Senate QP: A slow-moving tsunami

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While the Commons and Senate calendars are out of sync, the Senate is sitting this week while the Commons is not, and we still had ministerial QP in the Senate today, with special guest star, health minister Jane Philpott, this being her third appearance before the Senate. Just before things got underway, the Speaker noted that the leaders had agreed to tweaks on the order of questions, and cutting down on the number of supplementals asked in order to get more questions in. Senator Carignan led off asking about the plans for legalised marijuana, worrying that they were not following evidence-based policy especially around the risks. Philpott said that despite appearances, there are a number of gaps in knowledge around cannabis and praise the work of Anne McLelland’s panel. She also noted that because the largest number of pot users are younger people, they need to keep that in mind in the legislation they draft.

Senator Ogilvie asked about antibiotic resistance, and banning the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in agriculture. Philpott said that this was an area she is very concerned about as it is a “slow-motion tsunami,” noting some of the discussions she has been having internationally, and took his advice around use of a specific antibiotic.

Senator Eggleton followed up around the lack of research on new antibiotics, as no new ones have come to market since 1984, and drug-resistant bacteria were becoming a greater threat. Philpott reiterated her concern and said that they were supporting antibiotic stewardship in Canada, and said there have been preliminary discussions around the research question and ways that the government can help to foster it.

Senator Campbell asked about the opioid crisis and about details in Bill C-37 regarding it. Philpott noted that harm reduction alone would not reduce the crisis, but they would also need treatment and opioid replacement therapies that would move them onto safer products. She also noted that they lifted the restrictions on pharmaceutical heroin in order to better treat those who have addiction issues.

Senator Peticlerc asked about access to palliative care, and the commitment made around C-14 for investments to be made as part of the health care accords with provinces. Philpott said that the offer to the provinces was that palliative care would be part of their home care funding, but there was tremendous need and they were working to move the file and the metrics to be reported on annually.

Senator Ataullahjan asked about the lack of adequate maternal and newborn health in many remote First Nations, and what steps had been made to encourage midwifery in these communities when the section on the website was a dead link. Philpott admitted that this was a pressing issue for her to work on, and that she has raised the issue of women who are forced to leave their communities to give birth, and was hoping to have good news on that file in the not-too-distant future.

Senator Frum asked about the international treaties around illicit drugs that would be impacted on if we legalised marijuana, for which Philpott said that they were having discussions and other countries were keeping an eye on Canada, which is why they needed to get the legislation right. She also noted the number of states in the US that had legalised cannabis, but they were still taking it all under consideration.

Senator Jaffer asked about Fentanyl and the deaths, and the ongoing action being taken. Philpott said that the response needs to be whole-of-government and whole-of-society, and that was one of the reasons why they restored harm reduction policies as part of their response. She also returned to the issues of mental health and trauma that people experience that leads them to substances in the first place, and until that was being addressed then they could not get to the roots of the crisis.

Senator Meredith also asked about the opioid crisis what the government was doing for funding regarding intervention and treatment. Philpott agreed that it was necessary and it was why the government was making investments in mental healthcare a priority. She also noted that investments in mental health would mean money saved in other areas, most especially justice and corrections.

Senator Wallin asked about blood plasma donation regulation, and wondered if she would consider banning private, paid donations. Philpott said that it would wonderful if there was enough voluntary donations around the world to keep the system going, but so far the majority of products used in Canada were from international sources, most of those from paid American donors. Philpott also laid out the lines of jurisdiction, so that Health Canada assures facilities are safe, but whether donations are paid or not is provincial jurisdiction.

Senator Enverga asked about the palliative care funding, and how much of the home care funding under the health accords was for palliative care. Philpott reiterated that they expanded the funding over ten years per provincial requests, and that they would come to an understanding with each province that would include palliative care funding, along with women reporting metrics. She also regaled the chamber with the Nova Scotia example on how they plan to address the issue using paramedics in their province.

Overall, it was a reiteration of the fact that Philpott is one of the best performing ministers in the cabinet, and that she can provide substantive answers to questions when called upon, and when she’s not bound by a 35-second clock as in the Commons. I would be a very happy journalist if we had a lot more exchanges like this one.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Senator Serge Joyal for a nattily tailored navy suit with a light blue shirt and medium blue tie, and to Senator Ratna Omidvar for a black dress with a long black jacket with a patterned border. Style citations go out to Senator Gwen Boniface for a grey striped vest over a black long-sleeved top with a garish red scarf, and to Senator Leo Housakos for a dark grey suit with a butterscotch shirt and gold-brown tie.