Health committee  Thank you, Madam Chair, for the question. Canada is a very large, diverse country. When we consult extensively there will always be somebody who can come forward and indicate that they weren't aware or we did not or were unable to reach out to them. I think in many respects, for

Health committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. I do not actually have a prepared statement. I thought we were coming with respect to clause-by-clause today. We're happy to take the committee's questions, as we move through this. Given some of the statements that you have heard, I would like to just

Health committee  Madam Chair, that's a good question, but unfortunately, my department and my colleagues are not in a...

Health committee  You would have to put that question to the Department...

Health committee  The Department of Public Security.

Health committee  Madam Chair, that's a good question, but in my opinion, it doesn't change anything. Whether the product contains vitamin C or not, it's an enticement.

Health committee  Yes, but if young people think that cigarettes and these small cigars contain vitamins, they will have one more reason to begin smoking.

Health committee  Yes. We are aware that regional differences do exist. Unfortunately, and with respect, my answer returns to our objective with this, which was to target those areas we felt were the largest return on investment nationally—the fastest-growing product categories—as we moved forward

Health committee  If I might summarize, we work closely with them, and we do not see huge differences with respect to the actions we are taking and where those provinces that have chosen to move forward have gone.

Health committee  Thank you very much. Madam Chair, I want to acknowledge that I did not answer the NDP member's question when that was raised as well. I'll turn to my colleagues to deal with the issue of retail.

Health committee  The goal is to strike a balance amongst the three types of products.

Health committee  Madam Chair, the member's question is an interesting one. At some level, given the member's framing of the question, it had the ultimate consultation, as somebody described it to me, in that it was part of a platform commitment. Therefore, that drove the extent to which the dep

Health committee  Thank you very much for the question. This piece of legislation is important, in the Department of Health's view, because it will allow the federal system to catch up with the patchwork that exists across the country and establish clear national standards that would apply in all

Health committee  I'll turn to my colleagues for some of the details on that.

Health committee  Madam Chair, I have one point to add in terms of specific numbers on those surveys. Our research and information tells us that every year approximately 210,000 children experiment, and from among that number, every year 35,000 become regular smokers. Anything we can do to make