Mr. Speaker, Bill C-95, as it was originally brought to the House, seemed to me a very straightforward bill. I wondered why we would spend a lot of time debating what seemed like a name change.
As the watchdog for this bill I had already gone over it very carefully and felt the minister had full accountability and full responsibility for all matters relating to health. However, concerns were brought to my attention by the fine tooth comb experts. They came up with a potential concern, a potential problem that related to ministerial accountability. The motion by the member for Fredericton-York-Sunbury would take care of any question on that issue.
Ministerial accountability is not redundant. It is absolutely mandatory. Anyone who tried to change that would be on very shaky ground. The Krever inquiry has brought to the fore the concern about ministerial accountability. This inquiry shows that our regulatory system can have flaws, that those dispensing to the Canadian public can have flaws. We are actually at a state now where the Krever inquiry is being held up by legal challenges coming from a host of sources.
Ministerial accountability is profoundly important. For that reason I support the inclusion of this clause in Bill C-95, and I will be so recommending to my caucus.