Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I do not have a firm position on division 31; I am not an expert in this area. We heard from several witnesses with opposing opinions and it is hard to take a position.
Some groups of witnesses said too much power is being given to the minister to do what the minister already has the power to do. Others said it is important to give the minister those powers in order to ban nicotine-containing products intended for sale. This evening, I received a letter from the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control saying that in order to combat tobacco use among youth in Quebec, we have to vote in favour of clauses 322 to 333. However, a lot of experts told us that what is proposed in division 31 is not the right way to achieve that objective. So opinion is divided.
Mr. Chair, I would like to remind the government again that these provisions should not have been proposed in a mammoth 660-page bill that amends a multitude of laws; this should have been proposed in a separate bill that the Standing Committee on Health could have studied by questioning experts in the field and taking the time needed. I am still going to listen to the arguments made by my colleagues, like Mr. Davies, but I am ill-equipped to make a good decision on the subject.
Right now, the letter from the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control is weighing heavily in my decision, so I may well vote in favour of these clauses. However, I object to how the government has gone about it, in order, I would say, to evade this fundamental question.