I'd like this to be a lesson to us.
My comment is directed to Mr. Fletcher, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health. As he well knows, sitting on the government side is not the same as serving in opposition. I think we're capable of making that distinction, but at the same time, taking figures that are...
I think this should serve as a lesson for us for the next time, in case we're presented again with figures that appear to have been plucked out of nowhere. I can appreciate the parliamentary secretary, a member of the government, wanting to defend his minister, but at the same time, his statements need to be consistent.
We made a decision based on these numbers, otherwise, we might have looked at other options. This is not a subject that inspires partisanship, but rather one that warrants serious consideration.
We could have made this request, had there been some openness as to the figures supplied to us by Health Canada. We could have objected that $56 million was an insane amount and we could have re-evaluated the decision.
Let this be a lesson to us. If we're called upon to deal with a similar matter in the future, committee members should set aside any partisanship and endeavour at all costs to respect the will of Health Canada. Although responsibility rests with the minister, we were not attacking him. We simply wanted the matter to be seriously considered.
Thank you.