April 10 th, Canadian Breast Cancer Network s 2011 Federal Election Questions. Question 1: The Financial Impact of Breast Cancer

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1 Canadian Breast Cancer Network s 2011 Federal Election Questions April 10 th, 2011 Question 1: The Financial Impact of Breast Cancer In May 2010, the Canadian Breast Cancer Network released the research report entitled Breast Cancer: Economic Impact & Labour Force Re-Entry, which firmly positioned breast cancer as an economic as well as a healthcare issue. The economic impact of breast cancer is significant, and in many cases devastating for patients and their families. 80% of respondents experienced an economic impact following their diagnosis, often with distressing long-term financial consequences. Some report findings: Average decline in household income was $12,000 or 10% of family income 44% of respondents used savings, while 27% took on debt One fifth of respondents returned to work before they were ready because of financial pressure Those who had chemotherapy had a greater loss of household income and were 49% more likely to take longer than 16 weeks off work Survey respondents reported that the average duration of their breast cancer treatment was 38 weeks, and two-thirds of the respondents took 16 weeks or more off from work. Because Employment Insurance Sickness Benefits last for a maximum of 15 weeks, there was an average gap of 23 weeks during treatment without coverage. If elected, will your government: A. Lengthen Employment Insurance Sickness Benefits for Canadians undergoing treatment for breast and other cancers as well as other illnesses and chronic diseases that require long periods of treatment so that no one who is ill is penalized by the current limit of 15 weeks of sickness benefits? Yes. Moreover, the Green Party of Canada is also committed to implementing income splitting for families. This would ensure that when one member of a family is unable to work due to illness, the family as a whole has its tax burden reduced. Oui. Par ailleurs, le Parti vert du Canada s engage à mettre en œuvre le partage du revenu pour les familles. Ainsi, lorsqu un membre de la famille est incapable de travailler en raison d une maladie, cela garantit à la famille dans son ensemble une réduction de son fardeau fiscal.

2 B. Cancel the two-week waiting period for EI Sickness Benefits so that sick Canadians are not penalized? Yes. Oui. C. Immediately extend the Employment Insurance Compassionate Care Benefit to cover family caregivers providing care to those with breast cancer, other cancers and other long-term conditions? a. Increase the benefit to 75% of workers earnings? b. Increase the benefit period to a maximum of 52 weeks? c. Allow partial weeks of compassionate care leave over a longer period? d. Expand the eligibility criteria beyond imminent death within 26 weeks? Yes, the Green Party of Canada supports extending the EI Compassionate Care Benefit to cover family caregivers. We also support the additional suggested reforms to ease the financial burden for individuals with serious illnesses and the family members that care for them. Oui. Le Parti vert du Canada appuie le prolongement de l assurance-emploi et des prestations de compassion afin de rémunérer les aidants membres de la famille. Nous appuyons également les réformes supplémentaires proposées en vue d alléger le fardeau fiscal des personnes atteintes de maladies graves ainsi que des membres de la famille qui leur prodiguent des soins. Question 2: Drug Approval Process in Canada The drug approval process in Canada is lengthy and complex. Currently the performance targets as outlined on the Health Canada website is 300 days for non-priority drugs and 180 days for priority drugs. Once drugs are approved by Health Canada, cancer drugs pass through the Pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review (pcodr), formally the Joint Oncology Drug Review (JODR).This process can take up to a year for recommendation to be made. Provinces and territories may then either confirm or disagree with pcodr s recommendations, often resulting in further significant delays and an uneven patchwork of drug coverage across Canada. Cancer patients in Canada face unduly long waits for much-needed drugs, and medications available in one province or territory may not be available in another. But when it comes to cancer treatment, especially for advanced or metastatic cancer, time is of the essence. If elected, how will your government: A. Ensure that the approval processes for new treatments are shortened to permit timely access to new treatments for those who need them The Green Party of Canada supports creating a universal pharmacare program, a bulk drug purchasing agency, and making new drug patent protection times shorter. This national agency

3 would follow the principles of the gold-standard for evidence based assessment of the risks and benefits of pharmaceuticals the Therapeutics Initiative at University of British Columbia. Le Parti vert du Canada est en faveur de la création d un programme d assurance-médicaments universel et d un organisme d achat de médicaments en vrac; il veut aussi raccourcir la période de protection des nouveaux médicaments brevetés. Cet organisme national suivrait les principes de la norme d excellence fondés sur l évaluation de données probantes concernant les risques et les avantages des produits pharmaceutiques (Therapeutics Initiative [Initiative sur les produits pharmaceutiques] à l Université de la Colombie-Britannique). B. Ensure that no cancer patient in Canada goes without internationally recognized gold standard treatments The Green party of Canada believes that no Canadian should be left behind. We would support the establishment of universal evidence based, best practice fully accessible care for all. This system would work most effectively if supported by electronic medical record keeping. Such a system would enable a free flow of information throughout the country and increase the standardization of patient care. Specifically, the Green Party of Canada will establish, in cooperation with the provinces, a new crown corporation to bulk purchase and dispense prescription drugs, based on a rigorous evidence-based model, and to study the feasibility of establishing a national pharmacare program that ensures that effective pharmaceuticals are available to all Canadians who need them. Le Parti vert du Canada est d avis que personne au Canada ne devrait être laissé pour compte. Nous serions favorables à la mise sur pied d un système universel de soins fondé sur des données probantes et offrant une pratique exemplaire accessible à tous. Ce système serait d une efficacité accrue si la tenue des dossiers médicaux se faisait électroniquement. Une telle méthode permettrait une libre circulation de l information dans l ensemble du pays et améliorerait l uniformisation des soins aux patients. Plus précisément, le Parti vert du Canada mettra en place, avec la collaboration des provinces, une nouvelle société d État qui procédera à l achat en masse et à la distribution de médicaments d ordonnance, selon un modèle rigoureux fondé sur des données probantes; de même, elle évaluera la faisabilité de la mise sur pied d un programme national d assurancemédicaments qui garantirait la disponibilité de produits pharmaceutiques efficaces à toutes les Canadiennes et à tous les Canadiens qui en ont besoin. Question 3: Wait Times The Canadian Breast Cancer Network s 2008 Breast Cancer Wait Times in Canada Report Card showed that not all Canadian women are receiving equal access to breast cancer treatment. The project was undertaken in order to gather information about what happens across Canada in terms of wait times in four important areas: from abnormal screen to diagnosis, from diagnosis to surgery, time to radiation, time to chemotherapy. We found some outstanding examples of best practices and much evidence that many

4 jurisdictions across the country are working on innovative solutions to the wait time issue. However, the most disconcerting finding was that there are no national benchmarks for wait times and no standards for wait time reporting systems across the continuum of care. The data reported are calculated differently across jurisdictions making it impossible to compare wait times. This has not changed since In the absence of comprehensive and consistent wait times data, there is no certainty that people diagnosed with breast cancer are receiving optimal care. This is a complex issue. There needs to be national benchmarks for maximum wait times for diagnosis and treatment. Electronic health records must include consistent reporting of wait times across jurisdiction. Best practices must be shared and implemented across the country. Access to timely cancer care cannot depend upon ones postal code. If elected, how will your government: A) Provide the infrastructure necessary to ensure comprehensive and consistent standards for wait time reporting for breast cancer diagnosis and treatment across Canada The Green Party of Canada will aim to create a national wait time strategy. We will establish national bench marks for wait times and research best practice and embrace innovative solutions to the issue of wait times. Additionally, we must ensure that fewer women are ever afflicted by breast cancer. This means concentrating on prevention. Our approach to cancer includes an array of proactive measures including early tracking and the banning identified carcinogens. Le Parti vert du Canada s emploiera à élaborer une stratégie nationale pour les temps d attente. Nous établirons des points de référence nationaux pour les temps d attente, évaluerons les meilleures pratiques et adopterons des solutions innovatrices. En outre, nous devons nous assurer que le nombre de femmes atteintes du cancer du sein diminue. Cela se traduit par un travail centré sur la prévention. En ce qui concerne le cancer, notre approche comprend une gamme de mesures proactives comme le dépistage précoce et l interdiction de substances cancérogènes identifiées. B) Ensure that national benchmarks are established for wait times associated with surgery and chemotherapy We will work to create national bench marks for surgery and chemotherapy based on best practices from across the country. We are committed to expanding capacity for convalescent and long term care beds and training more doctors and nurses. Nous travaillerons à créer des points de référence nationaux pour la chirurgie et la chimiothérapie qui s inspire des meilleures pratiques à l échelle nationale. Nous nous engageons à accroître la capacité en lits dans les services de convalescence et de soins de longue durée et à former davantage de médecins et d infirmières.

5 C) Ensure the adoption of electronic health records The Green Party of Canada is strongly committed to creating universal electronic record keeping to be used across the country. We believe that universal electronic record keeping would enable improved patient care, increase efficiencies within the system and help to standardize treatment. Le Parti vert du Canada s engage fermement à mettre sur pied une méthode de tenue des dossiers médicaux électroniques qui pourra être utilisée dans l ensemble du pays. Nous croyons qu une méthode universelle de tenue des dossiers médicaux électroniques permettrait d améliorer les soins aux patients, d augmenter l efficacité du système et de contribuer à l uniformisation des traitements.