Excise Act  Mr. Speaker, I do not think that we can accept this amendment. Tobacco is the single most preventable cause of death and disease in the world today. There are 40,000 Canadians a year who die as a result of tobacco smoking. It is a cost of $3 billion a year to the health care industry in this country and directly to the Canadian government.

Excise Act  Mr. Speaker, everything that the hon. member just said is true. In fact, smokeless tobacco is extremely dangerous, and I applaud his amendment. However, it is inappropriate at this time for a few reasons. Eighty-five per cent of the tobacco sold is in the form of cigarettes in this country at the moment and, as he said, we do import all of our smokeless tobacco.

Excise Act  Mr. speaker, yes, I think we would like to look at some of the trade implications because of the fact that much of the smokeless tobacco is an import. We think it is an excellent amendment but inappropriate at this time.

Young Offenders Act  I forgot your first question. I do not believe that is what the minister means by changing the onus for 15 to 17-year olds to be tried in adult court. He said they should be tried in adult court and it should be shown why they should not be tried in adult court. It is clear they will be tried for very violent crimes in adult court and the onus is on them to prove that they should not be tried in this court.

Young Offenders Act  With respect to increased sentences, it is in fact appropriately punishing the young people for the very serious crimes. Sorry, what was the second part of your question?

Young Offenders Act  Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Bruce-Grey. I am pleased to be given the opportunity to speak to the amendments to the Young Offenders Act as presented by the Minister of Justice. I have studied for many years the behaviour of young people across the spectrum from so-called normal to abnormal, in part as a parent in anticipation of the needs of my three sons and also as a family practitioner with a large adolescent practice.

World No Tobacco Day  Mr. Speaker, today is World No Tobacco Day. This annual event is sponsored by the World Health Organization to focus attention on the devastating consequences of tobacco use. Smoking is responsible for some three million deaths each year around the world, 40,000 deaths in Canada alone.

Canada Health Auxiliary Week  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House that the Canadian Association of Health Care Auxiliaries has declared this week of April 17 to April 25 Canada Health Auxiliary Week. This year's theme is the challenge of choices. Health care auxiliaries across the country will be celebrating this week with the goal of increasing public awareness of the tremendous contribution made by volunteers to the health care system in Canada.

Controlled Drugs And Substances Act  Madam Speaker, the hon. member is the health critic for the opposition and therefore she is aware of the complexity of the issues surrounding the blood inquiry by Justice Krever. She is also aware that it was the federal government and the Ministry of Health that has with the provincial governments put forward the money initially and has helped and assisted in every way for the Krever commission to occur.

Controlled Drugs And Substances Act  Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate the member for a very eloquent speech. She made some very strong points. However, the member should know that the drug strategy is also tied in with this bill and that 70 per cent of the money we now spend on looking at drugs is spent on the drug strategy which is the health component.

Controlled Drugs And Substances Act  Madam Speaker, I would like to comment on some of the things that the hon. member said. There are some differences in this bill. It is not the exact bill that was brought to the House last time around. The word "provide" now in definition is changed so that it specifically says traffic.

Controlled Drugs And Substances Act  Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his question. I listened when he spoke to the bill in the House. He made some very clear points which I tried to address in my speech today. For over a decade it has been almost a precedent within jurisprudence that it has been a notion of the law that people would be sent for rehabilitation.

Controlled Drugs And Substances Act  Madam Speaker, the two bills are similar in that they have the same principle. However since that last bill we have talked with people like the Canadian Medical Association and some of the groups who found some problems with some of the clauses in this bill. As a result, we have dealt with some of the issues, as I said in my speech, that the CMA had found difficulty with, especially with regard to things like what you use as drug paraphernalia and the difference between drug paraphernalia and what is an essential part of some of our preventive programs for HIV.

Controlled Drugs And Substances Act  Mr. Speaker, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak to this bill. The problem of the use of illicit substances and addiction and those who profit from it troubles the nation, troubles my constituents and, speaking as one who is elected to represent those same constituents, troubles me.

Vancouver Museum  Mr. Speaker, today it is an honour for me to recognize the achievements of one of the great museums of Canada. The Vancouver Museum, Canada's largest civic museum, celebrates its 100th birthday this Sunday, April 17. To celebrate and commemorate its first century the museum is presenting the exhibition, "100 years, a million stories".