Health  Mr. Speaker, transfers to the provinces for health care will reach a record high of $40 billion by the end of the decade. Our government has invested to reduce waiting times for all Canadians. When it comes to things like radiation treatment, we are on target and are meeting those wait times at 97%.

Health  Mr. Speaker, the quality and safety of drinking water in Canada cannot be understood by comparing the number of guidelines in a given jurisdiction. It has been stated that there are 189 substances for which Canada has no guideline. However, it is important to note that this number does not take into consideration the number of substances that are not in use, that are banned in Canada, or that are simply not found in our drinking water.

Health  Mr. Speaker, safe drinking water is essential to the life and health of every Canadian every day, and our drinking water is among the safest in the world. While drinking water is primarily an area of provincial and territorial jurisdiction, Health Canada also plays a central role in helping Canadian jurisdictions ensure the safety of drinking water supplies from coast to coast by working in close collaboration with all provinces and territories to establish the guidelines for Canadian drinking water quality.

Health  Mr. Speaker, I would like to clarify that our department will continue to support mobile sonography services to northwestern Ontario. Through budget 2010, a five-year funding cycle for the maternal child health program was announced. At this stage of the funding cycle, our government is demonstrating strong stewardship in reviewing all the evidence and outcomes from those investments.

Health  Mr. Speaker, I stand in the House today to speak to our government's continued support for sonograph services to ensure better maternal and child health outcomes for first nations in northwestern Ontario. This year alone our government is investing over $23 million to support healthy child development programming and services in first nation communities in Ontario.

Health  Mr. Speaker, nothing can ever undo the pain and suffering that has been inflicted on these survivors. This tragic event from the 1960s reminds us why we need to take drug safety so seriously. I have had the pleasure of meeting with many members of the Thalidomide Victims Association of Canada and will continue working to ensure that survivors are properly supported.

Health  Mr. Speaker, I can inform the House that, unfortunately, the first case of H7N9 has now reached Canadian soil. The patient is being monitored, is in isolation, and is recovering. Health officials have also been in contact with the close contacts of that patient, and all of those individuals are being monitored.

Health  Mr. Speaker, I can absolutely assure the House that we remain committed to working collaboratively with the survivors to ensure that their health care needs are supported. Officials from Health Canada are working to undertake the analyses needed to approve this new spending. As one can imagine, in government all sorts of spending programs will have checks and balances that need to be covered off.

Mental Health Commission of Canada  Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the 2013-2014 annual report of the Mental Health Commission of Canada. I am very proud that our government continues to support the commission's important work. I would like to acknowledge the important achievements included in this year's report.

Health  Mr. Speaker, the changes made by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's board of governance were made independently. These changes will allow for additional support for researchers as they leverage new dollars. I can assure this House that Canada, through Health Canada and through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, remains the single largest contributor to health research, spending over $1 billion each year.

Health  Mr. Speaker, to the contrary. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research operates independently. It is its board of governance that came up with and developed these changes. It is the one that recommended them. As I have assured members, we have invested over $247 million in aboriginal health research since we took office, and that is in addition to the $2 billion we invest each and every year in direct aboriginal health care.

Respect for Communities Act  Mr. Speaker, I listened very attentively to the hon. member. I would like to ask him whether or not he believes that his residents ought to have a say in whether or not a drug injection site should be put into their communities. Does he believe that his community representatives and leaders, whether the local school principal, teachers, moms and dads, or senior citizens, are the ones who ought to have a say in whether or not a drug injection site is put into their neighbourhood or at the end of their street?

Respect for Communities Act  I have.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, in fact, as I indicated in my speech, in the 1990s the War Amps of Canada worked with the survivors and victims of thalidomide to advocate for compensation. I believe it was a Conservative government that provided funding at the time based on all available knowledge and the needs of the victims at the time.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question by my hon. colleague. It is true that nothing can undo the tragic events of the 1960s and that we need to assist those victims. Today, through Vanessa's law, Canada now has one of the safest drug safety systems in the world. As I have indicated, the Minister of Health now has the authority to compel drug companies to remove drugs from the shelves.