Meeting of June 25-26, 2000, Montréal - Public Record of Meeting

Executive Committee
Standing Committee on Championing of Current and Emerging Issues
Ad hoc Committee on Communications
Standing Committee on Monitoring and Evaluation
Ad hoc Commitee on Canadian Institute for Health Research
Special Working Group on Aboriginal Issues (SWGAI)
Health Canada Report
Federal/Provincial/Territorial (FPT) Advisory Committee on AIDS Report
Workplans

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Committee presented its policy on consensus decision-making for Council deliberations. The policy is as follows:

"If time is of the essence and no consensus has been reached, then at the request of any committee member, the chair of said committee will bring, as soon as possible, the issue to the Executive Committee of the Ministerial Council for resolution. All differing perspectives detailed by the committee will be brought forward, while ensuring that these different views are clearly articulated to the Executive Committee. This may require that some or all members of the committee get involved in the discussion with the Executive Committee".

The Committee recommended that:

• Health Canada ensure that the CSHA allocations would remain unaffected by the Health Canada realignment;
• the Secretariat develop an orientation session for new Council members at the September meeting.

STANDING COMMITTEE ON CHAMPIONING OF CURRENT AND EMERGING ISSUES

The Committee presented its report to Council.

Correctional Service of Canada (CSC): Committee members met with the CSC Commissioner and discussed a range of HIV/AIDS issues related to prisons and inmates. The Committee will write a letter to the Commissioner highlighting CSC's work to date and suggesting areas for improvement. The Committee will write a letter to the Minister of Health suggesting that he meeting with the Solicitor-General to discuss HIV/AIDS and prison issues.

Bill C244 Blood Sample Act: This Bill is an Act to provide for the taking of samples of blood for the benefit of persons administering and enforcing the law and good Samaritans and to amend the Criminal Code. The Council will write to the Minister of Health suggesting that he work with his colleagues, in particular the Minister of Justice, to ensure that this Bill does not pass in the House.

Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation (CWGHR): The Committee has received a report from CWGHR. The Committee will discuss the report at its next meeting.

Gay Youth and First Contact: The Committee provided an overview of Health Canada initiatives related to gay men.

Broad Systemic Issues: The Committee and the Secretariat will examine how various stakeholders are addressing health determinants as a step toward the Council determining which determinants it should focus on in its work.

AD HOC COMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS

The Committee presented its report to Council.

Fact Sheet: The Committee has formatted and printed the Ministerial Council Fact Sheet. The Secretariat will ensure wide dissemination.

Public Record of Meeting (PROM): The Committee proposed and the Council agreed to a new format for the Public Record of Meeting.

STANDING COMMITTEE ON MONITORING AND EVALUATION

The Committee presented its report to Council.

Evaluation of Council: Council agreed to proceed with an evaluation of its work. A consultant has been hired to implement the evaluation.

CSHA Allocation Process: Council stated that it should have the opportunity to advise on both the process of deciding reallocation of CSHA funding, as well as the allocations themselves. The Committee will monitor the implementation of the allocation process and provide input into the criteria for reviewing allocations.

AD HOC COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH RESEARCH (CIHR)

The Committee presented its report to Council.

CIHR: The CIHR was officially launched by the Minister of Health on June 7, 2000. The Championing Committee will continue to monitor the CIHR on behalf of the Council. The Ad hoc Committee on the CIHR was officially disbanded.

SPECIAL WORKING GROUP ON ABORIGINAL ISSUES (SWGAI)

The Committee presented its report to Council.

Situation Report: The document is undergoing further revisions and will subsequently be translated.

National Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Planning Summit: The key recommendation to emerge from the Summit was to form an Interim Working Group (IWG). The IWG will be convened for six months to discuss, analyse, review and recommend on collaborative mechanisms that would assist collaboration between the Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS and the Aboriginal communities of Canada.

HEALTH CANADA REPORT

Health Canada's report to Council was tabled.

Health Canada Realignment: Plans for the realignment of Health Canada were announced on June 19, 2000. New branches were designed to improve integration. HIV/AIDS will now be part of the new Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, in the Population and Public Health Branch (PPHB). Realignment details have been posted on Health Canada's Website, www.hc-sc.gc.ca.

XIII International AIDS Conference: The Canadian delegation to the Durban Conference will consist of 150, 13 of whom will be from Health Canada.

FEDERAL/PROVINCIAL/TERRITORIAL (FPT) ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON AIDS REPORT

The FPT representative provided an update on the Committee's activities

• Quarterly meeting was held in Quebec City on June 5-6, 2000
• Workplan and budget have been submitted to the Advisory Committee on Population Health.
• Committee continues to work with four other FPT Advisory Committees (Alcohol & Drug, Corrections/Justice, Population Health and Hepatitis C).
• Committee will focus its efforts on the issue of Point-of-Care Testing.

 WORKPLANS

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