Mr. Speaker, I compliment the member opposite on a very emotional and passionate intervention. I remind him that people on this side of the House are no less sensitive or compassionate. As I said in my earlier intervention, we let our actions speak as loudly as our words.
We have in the past through the Minister of Health engaged all victims of this terrible tragedy in consultations. We have kept them involved and have considered all their needs. They were brought to the table, which led to the package that has received nationwide attention over the course of the last month and a half.
I may be a little unfair here and I will do a mea culpa if I am. The member and the member who preceded him wanted to draw attention to the fact that all of us share a particular responsibility. His colleague, the member who preceded him, was very forceful in indicating that the federal authority bears full responsibility for the tragedy. I know members on the opposite side of the House want to reflect on the way the blood system worked.
Yes, there is a federal regulator. The provinces, as they know, are directly responsible for administering the health care system. The Red Cross at the time was responsible for co-ordinating and delivering the blood system. Together they had a responsibility to the public for the safety of the system.
I know members on both sides of the House when they quote Krever will remember what he said in the interim report, that what Canadians wanted was a system that was accountable, transparent and, above all, safe.
When we are talking about responsibility I know members on the other side want everyone to remember that this is a shared responsibility and words like fully do not enter into the conversation, into the dialogue, and should not be part of the rhetoric.
What should be part of the debate is the important steps taken by the federal authority starting from the interim report of Krever to move immediately and forcefully on all aspects of the report that related to the federal responsibility to ensure that we have at the very beginning confidence in a blood supply that was to be as safe as any other in the world. We started doing that a couple of years ago and have continued on that basis. That should be a priority.
We should also ensure that the accountability is transparent and that everybody understands where it comes from. I know members on the other side, even when they are prone to rhetoric in the House, which I imagine is the proper place for it, will not want to forget where the lines of responsibilities lay and will lie.