Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question, but let me remind him that the particular bill on patent legislation is the responsibility of the minister of industry, science and technology.
What concerns me, though, is the cost of prescription drugs because it puts an awful burden on our health care system. The patented prices review board which reviews the prices of patented drugs has reported that in the first six months of 1993 the prices of patented medicines have decreased somewhat.
This being said, I am still very much concerned with the prices of non-patented drugs which take up a very large number of dollars. I am also very much concerned with a statistic released recently that indicated our usage of prescription drugs had increased by over 8 per cent.
There are very serious problems that we have to address and I am working with my provincial counterparts to find a solution to them.