Pubdate: Sun, 08 Nov 2015
Source: Lethbridge Herald (CN AB)
Copyright: 2015 The Lethbridge Herald
Contact:  http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/239
Author: Kristy Kirkup
Page: A1

HEALTH MINISTER TO MEET WITH PROVINCES

Ottawa Makes Accord a High Priority

Canada's new health minister Jane Philpott says she plans to engage 
with provincial and territorial counterparts as soon as next week as 
the Liberals set the wheels in motion to establish a new health accord.

In an interview, Philpott said the government perceives the agreement 
to be a high priority because executing other aspects of the Grit 
platform will depend on developing a strong relationship with the 
provinces and territories.

The 54-year-old physician also said she will attend a health 
ministers meeting scheduled for January.

In the coming months, the Liberals will try to usher in a new era of 
federal-provincial relations, especially on the health file.

The party was very critical of the previous Conservative government's 
decision to allow Canada's health accord - an action plan backed by 
billions of federal dollars to establish shared goals - to expire.

Philpott also faces critical legislative issues in her portfolio 
including a Liberal pledge to legalize marijuana.

The government's first step toward giving adults the green light for 
recreational pot use involves establishing a provincial, territorial 
and federal task force with public health, substance abuse and public 
safety experts.

"I will clearly have the opportunity to be involved from a health 
perspective and looking at the health aspects of new legislation," she said.

Philpott also noted the Liberals will need to get started quickly to 
accomplish its ambitious mandate.

"I suspect that we will begin work on that very shortly," she said. 
"It is a complex issue and we need to be sure that all of our 
decisions are based on really excellent evidence, so there will be 
many perspectives on this issue."

The second pressing issue will be responding to the Supreme Court of 
Canada's decision on doctor-assisted death.

In February, the country's top court recognized the right of clearly 
consenting adults who endure intolerable physical or mental suffering 
and wish to end their lives to do so with a doctor's help.

Parliament was given one year to deal with the legislation.

"As Canadians might expect, the minister of justice and the 
department related will obviously play a very large role in that and 
we will be happy to work with them in that," she said. "I think the 
other thing we talked about in our platform is making sure that there 
is fair opportunity to have a broad input from Canadians on this 
incredibly important issue."

Philpott, a mother of four, led an impressive professional career 
before entering the political ring - a decision she made after 
realizing it would require "more than medicine" to help people live 
healthier lives.

The MP for the Toronto-area riding of Markham-Stouffville spent most 
of the first decade of her medical career in West Africa where she 
practised general medicine and helped establish a training program 
for village health workers. The experience has had a lasting impact 
on Philpott's life and she remains involved in global health issues.

"I think those things help you to sort of see health and health care 
from a global perspective and help you understand issues of equity 
and help you to understand what it takes for people to be healthy," she said.

Philpott also believes she will bring a special perspective to her 
role as minister after being involved on the front lines.

"I think health-care providers do bring a special perspective to the 
role, and obviously having been involved in health care delivery is 
going to be very helpful in terms of understanding that part of the 
health-care system," Philpott said.

As she prepares to tackle an enormous file, Philpott said she is 
grateful she will be guided by a strong team of civil servants.

"I have a lot on my plate but I have an incredible team of people 
helping me out on that," she said. "I've learned to be a reasonably 
good listener and I will be doing a lot of listening ... I know that 
Canadians trust us to be thoughtful and to make wise decisions on their behalf."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom