other hand, if you think about our health care institutions, many of them specialize in certain aspects of health and disease, chronic or acute disease. I think there may be wider discrepancies now, but they are, over time, narrowing as palliative care takes on a much more legitimate and fulsome place in the array of health care services in Canada.
Michael Nelson
View Michael Nelson Profile
Michael Nelson
2021-06-07 11:03
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Good morning. Thank you to all the members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health, in particular Luc Thériault, the member for Montcalm, for the opportunity to present on behalf of the Canadian Association of Optometrists.
My name is Dr. Michael Nelson and I'm the president of the association. I'm also a practising optometrist in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and I'm joined by François Couillard, our CEO, and Laurèl Craib-Laurin, our senior manager of government and stakeholder relations.
The Canadian Association of Optometrists represents over 5,400 optometrists who serve as Canada's primary eye care doctors. Our experience during the COVID-19 pandemic has been to have an increase in patients complaining of a variety of vision problems. Canadians are realizing the importance of their vision and that they should not be taking it for granted. Optometrists are seeing higher rates of eye fatigue, increased incidence of dry eye disease and a growing rate of myopia. Conditions like diabetic retinopathy, which can lead to vision loss, have worsened as some Canadians have chosen to delay their routine eye exams.
The growing myopia rate is especially alarming for optometrists and should raise a flag for government. Last year, the World Health Organization's inaugural world report on vision included some startling findings. Listen to this: The rate of myopia is expected to rise from 28% in 2010 to 50% by 2050. This is very alarming as myopia increases the risk of glaucoma, retinal detachment and vision loss in adults. While heredity plays a large part in myopia, it is further exacerbated by what we have seen through the COVID-19 pandemic with more and more near and close time and not enough outdoor time. This is especially worrisome for children because of the increased screen time for school and recreational activities.
For those living with diabetic retinopathy, a condition that is particularly predominant in indigenous populations, the problems of accessing care during the pandemic have resulted in worsening eye health.
François Couillard
View François Couillard Profile
François Couillard
2021-06-07 11:05
There are some high-level policy issues regarding eye health that deserve the attention of the federal government, as they have major implications not only for the health of Canadians, but also for the economy and productivity of our nation.
A Deloitte Access Economics research paper released last month estimates the total cost of vision loss in Canada was $15.6 billion in 2019. That was before the COVID‑19 pandemic.
The lack of a coordinated primary health care system for eye health was particularly evident during the COVID‑19 pandemic, which significantly reduced the ability of optometrists to provide care to Canadians. Vision problems affect the majority of Canadians, with six out of 10 Canadians reporting having had a vision problem. Every year, nearly one million Canadians miss work or school, or have their performance affected by vision problems.
We would like to encourage the Standing Committee on Health to conduct a study on vision, once this pandemic is over.
For whatever reason, Canada's many health care systems do not recognize that our eyes deserve the same level of care as other parts of the body. There is an urgent need to prioritize eye health and access to appropriate vision care for all populations.
We have the opportunity to make eye health and vision care an integral part of health care delivery from birth. Seventy-five per cent of vision loss can be treated or prevented, which means that early detection and treatment can improve population health and help avoid more costly future interventions and treatments.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Steven Morgan
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Steven Morgan
2021-06-04 13:19
Thank you very much. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you today.
By way of introduction, I am an economist by training, and I am a full professor of health policy at the University of British Columbia. I think it's important to note, for instance, that I've published over 150 peer-reviewed research papers on pharmaceutical policy. I've won literally millions of dollars in peer-reviewed research grants in Canada and the United States. I have served as an expert on expert advisory committees concerning matters related to pharmaceutical pricing and access for the World Health Organization and the OECD.
I'll keep my opening remarks very brief, as I prefer to use the available time to help fill knowledge gaps that you might have identified as important to your work.
I will start by expressing my support for reforms to our patented medicine price regulations. The old regulations were never designed to provide significant protection against high prices in Canada. They were designed on the false premise that, if Canada paid about the same amount for pharmaceuticals as countries with high levels of pharmaceutical R and D, then Canada would also become a country with high levels of pharmaceutical R and D.
That was never going to happen, and, sure enough, it didn’t. As I wrote during the 10-year review of the PMPRB in 1997, there was much to fix in the regulations from their outset, but the need for regulatory reforms has become even greater in recent years.
Two trends are important here. First, the pricing of pharmaceuticals has become entirely secretive worldwide. Drugs are priced like cars at a dealership. There is the list price, which everyone knows is higher than anyone should really pay, and then there is the actual price, negotiated in secrecy between the seller and each individual buyer.
Paradoxically, it was the widespread use of international reference pricing regulations that was the main reason that secrecy has now become the norm in pharmaceutical pricing. That is, so many countries were using international comparisons of list prices to determine the maximum prices that should be charged within their countries that manufacturers decided to go with confidential prices and confidential price negotiations as a means by which they could charge the most they possibly could in every market. In order to do that, they had to inflate, that is, to raise, list prices in every market. The benchmarking of list prices to international comparisons is now the norm, and, frankly, it is no longer enough.
This brings up the second reason for regulatory modernization. That is the excessive prices that are now frequently asked for for many medicines, especially for medicines that are specialized drugs for treating serious conditions. Excessive patented drug prices are indeed possible, because patents give manufacturers temporary monopolies over the sale of particular medicines.
The potential for abuse of the resulting market power is high, because consumers of patented medicines, also known as “patients with medical needs”, can suffer and might even die if they are unable to afford a treatment. By legally limiting the net-of-confidential-rebate prices that a manufacturer can even ask the Canadian health care system to pay, new patented drug price regulations could prevent the worst cases of excessive pricing and, at the same time, speed up negotiations over final prices and the terms of coverage for Canadians. Patients would get the medicines they need more quickly, and our health care system, ideally a system with universal pharmacare incorporated within it, would likely be able to afford to cover more of those medicines.
Industry will oppose these reforms, and they will provide funding to patient groups willing to oppose the reforms, too, but that doesn’t mean the regulations are wrong. If anything, it means that, unlike the original 1987 versions of the PMPRB regulations, the proposed reforms might actually work.
Thank you. I look forward to any questions you have.
Results: 16 - 30 of 666 | Page: 2 of 45

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