Then comes Chantale Cousineau-Mahoney, who is the chief financial officer of Health Canada; and Luc Ladouceur is the chief financial officer of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

I may call upon these people from time to time to add additional information as needed: from Health Canada, my Deputy Minister Morris Rosenberg, my Associate Deputy Minister Hélène Gosselin, and my Chief Financial Officer Chantale Cousineau-Mahoney.

ensure that funding provided by the European Union and other stakeholders, such as academia or public health institutions, and made available by the relevant public health bodies is channelled to support post-marketing studies, including studies on vaccine effectiveness and the impact of immunisation programmes carried out by national public health institutes, academia and other partnerships;

(11) rare diseases have been identified as a priority area for Community action within the framework for action in the field of public health; the Commission, in its communication concerning a programme of Community action on rare diseases within the framework for action in the field of public health has decided to give rare diseases priority within the public health framework; the European Parliament and the Council have adopted Decision No 1295/1999/EC of 29 April 1999 adopting a programme of Community action on rare diseases within the framework for action in the field of public health (1999 to 2003)(5), including actions to provide ...[+++] information, to deal with clusters of rare diseases in a population and to support relevant patient organisations; this Regulation implements one of the priorities laid down in this programme of action,

- MEDICINAL PLANT PREPARATIONS "THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Whereas, in its Resolution of 30 November 1995 on the integration of health protection requirements in Community policies, the Council considers that the Community must pay particular attention to the impact on health of action proposed in a number of areas, including free movement of goods; Whereas action to improve understanding of and address the effects on human health of the free movement of goods, in particular the free movement of medicinal products, should form part of the Community's overall strategy for action in the field of public health; ...[+++]Considering the wider use of medicinal plants in medical treatment in the European Union; Considering the growing use of medicinal plants in the European Union; Considering the impact of medicinal plant preparations on public health and the recommendations of the World Health Organization; Considering the heterogeneity of the commercial presentation of those preparations on the market; Whereas the safeguarding of public health must be a priority objective at Community level; Whereas it is also necessary to pay appropriate attention to conditions which will ensure that the development of industry and the free movement of such products within the European Union are not hindered; Considering the specific problems involved in checking raw materials and medicinal plant preparations from third countries in order to guarantee their quality; Whereas it is appropriate to take into account the special characteristics of such preparations; Whereas it is necessary to guarantee the protection of consumers' health throughout the whole process of manufacture, distribution and putting up for sale, CALLS ON the Commission, in close cooperation with the Member States, to study the situation that exists and, in particular: - whether there are public health concerns over medicinal plant preparations ...

take into account the results of national and international research, and existing national cardiovascular health strategies, encourage networking and the exchange of information between stakeholders, including professional, non-governmental and consumer organisations, consider the identification of best practice guidelines, in consultation with Member States, to enhance the co-ordination of population and individual high risk groups' health and prevention policies and programmes, strengthen the comparability of data on healthy lifestyles and behaviours data across Member States, as well as to study the possibility of using standardised procedures and methods for monitoring and surveillance of cardiovascular disease mortality, morbidity and ...[+++] risk factor data across Member States, take a multisectoral approach to promoting cardiovascular health and preventing cardiovascular disease and assessing the health impact of other public policies of the European Union; to include examining the economic cost of cardiovascular disease against the improved health status arising from a comprehensive public health strategy by Member States to reduce the burden of these diseases, continue to work towards the development of a comprehensive and integrated European food and nutrition policy, to include, among others, physical activity programmes, population dietary guidelines and address the impact on public health of promotion, marketing and presentation of foodstuffs, study ways of promoting better cardiovascular health, including