Mrs. Collins, in answer to your question, the responsibility is in fact ministerial. You were talking about Deputy Minister Ranger. Unfortunately, he's no longer there, because he was holding his own with regard to a very persistent minister who wanted to do things his own way.
That's where it's going to be, but unfortunately if there's a tragic accident, that will be of little solace to the families involved.
Mr. Demers, I want to thank you for your presentation.
Generally speaking, do you think the inclusion of prescription drugs in basic Canadian health insurance coverage is the logical extension of the convention in the 1960s? And let me just say that you were quite right to quote Tommy Douglas. We are all proud of him. He is the father of our Canadian health and social services system, which is universal and free.
It is not a normal extension. With the shift away from hospital care, which we are currently seeing in health care in general, people are increasingly being cared for at home. As such, what was once provided at the hospital as an integral part of health care, now has to be covered. If we are saving money by keeping people at home, we have to at least cover the cost of the drugs.
You provided examples from British Columbia and Prince Edward Island to show two extremes. Can you comment on Quebec's health insurance system? If you have time, could you tell us how it compares to the others?