Thank you.
A lot of Canadians don't know individuals with rare diseases. I'm a new member of this committee. Funding for rare diseases isn't something that comes up on a daily basis in my constituency office, or in the calls I receive, in emails or on social media.
However, that doesn't mean it's not important. You get involved in politics to help make a difference. At a certain point, it's usually about protecting the most vulnerable people in society. The vast majority of us do well on our own and never need a member of Parliament's services. My riding of Brampton East has 130,000 people. I interact with maybe 5,000 of them over a four-year period, and that's an aggressive mandate.
What's the solution? Even my colleague from the NDP said that we can't possibly fund everything. Is there a solution to be found between the public sector and the private sector, maybe on a tax incentive basis or a research and development basis?
We have vulnerable patients in this country who need access to these drugs. These drugs are ready, FDA-approved and in the pipeline for Health Canada. Maybe they're stuck at the pricing stage, which must be beyond frustrating. Where are the small fixes we can make in the bureaucracy to make this thing a bit quicker?
I'll go to Mr. McFadyen, if you don't mind.