Mr. Speaker, to set the member straight on that question, it was the victims of hepatitis C themselves who advanced the case. They did a far more effective job of it, far earlier than any politician on either side of the House.
It was Justice Krever who advanced this case to the point where it simply could not be ignored by the government or stuffed under the table.
The role that has been played by the Minister of Health in this issue has been that of a lawyer arguing the government's side of the case, not of a health minister whose primary concern is the health of Canadians.
There were arguments on one side of the issue. There were arguments on the other side of the issue. The health minister, this lawyer in health minister's clothing, took the arguments on one side of the issue and consistently presented them in this House until he was knocked off that position by the provinces, the victims and the official opposition.