Thank you. My points have been covered a bit by Monsieur Godin and Monsieur Lessard.
Mr. Chong mentioned that there's nothing to base decisions on. That's not the case. If he had been here yesterday when Mr. Eyking presented his bill...he is knowledgeable on this, he's done research on this, and he had a host of information on this. He had an estimate of the cost, as good as you could get, because we don't know exactly who would draw this benefit or how long. He had researched it. He did in fact have witnesses. He had the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Cancer Society, the two biggest speakers for disabled Canadians, who speak enthusiastically for this bill.
If more witnesses were needed...it was the steering committee that determined we didn't need witnesses. We could have discussed it with this committee if we'd needed more witnesses. In fact, it was us who went back and allowed for the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society to appear yesterday. There is the option to bring forward amendments if they're thought out, if they're considered, and based on the fact that they didn't think the bill had enough information in it.
I think it's a very full bill, Mr. Chair, even if it's a short one.
I think there's a lot of information on this. The department obviously has been doing some work on this. I'm sure the government is looking at this issue, but this is a way to rectify the situation right now, take a positive step for a large number of Canadians, and make life better for Canadians who are disabled. More and more and more, long-term disability is an issue. Things that people used to die of, they are now living with. It's a good news thing; they come back into the workforce eventually, but not immediately.
It's an eminently sensible bill, and I urge my Conservative colleagues, who I know at heart are very compassionate people, to support it.