Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I have the same concerns as a number of my colleagues, both the Chair and my NDP colleague, concerning the Auditor General's report in which she raises a number of major problems. Those problems haven't been addressed quickly, or as they should have been addressed. Moreover, Mr. Neil states in his report:
“We are concerned that a nationally standardized approach to disease reporting remains years away.”
So we're talking about agreements here. This is troubling. There may be another way to activate this approach. It is important to know what is going on across the country when it comes to infectious diseases.
You said there are no problems with communication and cooperation. I entirely agree with my colleagues, who believe that's the case, particularly when you look at the MOUs, the question of the WHO raised by Ms. Crombie, and the entire legislative framework that provides you with no support. My first question concerns measures for activating the process of signing MOUs so that you have access to that information as soon as possible.
You've also submitted an action plan which is supposed to be important and which, I think, requires very quick implementation. That may result in additional expenditures. I don't know whether you've provided for that eventuality or whether you have made requests for that purpose. If not, perhaps you should think about it and do so quickly in order to protect Canadians adequately. This involves training, equipment and laboratories.
Can you tell me where the laboratories are located in Canada where a situation can be analyzed quickly so as to respond immediately to the various needs respecting infectious diseases? You mentioned a few of them earlier: West Nile virus, bird flu and SARS, which was devastating. I'd like to have some answers to these questions that I've asked.