Mr. Speaker, I welcome the question because it allows me to remind myself and everyone else that the motion gives us an opportunity to address the entire issue.
Like the member opposite, I was a little dismayed that we were not addressing the issues as he presented them or had begun to present them but we were talking about procedures.
Since he has raised the question of the relevance of Judge Krever's impact on the motion today, I regrettably could not finish so that I would have satisfied his question prior to its being raised.
I will take the opportunity to do that now. I want to advise him that in dealing with Judge Krever's very comprehensive report one must take into consideration the nature of risk in a complex biological substance such as blood and blood products. Canadians understand that even when safety is at its highest, the very nature of blood means that we can never let our guard down.
Judge Krever advised Canadians that because of the nature of blood there should never be complacency about safety. How to make a safer, better system which is prepared to face new and emerging threats to safety is one of the key challenges facing all those involved, including governments, scientists, medical and technical specialists, patients and donors.
Health Canada is a regulator of the blood supply system. Health Canada regulates blood and blood products under the Food and Drugs Act and the department conducts national disease surveillance. Those roles preclude active involvement in the operation of the blood system, but as a regulator Health Canada is committed to the same high standards of accountability, openness and transparency that we expect from the provinces and territories in the operation of their blood systems. Canadians deserve no less.
Let me describe some of Canada's recent efforts to strengthen the blood safety system, which is directly relevant to the member's question. First, Health Canada has established a blood safety council to advise the government on matters of blood safety and to be a source of information and guidance on such matters from a national perspective. Consumers sit on this council.
Second, the department is working actively with other partners to reduce risk of bacterial contamination of blood. Third, it is developing a regulatory framework that will take blood regulation forward into the future. It has an expert advisory committee on blood regulations to provide expert input on specific blood regulatory matters. Fourth, disease surveillance capacity related to blood safety has been strengthened. A blood-borne pathogens unit has been set up and improvements in field epidemiology have been made. I am happy to say that today Canada has a stronger capacity to respond to new and emerging blood safety risks as a result of such improvements, improvements recommended by Judge Krever. This is evidence that the government attaches great importance to blood safety.
Members want to know that the government is working to identify potential new threats to the safety of our blood supply and that it is ensuring that never ends. The government will provide a million dollars a year to the Canadian blood services, money that will be specifically targeted for blood science, research and development. That funding will keep Canadians in the forefront of blood science and maintain Canada's position in international blood research.
I know members want me to use the rest of the time to point out that in the new system Canadians are building, better science will be there to support strong and effective regulations. It will be there to help the system meet the highest safety considerations and it will be there out in the open for all stakeholders to review.