That's why I said it.
What can I say? This is a very frustrating time for the individuals in question. For them it's not a question of waiting five months, it's a question of waiting years and years for a government that would listen to them and that would take their plight seriously. When we try to measure the timeframe of frustration for the people....
Many of these people I dealt with as the Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. They were as frustrated then...or in some ways more so. We all have constituents who are impacted by this; I do too. I cannot imagine the stress and the health issues they have to go through. I'm not pretending to be in their stead, but certainly as a human being I can empathize with them. I want to do what I can do on some form of restitution. That's what we're committed to as a government. We were committed to it in opposition, along with members of your party. I took that very seriously upon being sworn in as Minister of Health.
I don't think it's wise for me, in the middle of negotiations, to be too specific about what I think the appropriate deal should be. That would be bargaining in bad faith, quite frankly. So I choose to be more general than I usually am in answering questions on the issues you raised. We have a very serious process that the government side takes seriously and the plaintiff side takes seriously, and, just as they are, I am wedded to that process.
My friends behind me have legal representation, as a class. That legal representation is responsible to them. If they have questions about the negotiating stance of the legal representation, I can't answer on behalf of that legal representation, but they can get answers.
I think it would be wise for me to stop there. Believe me, this is frustrating for me, although not half as frustrating as what they have to go through, and I know that. I want to do the right thing, just as you do.