Thank you, Minister.
I agree with all that, but the question was on emergency funding. The budget line is there. I'm just surprised the government hasn't allocated any to emergency. We could have a flare-up on this crisis next week, and the fact that there's no emergency funding budget for it is an omission.
I want to move to pharmacare and pharmaceuticals. Your mandate letter tasked you to improve access to necessary prescription medicines, and it went on to talk about looking to join in bulk buying to reduce the cost that Canadian governments pay for these drugs. You well know that one in five Canadians reports not taking medicine because they can't afford it. It has been estimated that 20% of Canadians—seven and a half million Canadians—do not have stable access to medicine they need when they need it.
So my question is this. I know you're only 18 months into your mandate, but that's a year and a half. Has access to prescription medications improved for Canadians since you have taken office?