Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition tries to please everyone. We act responsibly, and these are very serious responsibilities. When the Quebec Minister of Health speaks, he does so as the person responsible for people who need medical care.
I will read you a letter sent to me by Mario Laurin in Val-d'Or. Mr. Laurin is fighting lung cancer caused by smoking. Here is his letter: "Our children's health is surely the most precious thing in the world; you must protect it, with legislation if necessary. Mr. Prime Minister, I urge you to stand up to the tobacco companies and get Bill C-71, the anti-tobacco bill, through Parliament".
I could quote other people suffering from cancer caused by smoking. As I said this morning, we can tolerate advertising directed at adults who smoke, but not when it goes after young people in their early teens. Those who represent the tobacco companies know that if a person has not started to smoke by the age of 19, he probably never will.