Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the NDP which moved the motion we are debating today, we welcome the government's support for the motion. We think this contributes to the progress we have been trying to make in the last few days on this issue by pressing yesterday for the minister to have a meeting, given the new circumstances, getting that commitment from the minister late yesterday afternoon so that we could then proceed to have a different motion before the House today from the one we had planned. Earlier we had intended a motion calling on the government to have such a meeting.
We received the commitment that there would be such a meeting and then we went on to move a motion to help influence the nature and hopefully the outcome of that meeting by moving this motion that the representatives of the hepatitis C society be invited to any upcoming meeting.
I think the government House leader has interpreted the motion correctly. It certainly does not mean to preclude in any way that the federal, provincial and territorial ministers of health cannot meet on their own in the final analysis to determine whatever consensus we hope there will be for compensating all the victims of hepatitis C. It is very important that they do meet with the representatives of the hepatitis C society in that context so that the victims have a direct opportunity to put their case before the people who will be deciding any future arrangements for compensation.
I am sure that one of the people most happy about this in the House of Commons today is the Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Health because he will be saved any further embarrassment of having to stand in his place hour after hour avoiding answering questions as to how the government was going to respond to this motion. I am sure he is greatly relieved and he will be able to sort of untwist himself from the various positions that he managed to take.