Oh, Mr. Sweet.
I want to say that we grandmothers are aware of a different paradigm of infrastructure in Africa. There are places like the Hillcrest AIDS Centre, where there are only six registered nurses, but a whole army of volunteers have been trained to do home-based care and take medicines where they're needed. There is the situation of the Consol Homes in Malawi. One couple went around to try to get help for 63 orphans. They now have 107 centres, over 500 volunteers, and are treating 30,000 African children and getting them medicines. There is an infrastructure that's working now. The people there care enough to put their feet down and make it work.
I want to know that this country cares enough to do its part to make this legislation as effective as possible. I am very distressed, and even outraged, by the rumours we have heard that the decision of this committee was made before these hearings even began, and that when the report comes back this bill will be dismissed on a procedural technicality. That is an insult to this committee and an insult to the champions of this bill.
I ask you, Mr. Sweet, to please guarantee that your clause-by-clause deliberations will be conducted with full account of the merits of this bill and the hearings you've heard, and that members of this committee, at least, are not complicit in trying to dodge the transfer of sponsorship to Mr. Masse when it comes to the House.