Peter, that could take a long.... That one tears at my heart. I've seen promise after promise after promise with regard to pharmacare and by all indications, if you look at the last two years, the spin that was out there that pharmacare was about.... I've witnessed many bankruptcies in the steel industry and whatnot, and I've seen some of our members when we weren't able to protect the pensioners because of the fact that their benefits were cut because the bankruptcy laws weren't in our favour. I have phone messages where the son is calling in for his mother because she's lost her benefits. She has to make a decision based on food versus medication. That's not the society Canada is at.
If we can't look after that third stool with regard to the national medicare program.... Pharmacare is something that is desperately needed. There are thousands and thousands of people out there every single day. This is about having a healthy society. This is about having a healthy Canada. This is about giving people some dignity and respect.
We had a terrible situation more recently during this pandemic with what we have seen take place in the nursing homes, but pharmacare obviously has to be at the forefront. It is paramount to having a society where people can live a decent life and make sure they are looked after.
I can't say enough about the backtracking on that, because it was a commitment that should have been in this particular bill. All indications were it was going to be there, but somehow, poof, it disappeared.