Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ms. Bush, I must say that you’re good. You are convinced, but I’m not sure whether it’s of the right thing.
My recent dealings with Health Canada do not lead me to believe that the department is totally objective. Until now, representatives from Health Canada and the food industry are the only ones saying that the Guide is good. Specialists, physicians and First Nations people, as well as Métis and Inuit groups, have all told us the Guide is not good and that they’re not happy with it. You’re telling us it can no longer be changed.
The fact that at least four people on your advisory committee are in a conflict of interest—they work for the industry—and that those conflicts are not reported on Health Canada’s Web site is of great concern to me. Dr. Barr, Sydney Massey, Sean McPhee and Carolyn O’Brien are in a direct conflict of interest.
I don’t believe it’s very sensible to have industry representatives on that committee, but since there are some, why didn’t you invite national experts, like Jean Pierre Després from Laval University, to balance things out? Why didn’t you do that and why didn’t you take the advice of physicians and experts? Why are you trusting people who are saying what you want to hear? That worries me a great deal.
Ms. Doran, I would like to have the names of the people you consulted on the part of the document dealing with First Nations and the Inuit. They told us they weren’t consulted. We don’t believe they’re intentionally lying to us. I don’t know what’s going on.
Thank you.