HANSARD

May 6, 2010

Defibrillator Access Act Statement

Mr. Ernie Hardeman: I want to thank the member from Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale for introducing Bill 41, an act to provide defibrillators in public places. I commend him for bringing forward such a worthwhile bill.

I can't speak to this bill about saving lives without thinking about a piece of legislation that I introduced about a year and a half ago. I'm referring to the Hawkins Gignac Act, which, if it hadn't been killed during prorogation, would have made a carbon monoxide detector mandatory in every home in Ontario.

But it's common knowledge today that heart disease is a leading cause of death in North America, and I commend the member for his efforts in reducing those statistics. When we debated a similar bill in 2006 brought forward by a member from Essex, our former colleague Laurie Scott, who was a nurse by training, pointed out that the odds of survival of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest was just under 5%. Thousands of Canadian baby boomers are now turning 60. Today, we have an aging population and also an increasing level of obesity. Of course, Mr. Speaker, you wouldn't know about that, but I can vouch for that. So the more we can prepare ourselves, the better. Automated defibrillators are an important step in that preparation.

I'm proud to point out that while we are standing here debating-and sometimes even agreeing-people out there in my community are being active and working together to save lives. I want to recognize the many businesses, community groups and individuals who have helped expand defibrillators' availability in Oxford.

Just two months ago, the staff at East Side Mario's donated a defibrillator to the Woodstock Soccer Club, using the money raised from dress-down days. I commend the Frank Cowan foundation, based in Oxford county, for making a massive donation to the Heart and Stroke Foundation a few months ago to help support the Restart a Heart, Restart a Life program. A $1-million cheque will be used to purchase and install 200 automated defibrillators in public places across the country over the next five years. Frank Cowan insurance is an Oxford success story, and I want to commend them for giving back to the community and for their dedication to saving lives in the entire community.

The Oxford county public access defibrillators program is another example of how committed the people of Oxford are to helping each other. In only three years, the program made it possible to place over 40 automated external defibrillators in public locations across Oxford county, and they're not stopping there. In just a few months, Oxford county paramedics are participating in the Becel Heart and Stroke Ride for Heart 2010 to help save lives. Their goal is to raise $3,000 for the Oxford county public access defibrillators program.
However, placing defibrillators is not enough. An effective program requires continuous upgrades in training to ensure that staff members and volunteers are taught how to use the automated external defibrillators safely and effectively. This will be one of the challenges with implementing the bill. It is not only defibrillators that we need; we also have to ensure that they are properly used.

Another challenge that we will run into, of course, is the cost. The bill will require defibrillators in public places, which could include a number of places run by community organizations and non-profit organizations. While the goal of the legislation is good, we need to know who's going to pay and what impact that's going to have on the people who are paying.

In conclusion, that being said, I want to commend the member again for promoting the use of a lifesaving device. I've been touched by this issue in my own riding of Oxford. About a year ago, a six-year-old girl from Tillsonburg was honoured for saving her grandfather's life by performing CPR on him when he collapsed in his home. At the time, she was just five years old. This story highlights the importance of acting quickly when someone suffers sudden cardiac arrest. This is living proof that even young kids can save lives, and it is in our power to make it easier for people to act quickly by having automated defibrillators accessible in public places.

I applaud the member for taking a bold step forward to making our lives, hopefully, longer and better.