Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The motion reads as follows:
That the Standing Committee on Health ask the Minister of Health to maintain the moratorium on the sale of silicone gel breast implants in Canada until the Committee has received convincing evidence of the safety of the implants for women.
This is particularly important since, in 2001, 300 applications from surgeons on the special access program for medical devices were accepted, while in 2005-2006, 8,000 applications were authorized. There is a huge difference there. Of those 8,000 breast implants, 64.7 per cent were used for breast augmentation. So they were not used for health reasons or to prevent death or physical suffering, but in fact for esthetic reasons. This is really a very worrisome situation.