Bloc Québécois answers to the Heart and Stroke Foundation questionnaire Q1) By including diagnostic imaging tests, such as MRIs and echocardiograms, in a world-leading study on chronic diseases (called Tomorrow) currently being funded across Canada by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, we will be better able to understand the factors that influence heart disease and stroke over a lifetime. This understanding will lead to better prevention and treatments. If you are elected, will your party commit to including diagnostic imaging tests, such as MRIs and echocardiograms, in the Tomorrow study to provide a better understanding of heart disease and stroke?
For the Bloc Québécois, research is an extremely promising avenue that must be encouraged. Identifying the causes of certain diseases, and discovering new palliative treatments and cures helps to significantly improve the quality of life of thousands of Quebecers and Canadians. As such, we propose that the federal government substantially increase the budget allocated to fundamental research and that it transfer it directly to Quebec so that the latter can invest the funds as it sees fit. Q2) In 2008, the Heart and Stroke Foundation launched a national bilingual awareness campaign called The Heart Truth. This campaign aims to educate Canadian women about heart disease and stroke—the leading killers of women—and to encourage them to take a more active role in their heart health. Currently, only 23% of Canadian women know that heart disease and stroke are the number one threat to their health; in many cases, they do not know how to prevent them. The first three years of this campaign were a resounding success. However, the campaign needs additional funding to effectively target highrisk populations, such as women from certain ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as Aboriginal women. In order to expand the campaign to effectively reach these high-risk women, we will ask the next federal government to support the final phase of The Heart Truth campaign. If you are elected, will your party help us to reach women across the country by committing $3 million to support The Heart Truth campaign?
Health and social services are strictly a provincial jurisdiction, and, as such, the Bloc Québécois feels that Quebec and the provinces are the best placed to implement the healthcare system that meets the needs of their respective populations, on their own terms, without any restrictions from the federal government. The Quebec government created the Programme national de santé publique 2003-2012, one of whose many objectives is to reduce cardiovascular-related mortality and morbidity rates by 3% every year until 2012. To truly support Quebec and the provinces in their fight against heart disease, the federal government needs to stop setting priorities and start increasing its share of healthcare funding. The Bloc Québécois believes that the complete elimination of the fiscal imbalance that is currently crippling Canada, and depriving Quebec and the provinces of the revenues they need to meet their health and social services obligations, is the only way that Quebec and the provinces can further develop the public services under their jurisdiction, jointly with the partners in their territories, and ensure that citizens receive appropriate health and social services in a timely manner.
Q3) An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a safe, easy-to-use electronic device. If used quickly, an AED increases a person's chance of surviving a cardiac arrest. AEDs can be used effectively in a number of public places; their use is crucial, because with every minute that elapses before they are used, a cardiac arrest victim's chance of survival decreases by 7-10%. Defibrillation, when used in conjunction with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), can increase a person's chance of surviving a cardiac arrest by up to 75%. Approximately 45,000 Canadians suffer from cardiac arrest every year. Fewer than 5% of those who have one outside of a hospital will survive. If you are elected, will your party commit to supporting the installation of AEDs and providing CPR training in the communities, especially in community centres, across Canada?
While the Bloc Québécois is in favour of the federal government installing AEDs in all federal buildings, we believe that the Quebec government is responsible for establishing its own strategy on AEDs in Quebec government buildings. Q4) Trans fats serve no purpose; they have absolutely no nutritional value and carry heavy health risks. Every year, they are responsible for thousands of heart-related deaths in Canada. Despite reductions in recent years, Health Canada estimates that 25% of all foods still contain trans fats. Furthermore, there is too much sodium in the food in this country. It is estimated that one million Canadians suffer from hypertension—a risk factor for heart disease and stroke—due to excessive sodium intake. On average, Canadian adults consume around 3,400 mg of sodium per day, much higher than the tolerable daily intake of 2,300 mg per day. If you are elected, will your party commit to reducing sodium and trans fats in Canada's food?
The Bloc Québécois is very concerned about the health risks related to high sodium and trans fat intake by Quebecers and Canadians, and feels it is essential to take action. While the federal government has implemented action plans to work jointly with the food industry to reduce trans fats and sodium in prepared foods, this approach has not always proven to be effective. The Bloc Québécois will continue its efforts to ensure that the federal government applies substantial pressure on the industry, especially given that prepared foods account for 80% of our sodium intake. We will monitor the progress very closely; if we fail to see tangible results quickly, we will ensure that a stricter approach is taken, in compliance with Quebec's jurisdiction over healthcare.