SoVote

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North, Lib.)

Jun/3/24 3:42:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today to present another petition from health care workers, in particular nurses. The petitioners are highlighting the important role that nurses play, and they are looking at ways to encourage governments and political parties of all stripes to get involved in recognizing the need to ensure that nurses are supported, both financially and with other types of resources. One of the things that I would note is that there is one little side issue that the petitioners raise, and it is relevant to today, where they are talking about and recognizing the needs of seniors on fixed income for prescribed medicines and the need to deal with that issue too.

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Context: House Hansard - 323 - Jun/3/24

Mr. Warren Steinley

Jun/3/24 5:44:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think he doth protest too much. He did say that the provinces do not have a role in health care. I believe the federal transfers are part of a responsibility the federal government has to make sure that it has the proper money to run the health care system in the provinces. The member never answered my question. I would love for him to table the information, the correspondence, regarding which health ministers, how many health ministers, wrote to this long, nine-year costly coalition, wrote to the federal health minister, to say that the first thing one should do after the 2020 election would be to try to bring in a pharmacare plan. The answer is zero.

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Context: House Hansard - 323 - Jun/3/24

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Jun/3/24 6:01:48 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I just spoke for about 10 minutes about how important health care is to Canadians, and how important it is that we, as a national government, step up to the plate on things such as a national pharmacare program and a national dental care program, to be there for our constituents, and what does the Reform-Conservative Party across the way say? “What about the billions of dollars? Instead of spending them on health, maybe we should be dealing with the debt or the impact it is going to have on inflation?” Yes, we have inflation in Canada, but I will contrast our inflation rate to that of any other country in the world. We are doing reasonably well. However, I can say that we cannot trust the Conservatives. With their hidden agenda, health care is not safe.

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Context: House Hansard - 323 - Jun/3/24

Mr. Adam van Koeverden

Jun/3/24 6:11:24 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-64

Thank you, Madam Speaker. There is not only heckling but also unnecessary interruption. I will use my remaining time to talk about diabetes and those living with diabetes. Diabetes is a disease with no cure. There is a treatment, and it is thanks to Canadian science, which is something that our government supports. Canadian scientist Frederick Banting and his team came up with an interim solution, I suppose we could call it; it is a treatment for diabetes that allows diabetics to live. Without it, diabetics would not have the opportunity to live fulfilling lives, but we still need to fight for a cure. Before we get there, we should also ensure that we reduce inequality and inequities in the populations impacted by diabetes. There is a really interesting infographic from the Public Health Agency of Canada. Anybody who is watching this debate might be interested in how diabetes and inequality intersect in Canada. I was actually very surprised to learn that diabetes and employment status are related; there is a positive correlation between them. When people are employed, they are less likely to suffer from diabetes and live with diabetes. When people are permanently unable to work, they are more likely to have diabetes, which means that they naturally have a lower income. It is the same for education level, surprisingly. Almost 10% of those individuals with less than a high school education will have diabetes or prediabetes throughout their life; for university graduates, that goes down to between 3.5% and 6.1%. There is also a positive relationship within income quintiles. All five income quintiles are associated with a positive relationship. As income goes up, people are less likely to have diabetes. Therefore, providing folks living with diabetes with free access to medication, to insulin and to supports for managing their illness is also an affordability measure that would make a difference for a lot of Canadians. Diabetes also affects people disproportionately in different categories. There are complex social and environmental behavioural factors that result in inequalities in the burden of diabetes between certain populations in Canada. The prevalence of diabetes is 2.3% higher among South Asian Canadians, and it is 2.1% higher among Black adults. For indigenous adults, the prevalence of diabetes is similarly staggering, at 1.9% higher for first nations Canadians living off reserve. Inequities experienced by first nations, Inuit and Métis populations are a direct result of colonial policies and practices that included massive forced relocation, loss of lands, creation of the reserve system, banning of indigenous languages and cultural practices, and the creation of the harmful residential school system. Unaddressed intergenerational trauma adds to the ongoing challenges faced by indigenous peoples, and providing them with a reliable and affordable treatment for diabetes would support affordability. This would also reduce the number of times people with diabetes have to access health care as a result of their illness. People with diabetes are more at risk of all sorts of life-changing health crises, such as a heart attack or stroke, kidney failure, blindness and amputation. At this very moment, there are about 3.7 million Canadians, or 9.4% of our population, who have been diagnosed and have to manage their condition for their entire life. If members can believe it, in 2015, 25% of Canadians with diabetes indicated that they followed their treatments to a T, but they were affected by cost; in some cases, those Canadians were rationing medications to save money. Therefore, a quarter of the people who are following their treatments are affected by cost. There are other Canadians who are undiagnosed, and there are Canadians who are not following their treatments. We need to make sure that they live a healthy and fulfilled life, and one way to do that is to ensure that they have access to this vital medication. About one out of three people is living with diabetes or prediabetes today in Canada, and rates of diabetes are ever rising. It is estimated that, by 2028, over 13 million Canadians, or 32% of the population, will have diabetes or prediabetes. Through Bill C-64 and the work of the national framework for diabetes, we can improve aspects of preventative care as well. We can do this through information sharing and knowledge transfer, while also ensuring that those living with diabetes have access to insulin and other diabetes medications. This is a cost-saving endeavour. The Conservatives have continually referred to this as a spending program, as if it would not be invested directly in the health of Canadians. Not only would it be invested in their long-term health outcomes, but it would also be invested directly in their affordability. It would support affordability, and, as I pointed out, that is something that is positively correlated with other risk factors. We introduced the national framework for diabetes in 2022 to align multisectoral efforts to reduce the impact of diabetes in Canada. The framework comprises about six interdependent and interconnected components that represent the range of areas where opportunities to advance efforts on diabetes could and will be beneficial. Bill C-64 would support people living with diabetes, whether through improving access to the medications they need or giving them the tools they need to have a better quality of life in Canada. We are here for Canadians. Our plan to provide universal coverage for contraception and diabetes medications would be transformative, and I still have faith that the Conservatives will see the light and recognize that this is a very popular and worthwhile endeavour. We should all get behind national pharmacare for Canadians.

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Context: House Hansard - 323 - Jun/3/24

Mr. Adam van Koeverden

Jun/3/24 6:21:15 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question, but it is always the same story with the Bloc Québécois. The Bloc members always say that in Canada, the provincial government, in this case Quebec, is wholly responsible for the health care system. In actual fact, that is the case until the bill arrives and it is time to pay for the health care system. Canada's health care system is a shared responsibility between the federal and provincial governments. We need only think of the health care provided at the regional level in my riding. It is so important that we find solutions together.

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