Bill C-5 (Historical)

Public Health Agency of Canada Act

An Act respecting the establishment of the Public Health Agency of Canada and amending certain Acts

This enactment establishes the Public Health Agency of Canada to assist the Minister of Health in exercising or performing the Minister’s powers, duties and functions in relation to public health. It also provides that the Governor in Council may make regulations respecting the collection and management of public health information and the protection of confidential information, including personal information. It also makes related and consequential amendments to certain Acts.

Public Health Agency of Canada Act

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, although I have often agreed with my honourable colleague on the Standing Committee on Health, I find myself forced to say no right now because, by instituting this agency, the federal government is displaying its arrogance towards the powers of Quebec and the provinces.

Also, we repeat that Quebec already has had its own Institut national de santé publique since 1998, and that this institution does not need a federal agency to do the same thing. We already take care of this, ourselves, in Quebec. Furthermore, it is not true that we are isolated.

We do things directly in Quebec. We do things differently. We do things by taking into account the aging population and the children we have. We do things because we are concerned about people in Quebec. We do things because perhaps our way of thinking is a bit more social than conservative, but we do things well.

[Keith Martin, Liberal, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I listened intently to the member's comments.

Regardless of where we live in our great country, we are all affected by health care challenges. That is the intent of the bill. Over the last few years Canada is the number one nation in the entire world in terms of SARS preparedness and SARS response. There is an extraordinary monitoring system within Canada. Our experts have travelled to the Far East to help the people there monitor and address their SARS challenges. We know those challenges quite well. We have done a great job in Canada. Our researchers and Public Health Agency experts, as the parliamentary secretary also knows very well, have done an outstanding international job on this. A world meeting was held last year in Montreal so that we could work with other countries to deal with that challenge.

Some of us put together an initiative which deals with type 1 diabetes. We are poised to close an incredible loop in our country, which is very exciting. It started with Banting and Best and the discovery insulin. We are now at the stage in research where we hope in the very near future to complete the genetic mapping for the genetic component of type 1 diabetes but also to identify some of the environmental factors and develop the technology to enable individuals to regenerate the islet cells in the pancreas which produce insulin.

The member and her party refused to participate in a bipartisan initiative to enable researchers to have a $25 million per year investment over five years. That would enable Canada to take the lead and be the first country in the world to ever cure a chronic disease.

There are thousands of people in the member's own province who suffer from type 1 juvenile diabetes. People are diagnosed primarily when they are children. The biggest increasing age group is between five and nine years. Our country has the third highest incidence in the world. How could the member look her constituents in the eye and say that as a member of the Bloc Québécois, she refused to participate in a binational, bipartisan initiative to ensure that our researchers in Canada, in Montreal, were able to have the tools to find a cure for type 1 diabetes? Why did she refuse to participate in this initiative? Why did she block the initiative for members from all political parties to unite in defeating this disease?

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member very much for his question.

Last year, when the Minister of Health was confronted with the same problem and he was asked for $25 million over five years, the request was turned down. In addition, the money for juvenile diabetes was combined within various chronic disease strategies. Therefore I do not think that the member has anything to tell us about this subject.

Also, how does he think that the federal government can help people suffering from juvenile diabetes or any type of diabetes, when it is not even able to help the native people under its responsibility? These people suffer three times more from diabetes than other Canadians aged 55 and above. And seven times more people aged 35 to 54 suffer from diabetes. The federal government is not even able to take care of them. How can we expect it to be able to manage a pan-Canadian strategy on diabetes, when it is not even able to live up to its own responsibilities?

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, one of the interesting avenues the bill might actually create is the investigation and mitigation of different health factors in terms of food products. I would like the investigation to involve the elimination of trans fats. The House of Commons voted to work toward the reduction and elimination of trans fats. The NDP motion was accepted in 2005. I would like to see that administered.

I ask my colleague from the Bloc, would her party argue that Quebec should have different standards for trans fats? Trans fats appear in baby food and a whole series of products that affect human health.

Especially given the industrial use of different manufacturing processes in the goods that people buy, it would be an advantage to lower trans fats and have standardized reductions of trans fats across the country. It would also pressure the manufacturing industries to immediately reduce or lower trans fats which would create better market conditions to attain a quicker result in the elimination of trans fats.

Having Quebec as part of that would make it a speedier process, or do the Bloc members actually believe that Quebec should have a different level of trans fats than in the rest of the country, than eliminating products or restricting products or allowing more that would have increased trans fats?

[The Acting Speaker, Royal Galipeau]

The hon. member for Laval has less than a minute to answer this question.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would tell my hon. colleague that we are very aware of the problems caused by trans fats. These problems have already been discussed in the House. We support the principle of the bill on trans fats.

I would add that we are involved in the fight against trans fats. My own brother, who has been living in Alberta for 20 years, works for Frito Lay. It was the first company to get rid of trans fats in its chips. He is a Quebecker who is working therefore on getting rid of trans fats.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today it is my privilege to speak to Bill C-5, an act respecting the establishment of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

I take very seriously the responsibilities the member of Parliament for Prince George—Peace River and chief government whip gave me when he appointed me as a member of the Standing Committee on Health. This is the first of many issues relating to health that I plan to address.

I am very pleased to speak about such an important service that benefits all Canadians, the Public Health Agency of Canada. I would like to address the reasons this agency was created, the reasons this agency is needed, and the reasons we need a Chief Public Health Officer. Finally I will address what the legislation will do.

The overarching theme of this legislation is the protection and promotion of the health of Canadians. The establishment of the Public Health Agency of Canada was in fact a response to the need to establish a federal focal point to address public health issues following the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, popularly known as SARS.

SARS was a blow to our health care system. Some experts have stated that only the heroic efforts of Ontario's front line health workers kept the deadly SARS outbreak from exacting a far heavier toll. The province's public health system was called into question. Internationally, the health of Canadians was also called into question for months after the outbreak when they travelled overseas. Even Canadians living abroad were sometimes questioned. Canadians demanded action.

Dr. David Naylor and Senator Michael Kirby each consulted with the health community and reported specific recommendations, including the establishment of a Canadian public health agency and the appointment of a chief public health officer for Canada.

As members are probably aware, our right hon. Prime Minister has great respect for provincial jurisdiction. That is why our government is committed to federal, provincial and territorial collaboration, especially in such an important project as the Public Health Agency of Canada. One way this cooperation is done is through the Pan-Canadian Public Health Network which was established in April 2005. Informal discussions with provincial and territorial public health authorities have indicated that they would like a federal public health focal point with the authority and capacity for effective collaboration, especially during emergencies. God forbid an emergency like SARS should ever resurface, but we will be prepared.

Consequently, the Minister of Health has made it clear that the legislation does not expand on the existing federal role in public health. Instead, the legislation simply provides the agency with its mandate to assist the Minister of Health in exercising his powers, duties and functions in public health. Nothing that the federal government is currently doing in public health has changed.

Although the Public Health Agency of Canada was created by order in council in September 2004, it lacked parliamentary recognition. As the House is quite aware, my party is about accountability. This legislation will give parliamentary recognition to the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Chief Public Health Officer. In other words, this is largely a machinery bill that will give the agency a sound legislative footing to support the Minister of Health in addressing public health issues.

For me, this is an area of grave importance. In my former role as mayor and warden, I served for many years on the local board of public health, including six years as chair of that board. I know first-hand the value of having a Chief Public Health Officer at the federal level which, in the time of a widespread emergency or pandemic, can coordinate an appropriate response in coordination with the provinces and territories.

A federal focal point to address public health issues will benefit the constituents of Sarnia—Lambton in many ways. As a riding with so many international border crossings to the state of Michigan, including the twin Blue Water Bridges, an international health emergency would be better contained and managed through a federal focal point, including a Chief Public Health Officer.

In the chemical valley, by which my riding of Sarnia—Lambton is popularly known, the main CN line carries many hazardous goods. In my hometown municipality of Plympton-Wyoming, we see an average of one train every 20 minutes carrying hazardous freight. The comfort of knowing there will be a coordinated effort with a federal focal point should an accident happen is important to me and my constituents. The Chief Public Health Officer will provide that comfort by way of leadership.

The legislation will establish a unique dual role for the Chief Public Health Officer. Why, some would ask, is there a dual role? The legislation recognizes the Chief Public Health Officer's unique status as the Government of Canada's lead public health professional as well as the deputy head of the agency. Let me explain. As deputy head of the agency, the Chief Public Health Officer is accountable to the Minister of Health and informs the minister on policy development. Additionally, the Chief Public Health Officer is Canada's lead public health professional with authority to communicate with Canadians and publish reports on any public health issue.

Not only does the legislation clarify the rules and responsibilities of the Chief Public Health Officer, but it also responds to both Naylor's and Kirby's recommendations that the Chief Public Health Officer have a degree of independence to speak out and issue reports on public health matters.

Threats to the health of Canadians will allow the Chief Public Health Officer to engage other federal departments to mobilize health resources of the agency. The Chief Public Health Officer must submit to the Minister of Health for tabling in Parliament an annual report on the state of public health in Canada, aiding the Minister of Health in his decision making as to what are the best measures to promote better health care for Canadians, and subsequently, improve patient wait time guarantees which is a priority of the government.

Therefore, as an impartial, credible voice on public health able to communicate directly with the public, the Chief Public Health Officer will be accountable to all Canadians while respecting the Privacy Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

A federal focal point will provide assurances to provinces and territories that they can lawfully share information with the federal government in light of a possible health emergency such as an influenza pandemic. Systematic monitoring and surveillance would be needed to anticipate, prepare for and respond to such an emergency in a timely manner.

The agency already maintains a national emergency stockpile system that contains everything from pharmaceuticals to beds and blankets for use in an emergency.

Additionally, the Chief Public Health Officer uses the public health network to get information from his provincial and territorial colleagues and with his authorities would be able to communicate and provide the best public health advice to Canadians in key areas such as pandemic preparedness and antiviral stockpiling. SARS has taught us all a valuable lesson in dealing with public health threats.

My several years of training through Emergency Measures Ontario have certainly taught me the value of having this national emergency stockpile system in place. It will be imperative in a pandemic situation that resources be available on a national level. In fact, the Public Health Agency of Canada has already strengthened the Canadian pandemic influenza plan by increasing its national antiviral stockpile and signing an agreement to develop a prototype H5N1 or avian flu vaccine.

Having a separate agency within the health portfolio is needed to deal with public health issues. Coherence on a national scale is what the legislation ensures when the health of Canadians is in jeopardy.

I support Bill C-5 and so will my colleagues. We want to bring greater visibility to public health issues. We made a commitment on this side of the House to improve our public health system. The legislation fulfills these objectives.

[Robert Thibault, Liberal, West Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I welcome the member to the House. I am pleased to see she has been appointed to the health committee. I had the opportunity to serve on that committee for quite some time, and she will find it very rewarding.

I listened to her speak about what the bill would accomplish. It is reminiscent for me. I remember presenting the bill last year and going through part of the debate. She and some of her colleagues present it as if it were a new bill. The Public Health Agency was established by the previous Liberal government. The Chief Public Health Officer was selected in that process. The bill was introduced, the same bill that has been presented here, but it died on the Order Paper because the opposition chose to vote the government out to force an election without advancing the bill.

I hear members of her party suggesting that bill shows great leadership, that it is great advancement in the interests of the public health and that it is something new. Would it not have been in the interests of the public health six months ago to have advanced the bill and put it forward quickly, or are members of that party a little on the hypocritical side?

I also heard the comment that it was being presented before the presentation of the budget. There is nothing to put in the budget. The only thing in the budget could be a withdrawal of resources, and I hope the Public Health Agency is resourced properly and that Dr. David Butler-Jones and his staff have the available those resources. I look forward to that. I hope independence is given to the agency to operate on a pan-Canadian basis in cooperation with the provinces and with other agencies.

I have stated that I will support the bill. It is a good bill and I am pleased to see it has the support of the member.

A private member's bill, which recommended that national health products be treated as foods and not evaluated or listed independently and that personal care and hygiene products such as make-up and antiperspirants, deodorants and soaps be treated as food also and sold without any warning or under the same circumstances, died on the Order Paper. It was strongly supported by the member's party at committee last year. Does she intend to bring that one back? Could we expect to see that bill back with the same vigour that we see the Liberal bill brought back before the House?

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today is a very important bill for all Canadians. Whether the bill was before the House in some other form is not the issue. The issue is the fact that we all care very much about the public health of Canadians. The bill is before the House for discussion and passing. We have a lot of positive comments on it from all parties. The discussions at committee level will be extremely interesting, and I look forward to that.

Regarding the other question, we need to put the resources in place and I am quite confident that those resources will be there to address the issues that will come from the bill. The independence and the leadership that will develop as well from the bill are extremely important as we deal with the public health of all Canadians.

As far as the question regarding the private member's bill, I cannot answer that question. I do not have that knowledge. Perhaps one of my other colleagues on this side of the House would be able to answer it. Once the health committee sits, that is a question I can ask and we can definitely answer later. At this point I cannot answer the question.

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the member may be aware that any private member's bill that passes through the House will go to committee provided government legislation is dealt with first. I do hope there will be strong support for this bill.

The member made note that the previous Liberal government only brought its bill before the House a week before it fell, with the full knowledge that it would fall. Its legislation did not even make it to second reading, which questions the Liberal government's commitment to public health.

I congratulate the member on her appointment to the health committee.

My question for my colleague is this. How we can ensure that we get the message out to all Canadians, including those in Quebec and first nations people, that this government is firmly committed to public health where the previous government failed?

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government is definitely committed to improving the health of all Canadians. By bring this bill brought forward so early in our mandate, speaks well to that commitment. We definitely have made health care, including shorter wait times and other issues, one of our priorities. We know this has to be done in cooperation and collaboration with other areas of this great country. We need to discuss these issues with the provinces and territories. We also need to have discussions with municipal leaders, who also have a role to play in public health.

The fact that this government is extremely committed to moving forward on health care and that is extremely committed to taking a leadership role and to collaboration and cooperation should convince the Canadian public that we are very serious about health care in Canada.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw my hon. colleague’s attention to an important aspect.

Addressing the question of the Public Health Agency of Canada is one thing, but pandemics are something else entirely. Also, in regard to another reality, we must be able to provide the people of Canada with food that, in my view, is worth eating.

Let us speak, therefore, of the example of dairy substitutes. This problem exists not just in my region but all across the country. We cannot even have products nowadays that are 100% dairy. We are forced to import dairy substitutes to make cheese and ice cream.

My position is clear in this regard. Would my hon. colleague agree that we should proceed in exactly the same way as the previous government, which is to introduce a bill that would improve things for Canadians by eliminating the entire question of dairy substitutes? This bill would both help our dairy farms and give Canadians some assurance that they are consuming very good quality products.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there is no question that health care and our food supply are interwoven. Both are extremely important. We have said repeatedly that we need to have control of our food sources. We had this discussion during other debates on agriculture and the plight of our farming community across the country.

I agree with what the member has said. We need to have control of our food sources. We need to examine that. There are great links to public health issues, our food sources and our food supply, and I support those.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise to talk about Bill C-5, an act respecting the establishment of the Public Health Agency of Canada and amending certain acts.

The text of this bill is a carbon copy of Bill C-75, which was tabled in the House on November 16, 2005, by the former Liberal government. Bill C-75 was consigned to history when Parliament was dissolved on November 29, 2005.

This is a housekeeping bill because it creates the Public Health Agency of Canada and sets out its purpose and duties. I support it.

It is very important, though, to set the record straight on the proud accomplishment of the previous government in the rapidity in which it dealt with the SARS crisis in April of 2003. The minister of the day, Anne McLellan, immediately appointed David Naylor's committee to study what had happened. In November Naylor's report was released. In December the prime minister appointed the first ever minister of state for public health.

Very soon after that, in May of 2004, we were able to describe the new Public Health Agency of Canada, as well as the national collaborating centres that would study how to keep Canadians as healthy as possible. By September 2004 the Public Health Agency of Canada was created with an order in council and David Butler-Jones was appointed the first ever Chief Public Health Officer for Canada.

In April of the following year the extraordinarily important Canadian public health network was established, which would allow all 13 jurisdictions to plan public health together, recognizing that germs did not recognize borders and that the other epidemics of obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases, as well as injury, could be much better planned by sharing best practices across the country and doing all of that together.

However, I remind the government of the extraordinarily important commitment all first ministers made at their meeting in September 2004, and that was to establish some health goals for Canada. I think it was extremely exciting for all Canadians to hear the first ministers speak to the initial goal of Tommy Douglas for medicare in Canada, which would be to keep Canadians as healthy as possible, not just patch them up when they get sick.

The first ministers talked about building rails so seniors would not fall. They talked about diabetes. They talked about the unacceptable gap in the status of our aboriginal peoples. Everybody understood that the health of Canadians could not be ameliorated only by looking at the health departments. Each of the ministers called upon all their departments and worked in collaboration with all jurisdictions to ensure that every government department understood its responsibility in keeping people well, not just patching them up once they got sick.

It is very worrisome for me today that the goals, which had been asked for and delivered this past September and approved by all health ministers, are no longer visible on the home page of the Public Health Agency of Canada. It is extremely important that we underline those goals, that the governments, particularly the federal government, work with all departments to reach those goals and move immediately on to the next step of deciding what each government department must do. Each jurisdiction needs to work together to ensure that Canadians stay well.

I would like to remind you about the Overarching Goal:

As a nation, we aspire to a Canada in which every person is as healthy as they can be – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Canada is a country where:

Our children reach their full potential, growing up happy, healthy, confident and secure.

The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and the places we live, work and play are safe and healthy - now and for generations to come.

Each and every person has dignity, a sense of belonging, and contributes to supportive families, friendships and diverse communities.

We keep learning throughout our lives through formal and informal education, relationships with others, and the land.

We participate in and influence the decisions that affect our personal and collective health and well-being.

We work to make the world a healthy place for all people, through leadership, collaboration and knowledge.

Every person receives the support and information they need to make healthy choices.

We work to prevent and are prepared to respond to threats to our health and safety through coordinated efforts across the country and around the world.

A strong system for health and social well-being responds to disparities in health status and offers timely, appropriate care.

I ask the government to now, please, begin again, to work with all its departments, to work with the areas that we have complete responsibility for, the public service; our first nations, Inuit and Métis people; corrections; the RCMP; the military; all those people. We need to see what we are doing in each of those departments in our areas of direct responsibility to actually move forward on the indicators for these goals. As a result, we, as the federal government and as parliamentarians, can be proud of what we are doing in the areas that we have direct responsibility for. We must work together with the provinces to work on the indicators that they themselves will report on and will work toward across all government departments and all jurisdictions.

It is only in this way that we will be able to protect the sustainability of our cherished health care system. It is only in this way that we will understand the huge difference between health and health care. The Public Health Agency of Canada requires serious resources to be able to do this job. We thank and applaud the Chief Public Health Officer of this country, Dr. David Butler-Jones, and all the chief public health officers across Canada who are working so well together.

That means, however, that we must work with our partners within government and other jurisdictions in the same way. I would hope that in this budget this afternoon the $300 million that had been there and that should have been passed in the estimates on December 6 for an integrated disease strategy will be restored. I hope there will be resources in the budget for proper pandemic preparedness and resources for a proper information system that would allow us to collect data and to ensure that we are working every day in the best interests of Canadians and their health.

I look forward to the budget, I look forward to seeing the health goals process back up on the home page of the Public Health Agency of Canada. I hope that we, together, in a non-partisan way, will be working every day to ensure that as many Canadians stay as healthy as possible in order to sustain our cherished public health system.

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the excellent work that was done by my colleague, the former minister, on this particular issue. Certainly, she worked with a passion and I think we all owe her a huge debt of gratitude.

I am pleased to see that the bill is here today and that it is now moving forward. The government recognizes how important this work is and why we need to have this Public Health Agency.

The SARS epidemic that hit Canada had a huge impact on us all and we recognized our responsibilities as parliamentarians in the protection of all Canada and Canadians. I would like to ask the hon. member, when she looks over Bill C-5, is there anything else that is not in the bill? The regulations section refers to “may” not necessarily “do” when it comes to instituting the regulations. I wonder if she has any concerns over anything that has been left out of this bill that might need to be put in to ensure that the legislation is covering off all the bases.