Through you, Mr. Vice-Chair, to Mr. Keddy, in the context of our presentation today, in terms of a driving an innovation environment that fosters Canadian competitiveness, the stability and predictability of the Canadian business climate is important for life sciences investors and, I would dare say, for some of the other industries that are represented across the table today. Your question goes specifically to Bill C-17. We testified before the House health committee and before the Senate last week. Bill C-17—and I know this is not the place for it, but with respect to the question—is trying to do two things, and doing neither very well. One is to ensure that the minister has the right to disclose clinical trial information, emerging trends, and things that are of a serious or imminent risk, in the interests of the health and the promotion of the safety of Canadians. We fully agree with that. But the bill also defines confidential business information. That stuff is proprietary. It may not be intellectual property on the molecule or the biological...but it speaks to issues of proprietary manufacturing processes, packaging, and a variety of other things that Mr. Fleming and other members have to disclose to Health Canada to get a notice of compliance in order to get a medicine approved as safe and clinically effective. We're just trying to ensure that the patient safety data, the stuff that is needed, has to be there.
In the other areas, they need notice and consent because those do have a competitive advantage, and Minister Fast, with the global markets action plan, is out there speaking about Canada's brand. The late Minister Flaherty and the current minister speak to Canada's brand as a stable and predictable place to do business. That's what we're trying to get at.