Thank you very much, Chair.
It's a pleasure to be with you today. I'm not a typical standing member here, but I'm happy to have the opportunity to interact on this important issue.
We have heard in the past, and a bit today, that the safety of medical devices in Canada is a shared responsibility. The federal government is responsible for regulating the sale and importation of medical devices, and then the provinces and territories are responsible for the delivery of health care services, including the licensing of health care professionals and regulating the practice of medicine. Nothing is ever simple, of course.
We heard from Health Canada that any requirement for physicians to provide information to a national registry would need to be supported by the provinces and territories, and that adds a layer of complexity.
I'm wondering from both of you, and perhaps we'll start with Dr. Nicolaidis first, do you see this as an insurmountable barrier? Do you have a perspective on how to bring the provinces and territories, and the regulatory body, really, into this conversation?