Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on
Social Affairs, Science and Technology
Issue 12 - Evidence - March 15, 2012
OTTAWA, Thursday, March 15, 2012
The Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology met this day at 10:30 a.m. in public for the consideration of draft budgets to examine the progress in implementing the 2004 10-Year Plan to Strengthen Health Care and to study prescription pharmaceuticals in Canada; and in camera for the consideration of draft reports on the progress in implementing the 2004 10-Year Plan to Strengthen Health Care and on social inclusion and cohesion in Canada.
Senator Kelvin Kenneth Ogilvie (Chair) in the chair
[English]
The Chair: I call this meeting to order. You have the agenda before you. The first two items on the agenda are full open meeting items, and then we will move in camera for the remaining items on the agenda.
The first two items deal with the budget and budget requests that we need to put before the Senate. You have before you, stapled together, two separate budget requests. The first is the first item on the agenda. It is the consideration of a budget for the remaining costs related to examining the progress in implementing the 10-year plan to strengthen health care.
Senator Eggleton: So moved.
The Chair: It has been moved. Are there any questions with regard to that budget item?
Senator Callbeck: How many copies does this provide for?
The Chair: Fifteen hundred.
Are there any further questions?
[Translation]
Senator Verner: Mr. Chair, as you will recall, for professional and other services, our colleague Senator Champagne suggested that there be a francophone to make sure that the appropriate French vocabulary was used throughout the report. I made a commitment to take a look, but I am not a linguist or an expert.
The Chair: The francophone person is already included in the budget.
[English]
Are you ready for the question?
Hon. Senators: Question.
The Chair: All in favour?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Contrary? Abstain? Carried.
The second budget relates to the study on pharmaceuticals in Canada and specifically with regard to our first phase, which is the one on clinical trials. With regard to Senator Verner's question, it is included in that.
[Translation]
In that case, the two are on the same line in the budget.
[English]
These are for the two report aspects.
Senator Seidman: I so move.
The Chair: It has been moved. Are there questions on the budget?
Senator Callbeck: Is it for the same number of copies?
The Chair: Yes.
Senator Demers: There is no question; you cannot do anything about it anyway.
The Chair: Does that mean that for any over-expenditures you will write a personal cheque?
Senator Demers: I did not mean it that way. I apologize, because I do not usually do this. I am sorry, Senator Eggleton. I am just saying that we cannot do anything about the budget. They are cutting everywhere, and that is fine with me.
Senator Eggleton: We cut out all the travel. We were going around the world, but we cut it all out.
For both of these reports we are talking about doing the new style. I hesitate to call it "glossy" or "fancy" or anything like that, but it is the new style that has pictures and that sort of stuff. We used it for the poverty report and the PSC report, which is almost ready. We will be using the same thing?
The Chair: Yes, it is a standard that we have come to accept.
Senator Martin: I am curious about the figures. If it is the same number of copies for this special study on prescription pharmaceuticals, is it because it is a longer report?
Jessica Richardson, Clerk of the Committee: It is for two reports. We are expected to have two interim reports in the same fiscal year.
The Chair: There will be two studies in the same fiscal year. I should have explained that clearly. This represents two different reports, because we are doing the pharmaceutical study in four phases, two of which we hope to complete in the coming fiscal year.
Thank you for the clarification.
The next one in order is post-approval monitoring. Are there any further questions? Are you ready for the question?
Hon. Senators: Question.
The Chair: All in favour?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Contrary? Abstentions? Carried.
We will now move in camera.
(The committee continued in camera.)