Mr. Speaker, I have been called worse by better.
I point out that my minister brought this issue to the table when the previous government wanted to cover it up. It did not want him to do anything because it knew it would be contentious.
At first the provinces and territories would not engage in a dialogue on any kind of compensation. Finally the minister got them together and they agreed on the package that he came back to the House with, which he has defended.
I would suggest that the Minister of Health who has been castigated in this place for the last five weeks is a hero for doing that. He is a hero for taking a position of leadership that previous governments would not take.
The selective memory loss of the opposition is simply a refusal to acknowledge that there were other governments involved in the agreement. There were 13 provinces and territories involved in those decisions. When governments began to hang the minister out to dry, starting with the premier of the province of Quebec and spreading from there, it was—I wonder why I stop speaking when the hon. member interjects. I really should keep going.