Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would first like to thank the Conservative Party for bringing this motion forward. I think it's an important issue.
I would like to follow up on what my colleague Mr. Davies said.
We are a G7 country, and here we are debating a motion on ensuring we have Tylenol on our shelves. This is absolutely disgraceful.
There used to be a generic drug industry in Quebec, in the Laval region, on the north shore near Montreal. That industry used to produce these kinds of drugs, but it was obliterated over time, in part by federal government policies like the supercluster. Under that policy, the federal government, with its “we-know-best” attitude, decides where to send this or that industry, and it makes investments accordingly.
The life sciences cluster, which is currently located in Manitoba, is working on GMOs, while the Standing Committee on Health is wondering where we will get Tylenol for Quebec and Canadian children. This is absolutely disgraceful, Mr. Chair.
Now, at the risk of repeating myself, which I try to do as little as possible, I would argue that the issue of French is fundamental. I completely agree that we must ensure the safety of medicines and enforce the existing regulations for all imported medicines. However, labelling in both official languages is fundamental to ensuring the safety of medicines.
There are two official languages in Canada and one in Quebec. Foreign companies often don't bother taking into account the language that Quebeckers speak and read when those companies are labelling the products they import. This includes everything from children's toys to food products to medicines. However, Quebeckers need to understand the information on these labels in order to protect their children and ensure their safety.
I would even go so far as to quote Bill C-13, which will unfortunately be passed. Our bill on Quebec's official language was rejected. Bill C-13 states very explicitly that urgency does not justify a failure to comply with official language obligations. We cannot trade one problem for another. We cannot trade the danger of not having medication for the danger of having francophone parents in Quebec, and outside Quebec, who can't read the instructions in order to protect their children. Since I'm not a member of the “bloc canadien” I will narrow my comments somewhat.
This is a fundamental and non-negotiable issue. It should be worded even more clearly than in the amendment. There must be no compromise on this whatsoever. None.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.