Not to belabour the point, but I think the point of redundancy is well taken but not exactly accurate, because the purpose talks about protecting the health of Canadians in light of conclusive evidence implicating tobacco use in the instance of numerous debilitating and fatal diseases, whereas the first purpose that I propose to amend specifically incorporates the purpose of reducing dependence on tobacco products. That is missing from the current purpose.
In terms of reducing the rate of use of tobacco products to no more than 5% by 2035, Mr. Ayoub has made exactly the case for why it should be in the act, because presently it is only a political objective. What I'm proposing is to take a political objective that can change and vary, and make it a legislative requirement. If we're serious about reducing smoking rates in this country to 5% by 2035, which I dare say everybody in this room probably supports, I think putting the proverbial money where your mouth is and putting it in legislation, as opposed to just mouthing it in political platitudes, is called for.
With that, those are my arguments, and I would call for a recorded vote on this matter, please.