Mr. Speaker, before beginning my speech, I would like to indicate that I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Waterloo—Wellington.
On behalf of the government, I wish to inform the House that it is our intention to support the motion introduced today by the party of the hon. member for Halifax.
Had I worded the motion myself perhaps I would have written it a little differently in the sense that I think I would have preferred wording which would have suggested that the representatives of the Hepatitis C Society of Canada be invited to a consultation or meeting immediately prior to the ministers' meeting in order to leave no ambiguity that the ministers may want to meet among themselves. I think that is understood in the motion although it is not quite clear.
The provincial ministers in any case would want it that way. However the motion is that we urge the government to press. It is not definitive in any case. In that regard we are prepared to support the motion in question.
I would like to say a few words about the excellent work done so far by the hon. Minister of Health.
My colleague, the Minister of Health, has worked tirelessly on this issue and I can say that it is because of his efforts that there is an offer today for Canada's hepatitis C victims.
I would like to offer him my full support and tell him that he has my personal support, as well as that of all my colleagues, I am sure, for the excellent work he has done to date.
We know of the very caring nature of the Minister of Health and how he fought very hard for the package offered to the victims of hepatitis C. We know a consensus was achieved which the minister supported and defended on the floor of the House of Commons.
It is a spirit of solidarity when ministers of health of different political stripes arrive at a consensus. I am not saying what position he personally took to arrive at that consensus but that does not matter in a sense. It is like a cabinet decision in the sense that once the consensus was achieved he defended it. He did it valiantly. He did it brilliantly. He did a fantastic job.
We have a situation before us today, notwithstanding the commitments repeated several times over, where some people are now gravitating away from that consensus.
Such is the case. Ontario has decided to do something outside the consensus established and announced it in a press release yesterday under the name of the premier of the province.
That consensus has been breached but not by the federal government. To a degree it has been breached or at least it is not the same as what it was before.
Therefore the Minister of Health indicated that he is willing to have a meeting with his counterparts at the provincial level and that meeting presumably will take place in the not too distant future. He indicated his willingness to meet with representatives of the Hepatitis C Society of Canada.
I should add that the Minister of Health told me that he met with representatives of the hepatitis C victims group on a dozen or so occasions. This in itself shows the very strong commitment by the Minister of Health to helping these individuals.
In recent days, we have had many questions in the House from members across the way. In some instances, we were told to cut health spending at the same time as we were told to come up with more money. This is typical of the Reform Party members. They demand that the government cut transfer payments to the provinces, including those for health, slash aboriginal benefits, and so on, all the while claiming to be the defenders of the less fortunate. The Canadian people do not believe a word of it.
On the other hand, we had messages that were certainly contradictory when it is known that the provincial and federal arms of some of the other political parties were giving messages that were different.
Be that as it may, the members of the House have asked a number of questions on the floor of the House, as is their right. I do not deny that. I have been in opposition long enough to know that it was my right to ask questions when I was there. I think I exercised it on a few occasions, if I can put it that way.
Today that is no longer the issue before us. The issue before us is different. It is one of identifying whether, as I raised moments ago, the consensus that existed and that was supported by all ministers still exists.
In one case, we know there is some deviation. Now that consensus is no longer the same, is there a need for a meeting of ministers? It is our opinion that this would certainly serve a very useful purpose.
When such a meeting is held should the Hepatitis C Society of Canada be invited? Our position is yes, but we think the meeting would have to be held somewhat separately from the one that would follow.
All ministers would have to arrive at a new consensus, if there is a new consensus. I have no way of prejudging the result. Nevertheless, reading the motion in the broad sense as I think I am doing, giving the benefit of how it could be read, then we are prepared to support the motion in the name of the hon. member for Halifax.
I will wrap up, because I know there are several members wishing to speak today to this issue, which is a very important one for all of us. There is not a single parliamentarian, I believe, who does not have hepatitis C victims in his or her riding, just as there are none without cancer or AIDS victims among those they represent.
We all have constituents living with very difficult medical conditions, and suffering as a result of those conditions. Naturally, we all sympathize, and wish to come to their assistance to the extent that finances permit and to the extent that the necessary money is available.
In the meantime, I am pleased to repeat what I said earlier, which is that the government intends to vote in favour of today's motion, in the hope that the discussions between the Minister of Health and his provincial counterparts will be very productive and that the meeting will take place in the near future.