Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to congratulate the minister on his re-election and wish him the best of luck in his new job.
I am very tempted to remind him that the last time he rolled up his sleeves and got down to work, it was to make cuts in transfers to the provinces, but that is not the point I want to discuss with him today.
I know the minister shares my concern about the national AIDS strategy. Some $40 million is to be spent in the next few years to fight AIDS. Of course all diseases are important. All degenerative diseases, all diseases that cause suffering are important, except that AIDS is a viral disease. We know the ways in which it can be transmitted, and we know we could get this epidemic under control.
I also know that the Minister of Health has proceeded with an evaluation of the strategy, and I may recall it consists of five main components. It makes it possible for community groups to provide services locally. There is also a research component funded by the community strategy. There is also a treatment component. There is a component for co-ordination, and there is, of course, the laboratory centre for disease control which is more concerned with epidemiology.
I have two questions for the minister. Could he let us know what he intends to do about component three of the strategy, considering that his department is proceeding with an evaluation? I also want to remind the minister that when I was vice-chairman of the committee, I had the privilege of presenting a motion that was accepted by the government, as a result of which we spent three years examining the whole issue of AIDS.
I may recall that we spent some time discussing drug licensing. We found that the health protection branch had far fewer human resources than its U.S. counterpart. Furthermore, a number of witnesses suggested we might consider a joint licensing process for the United States and Canada. Has the minister had time to consider this?
Those are my two questions. What direction does the minister intend to give the national AIDS strategy and is he considering the possibility of resorting to joint licensing by the United States and Canada to accelerate the process?