Questions and responses All Sessions January 17, 1994, to present

Do any of the terms of the First Ministers Health Accords of 2003 and 2004 prohibit or discourage the provinces from contracting with privately-owned health care clinics for the delivery of publicly-funded, medically necessary health care services?

For groups under its direct jurisdiction (for example, Aboriginal Persons, RCMP, veterans, prisoners), does the government make payments to any privately-owned clinics, including the Shouldice Hernia Centre in Thornhill, Ontario, for the delivery of medically necessary health care services and if so, how much did the government pay for such services in 2003 and 2004 and at which clinics?

With regard to the Canada Health Act: (a) does it permit the delivery of publicly-funded, medically necessary health care services by privately-owned health care clinics; and (b) has a province ever been penalized by the federal government under the Act simply for contracting with privately-owned clinics for the delivery of publicly-funded health care services?

With regard to health spending: (a) of the $90 million committed in Budget Plan 2003 for improving national health human resources planning and coordination, the forecasting of human health resources needs and for the expansion of professional development programs, how much has been spent and how has it been disbursed; (b) specifying in any case the launch and completion dates, and the cost, how much has the government spent during the last five fiscal years on sectoral studies on physicians, nurses and other health professionals; and (c) based on current trends and specifying the numbers for each profession at each point in time, how many doctors and nurses does the government foresee Canada having in five, ten and 20 years, and by how much in each case, if at all, will these numbers be short of or in excess of Canadian requirements?

With regard to the Canadian Cervid Council and the Canadian Deer and Elk Farmers Association: (a) broken down by recipient and, in each case, specifying any amount disbursed and any government department involved, what, if any, grants and contributions has the government made to these organizations since fiscal year 1999-2000; and (b) what audits has the government done that examine payments to these organizations?

With regard to all contracts (including amendments) awarded by Health Canada in each fiscal year since 1993-1994, what was: (a) the value of all contracts for communications, polling, speech-writing and stategic analysis; and (b) the name of the vendor, the amount, the purpose, the deliverables, and the names of other firms competing for the procurement of each?

With regard to natural health products: (a) on what legal grounds are federal government officials prohibiting the importation of natural health products from the United States; and (b) can the government prohibit the importation of foods or natural health products from the United States or Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and, if so, what are the relevant provisions of NAFTA?

With regard to Parks Canada's attempts to close the Jasper and Banff airstrips, what is the total accumulated cost to the Crown of the court proceedings in this matter?

With regard to grants and contributions made by the government in the riding of Yellowhead for each fiscal year since 1999-2000: (a) what was the amount disbursed to each recipient; (b) which government department was involved; (c) what was the name of the recipient organization or business; and (d) what was the address of the recipient organization or business?

With regard to court proceedings related to Parks Canada's attempts to close the Jasper and Banff airstrips, what is the total accumulated cost to the Crown of court proceedings in this matter?

With regard to dental plastics containing bisPhenol A (BPA), also known as BisGMA: (a) is Health Canada aware of studies questioning the safety of this product; (b) is Health Canada convinced of the safety of this product; (c) how does Health Canada test and approve dental plastics before they are allowed on the market; (d) what tests were undertaken on “Conquest”, a dental plastic containing BisGMA; (e) how many enquiries has the minister received from alleged victims of dental plastic containing BPA; (f) is Health Canada considering compensation for alleged victims of BPA; and (g) is Health Canada aware of jurisdictions which have banned dental plastic containing BPA; if so, what are they?

With regard to the Minister of Health’s oversight of tissue banks: (a) when did Health Canada first become aware of potential safety breaches at the British Columbia Ear Bank; (b) when did the minister or her predecessors first become aware of the problems at the British Columbia Ear Bank; (c) what actions is Health Canada taking to ensure that recipients of tissue from the British Columbia Ear Bank did not contract an infectious disease; (d) why did Health Canada wait until February 19, 2003 to inform Canadians, though the clinic was shut down in October 2002; (e) what national standards are in place to regulate the collection, use and dissemination of human tissues such as those collected at the British Columbia Ear Bank; (f) when will Health Canada adopt and implement its own national standards; (g) when was the British Columbia Ear Bank first inspected by Health Canada; (h) are such tissue banks subject to regular inspections by Health Canada and, if so, when was such a regime put in place; and (i) what actions is Health Canada taking to ensure that problems such as those incurred at the British Columbia Ear Bank do not occur again?

With regard to the health impacts on Canadians of breast implants: (a) will the government offer financial compensation for victims of faulty breast implants and, if yes, when will this be available; (b) when will Health Canada release the results of its Breast Implant Cohort Study, launched in 1996 and promised by the end of 2000; (c) why has this study not yet been released; (d) will the government consider establishing a national registry to track the health status (including adverse effects) of recipients of breast implants; (e) will the government consider establishing a national breast implant user registry to tally the health care costs associated with breast implant users; (f) is Health Canada in possession of information estimating the health care costs associated with breast implant recipients; (g) what is Health Canada currently doing to ensure the safety and efficacy of both silicone and saline implants; (h) is Health Canada assured that women receiving silicone implants through the Special Access Program are properly apprised of the associated risks; and (i) what was Health Canada's reaction to warnings over the years from its Health Protection Branch that breast implants were potentially dangerous?

For the fiscal years 1993/94, 1994/95, 1995/96, 1996/97, 1997/98, 1998/99, 1999/2000 and 2000/2001, from all departments and agencies of the government, including crown corporations and quasi/non-governmental agencies funded by the government, and not including research and student-related grants and loans, what is the list of grants, loans, contributions and contracts awarded in the constituency of Prince Edward—Hastings, including the name and address of the recipient, whether or not it was competitively awarded, the date, the amount and the type of funding, and if repayable, whether or not it has been repaid?