House of Commons CANADA Standing Committee on Health HESA Ï NUMBER 026 Ï 3rd SESSION Ï 40th PARLIAMENT EVIDENCE Tuesday, June 15, 2010 Chair Mrs. Joy Smith 1 Standing Committee on Health Tuesday, June 15, 2010 Ï (0905) The Vice-Chair (Ms. Joyce Murray): Dr. Bennett. [English] The Vice-Chair (Ms. Joyce Murray (Vancouver Quadra, Hon. Carolyn Bennett: —I have a point of order. It's highly Lib.)): Good morning. irregular anyway for the officials to come before the minister. We We will be commencing the meeting of the Standing Committee only have an hour with the minister and an hour with the officials. If on Health pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) with the consideration the minister were here and speaking first, as she would, she would of the subject matter of supplementary estimates (A) 2010–11 under have been the one giving the opening remarks. We only have two Health. hours and we're going to get three sets of speeches. I want to welcome all of our witnesses and guests. At 10 o'clock, the minister will be appearing, but we will be I don't understand why. The estimates speak for themselves; I hearing from the deputy minister of the Department of Health, don't think we need a narrative. This is a time for Parliament to get to Glenda Yeates, and also from Dr. David Butler-Jones, the Chief hold government to account. We need the full hour with the officials Public Health Officer, before we go into our first round of questions. and the full hour with the minister to ask questions. Ms. Yeates, the floor is yours. The Vice-Chair (Ms. Joyce Murray): Ms. McLeod. Ms. Glenda Yeates (Deputy Minister, Department of Health): Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Mrs. Cathy McLeod (Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, Bonjour, tout le monde. CPC): You know, Madam Chair, I certainly think five minutes just Thank you very much for the invitation to be here today. to put things in scope is very appropriate. [Translation] Hon. Carolyn Bennett: There's one from David and there's one I am very pleased to be here today. With me are from the minister. How much time are we going to be spoken at and Germain Tremblay, Acting Chief Financial Officer of Health how much time do we get to speak? This is not okay. Canada, and other senior department officials. [English] The Vice-Chair (Ms. Joyce Murray): Thank you, Dr. Bennett. By way of introduction, this is my first appearance before you in We'll continue with the remarks and ask that they be kept as brief as the role of deputy minister of health, and I just felt I should mention possible. that while I am new to this position and feel very privileged to be here, I'm not new to the health field. I've had the great privilege of serving in the health and health care policy fields for approximately Thank you. 20 years, most recently as the president and the CEO of the Canadian Institute for Health Information, but previously as the deputy minister of health for the Province of Saskatchewan. It is a great Ms. Glenda Yeates: Absolutely. I will keep this very brief. pleasure for me now to continue in the health field as the deputy minister of Health Canada. Health Canada is seeking additional funding of $241.4 million in The minister appeared before you on March 16 to discuss the main 2010–11 to focus on the following priorities: $130 million to renew estimates of the health portfolio. At that time, Health Canada federal aboriginal health programs; $30 million to improve health requested and subsequently received a net increase of $50.7 million access and to support innovations and reforms in the medical travel in the 2010–11 main estimates. systems for the three Canadian territories; $26 million to provide first nations living on reserve with safe drinking water and waste- Specifically, those investments supplemented first nations and water services; and $22 million to continue work on environmental Inuit health services and the food and consumer safety action plan— health risk assessment. These will build on key priorities that were in Hon. Carolyn Bennett (St. Paul's, Lib.): Madam Chair— the main estimates in budget 2010. 2 HESA-26 June 15, 2010 In terms of the first nations and Inuit health branch, there is $130 That's why the agency will continue to enhance Canada's ability million. Those dollars are to renew federal aboriginal health to prevent and manage diseases and injuries. In 2010-11, for promotion and disease prevention programs in the areas of diabetes, example, we will help to increase awareness of risks such as lung suicide prevention, maternal and child health, health human disease and increase capacity and knowledge on prevention and resources, and the aboriginal health transition fund. We're also control of HIV/AIDS. We will continue to gather and analyze data seeking funding to support the first nations water and waste-water on the rates, trends, and patterns of injuries in Canada and will action plan. And additional funding of $25.6 million would bring the initiate a national study to help close knowledge gaps in the area of total investment in this plan to $54.8 million over the next two years. neurological diseases. On the health regulatory front, Health Canada is seeking additional investments in support of the Canadian Environmental [Translation] Protection Act and the chemicals management plan. We're making significant progress here, but we are completing assessments and Health promotion will also remain a top priority. continuing our work on the 200 highest-priority substances and initiating risk management measures for those substances that pose a [English] risk to human health. We are also looking for funding that is needed to maintain support By definition, health promotion is the process of enabling people of the regulatory review of drugs and medical devices, and funding to increase control over and improve their health. In 2010-11, to support the health and safety regulatory activities under the Food through our planned spending of $178 million, we will continue to and Drugs Act. build this through programs for vulnerable populations, such as the Finally, in support of the Weatherill recommendations following Canada prenatal nutrition program, the community action program the listeriosis outbreak, we are requesting an additional $3.9 million for children, and the aboriginal head start program. to review the ways we prevent, detect, and respond to outbreaks of food-borne illness. [Translation] Ï (0910) [Translation] In Canada, as elsewhere, the obesity epidemic—especially among children and youth—has become a major public health challenge. The health and well-being of Canadians will always be Health Canada's main priority. Ultimately, resources requested through the supplementary estimates (A) will be used to help all Canadians [English] maintain and improve their health. [English] While this is a very complex, multi-faceted issue, there's a lot of evidence out there to inform our work, so one of our roles in facing Thank you very much for your time. I look forward to your this challenge is to bring the players together on this issue and ensure questions. the lessons we see in one province can be applied to others. In 2010- The Vice-Chair (Ms. Joyce Murray): Thank you. 11, as part of this work, we will be updating the national physical activity guides and we will continue to work with all partners on Now, Dr. Butler-Jones, brief remarks, please. initiatives that support Canadians in the attainment and maintenance Dr. David Butler-Jones (Chief Public Health Officer, Public of healthy weights. Health Agency of Canada): Excellent. Thank you. Thanks to the committee again for the opportunity to speak on our [Translation] supplementary estimates (A). With me today is Jim Libbey, the chief financial officer for the agency. I will now turn my focus to infectious disease prevention and control. As you know, it's not quite six years ago that the Public Health Agency was created. In this fiscal year, $664.8 million has been allocated to the agency, and I'd like to briefly outline a few of the [English] areas that illustrate how these funds are put to good use. [Translation] Last year's H1N1 outbreak solidified our place as global leaders in responding to infectious disease outbreaks. Since the day we were Firstly, the agency spends that money on disease and injury aware of a novel flu virus circulating, the agency was at the forefront prevention and mitigation. of the federal pandemic response. [English] A prevention agenda is among our highest priorities, for which we The H1N1 pandemic saw quite possibly the country's greatest plan to devote over $115 million this fiscal year. As the Honourable mass mobilization since the last world war. It marked the country's Dr. Bennett rightly said, the goal is to have a great fence at the top of first pandemic in 40 years and the first pandemic in an information the cliff, not a great ambulance service at the bottom. age. June 15, 2010 HESA-26 3 All of these factors required a multi-faceted response: helping to families about child safety to try to avoid parents having to go to secure enough vaccine for every Canadian who needed and wanted many different websites—for example, one on toy safety or crib to be immunized; leading national surveillance activities; and safety and perhaps another on car seats—and to try to pull together a communicating regularly to Canadians to provide them with the one-stop shopping place for parents to increase parents' awareness information they needed to make well-informed decisions related to and give them streamlined access to health information.