I appreciate the support I've received from my colleagues on this issue. It's critically important.
One anecdote I'd like to share, because I think it's important, is the number of young moms, particularly, who have reached out to me since yesterday when this was brought up in question period. This isn't about politicizing this issue. They wrote to me and said, “Thank you. I thought that I was crazy. I have felt like I was alone in this. I have been struggling. I didn't realize that this was more than just my problem or my community's problem.” It really made them feel heard.
Frankly, inviting the minister was not an attempt to further embarrass. It was simply to try to see what other political mechanisms we possibly have. It is not about bringing politics into this. Frankly, I don't want to see politics in this issue. I want to see this issue fixed. I brought this to the committee more than a month ago and, arguably, it's worse than it was when I brought it to the committee a month ago.
I, personally, haven't seen any children's pain medication on the shelves in my northern Alberta community since early this summer. This is something that's hugely concerning. We're five hours from a children's hospital.
I really think this is something that needs to be studied. I believe that the amendment coming from my colleague Mr. Vidal was not an attempt to bring this in to further politicize the issue, but to further get to the bottom of this problem to see what has happened, what will continue happening and what other mechanisms we have. I think we have been able to show that we have pretty much cross-party support on this.
Canadian families expect and deserve to see forward movement on this. I understand that many believe this is bringing politics in. This wasn't the intention and this isn't the space where it is. I would urge everyone to consider the idea of bringing the minister in, because I think parents would love to hear some of what he's done to hopefully make things better.