SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 9

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 2, 2021 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 9 - Dec/2/21
Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Health, Lib.)
  • Dec/2/21 6:53:50 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for giving me my first opportunity in this Parliament to address the House and thank all those who put their faith in me for the third time just a few short weeks ago in the great riding of Québec. Of course I want to thank my family, my partner Marie-Chantal, our children, Étienne, Clémence and Antoine, my parents, who guided me toward everything I have ever done, as well as my volunteers and my amazing constituency team members, who work for the people of Quebec City every day. I am also grateful to my colleague for the opportunity to talk about diversity and inclusion in the context of blood donation in Canada. Protecting the safety and security of the blood supply across the country is a top priority for Health Canada. Canada has one of the safest blood supply systems in the world thanks to complete regulatory oversight of blood collection. Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec supervise and administer Canada's and Quebec's blood supply systems. These organizations operate independently of governments and politicians and cannot be forced to change their blood donor exclusion policy unless safety issues arise. The Government of Canada is committed to protecting the safety and security of the country's blood supply, and we are also committed to supporting blood donation policies in Canada that are not discriminatory and that are based on science. In 2016, Health Canada approved a change in the waiting period for men who have sex with men and reduced it from five years to 12 months. In 2019, this waiting period was reduced again, this time to three months. These changes were made following the detailed review of scientific data provided in the regulatory submissions of the Canadian Blood Services and Héma‑Québec, and are gradual steps. In the meantime, the research is tending toward the ultimate objective of the pre-selection of donors based on behavioural criteria rather than gender. To date, Health Canada has not yet received a request from the Canadian Blood Services or Héma‑Québec to totally eliminate the waiting period in question. Canada is a leader in this area. The United States, Australia and New Zealand all established a three-month waiting period after Canada made this change. Furthermore, in September 2021, Health Canada authorized a submission from the Canadian Blood Services seeking to implement other pre-selection and collection processes that would let men who have sex with other men donate plasma for fractionation. The Government of Canada has also given $3 million to the Canadian Blood Services to work with Héma‑Québec on creating research projects that would help inform changes in this area. Finally, as time always passes too quickly, I will add that the 2019 budget contained an additional $2.4 million over three years for plasma donation research.
506 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 9 - Dec/2/21
Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos
  • Dec/2/21 6:58:45 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, I will digress briefly from my notes to speak in English given that I am fortunate that the member is here before me. I want to let the member know what I think he already knows, that his advocacy and length of experience with the matter is very credible, very touching, and everyone listening to him knows that we owe him a debt of gratitude. I would like to indicate that in the process. I would also remind the member that the Government of Canada can only amend the Canadian Blood Services' or Héma-Québec's exclusion policies for safety reasons and that it must follow procedure.
113 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border