Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Wiersema, the chapter on regulated pharmaceutical drugs and Health Canada's activities is particularly pertinent to each and every Canadian. Our health and our health care are some of the most tangible and visible things that affect our lives.
On what struck me about the chapter, you gave an overall description of the industry. It's a $31-billion-a-year industry in Canada, and over 500 million prescription medications are dispensed on an annual basis. The stakes are pretty high. That's one of the things you could not help but see in the chapter you wrote. This is big business. This is big money.
You noted in the chapter that the process of constraining or preventing conflict of interest has been somewhat suspect. Can you describe exactly what your concerns are about conflict of interest, not only within the regulatory approval process with outside players, but also within the Department of Health itself?