Madam Speaker, I am thankful for this opportunity to discuss Bill C-284, which advocates for a comprehensive strategy to address eye health.

I would like to begin, as my colleague before me did, by thanking my esteemed colleague, the hon. member for Humber River—Black Creek, for the extensive work she has done on this bill.

I might dare to call myself a poster person of someone who has faced eye health care challenges since my early forties. Late detection of glaucoma with a delay in having it addressed caused me to go through a very complicated cataract surgery and then another surgery of the cataracts, so I had two cataract surgeries with two detached retinas back to back, followed by two glaucoma surgeries. Because of the medication, I then had to have a cornea replacement last year. That was all due to the late identification and treatment of the condition of glaucoma in my eyes. Unfortunately, all of them were in my right eye.

I dare to call myself a poster person for this bill, and once again, I thank the hon. member. I also thank the doctors who helped restore my eyesight to the level that it is now so that I can function. I would like to specifically highlight Dr. Amrahdyan, who is my ophthalmologist; Dr. Berger, who is my retina specialist; Dr. Berke, who is my glaucoma specialist; and Dr. Chiu, who is my cornea specialist. They all worked very successfully on restoring the health of my eye.

That is all to say how important eye health is. The key part is about how important it is for it to be part of our overall health. Vision loss can have a massive impact on daily life. I could spend hours talking about the impact it had on me. Two back-to-back detached retinas basically meant that I had to lie flat on my face for 18 weeks, over two nine-week periods, without being able to move. That stopped me from eating something for more than five minutes. The rest of the time I was basically flat on my face, and I could not actively participate in any activity, whether it was work or family events or anything.

It is important for us to make sure we really support this bill and work across the aisle to make sure that it passes to develop the strategy that is needed and embed it into the health care system. As Canada's population ages, the importance of maintaining good eye health and preventing vision loss is imperative. Vision loss can be caused by several common eye diseases, including macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. I am glad to say that I do not have diabetic retinopathy, but I unfortunately have to say that I have suffered through all of the others.

According to a report from Deloitte and the Canadian Council of the Blind, more than eight million Canadians had a common eye disease in 2019 and were at serious risk of losing their vision, as I was. Throughout a person's lifetime, and especially as they age, it is important to maintain good eye health. Routine vision care can help to reduce the risks of blindness and vision loss later in life and improve the outcomes associated with eye diseases such as cataracts and glaucoma. I cannot emphasize how important it is to ensure that everyone has access to an optometrist and an ophthalmologist and they go through routine eye examinations as early as they can.

One's vision does not need to be impaired to see an optometrist or an ophthalmologist. People need to make sure their eyes are healthy and can continue functioning to have a quality life. This is why I am standing in the House today in support of Bill C-284, which would establish a national strategy for eye care to support the prevention and treatment of eye disease to ensure better health outcomes for Canadians.

This bill calls on the Minister of Health to establish a national strategy in consultation with the provinces, territories, experts and indigenous groups. This strategy would allow governments at all levels across Canada to work together to address vision loss. Bill C-284 demonstrates to Canadians that we are all working to better support their eye health through a comprehensive and collaborative approach. A national strategy for eye care contributes to ensuring that Canadians are getting the vision services they need.

The federal government's health portfolio is leading and supporting a range of activities related to eye disease prevention and treatment, in support of health care delivery, which is undertaken by the provinces and territories. I would like to spend a bit of time talking about some of the supports that the federal government is giving the provinces and territories around health care in general. We are hoping that some of them, through the provinces and territories, get directed to eye care.

As we all know, budget 2023 committed close to $200 billion in funding to support our health workforce; reduce backlogs; expand access to family health services, mental health and substance abuse; and modernize our health system. This includes $46.2 billion in new funding to be transferred directly to the provinces and territories through new Canada health transfer measures, as well as tailored bilateral agreements to meet the needs of each province and territory, personal support, work wage support and territorial health investment. As we all know, $25 billion of that is focused on what we call the shared priorities between the provinces and the federal government. My plea to all levels of government, including my own government, is that some of that shared funding be focused on eye health care.

Addressing health workforce shortages and surgical backlogs, including for vision-related surgeries, is a key part of the plan and is a health system priority for this government. I was really fortunate to be able to get immediate support when I went through back-to-back detached retinas. That is considered an emergency. However, I had to wait more than three months to get scheduled for a cornea transplant. I would like to once again thank Dr. Chu for doing such an amazing job in helping to restore my sight.

The Government of Canada recognizes that supporting research is key to a fulsome understanding of eye health, including how to prevent vision loss. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research has supported key vision-related research that has strengthened the evidence base. Health Canada also regulates drugs and medical devices, including those intended for eye diseases and conditions.

Finally, the government fully supports Canada's public health system, which provides coverage for any vision care services that must be performed in a hospital. There are those who have glaucoma and they receive special consideration when they visit a doctor. However, those who do not have it have to pay for the services when they go to their ophthalmologist or optometrist. I am hoping that some of this shared priority focuses on making sure those services are provided as part of the health care system. The efforts to protect Canadians' vision in the long term is something that all members and all Canadians would benefit from and stand behind.

Once again, I wish to thank the hon. member for Humber River—Black Creek for putting forward this bill meaningful bill. I hope that we can all continue to support Bill C-284 to strengthen the work under way across Canada to prevent and treat eye—

Majid Jowhari

$548,318.00