Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to participate in this debate. I recall the debate and the problem about compensation for victims of hepatitis. The tone was slightly different, and we had a much more heated debate. Let us not forget what happened.
A number of my colleagues have raised the matter of compensation. Unfortunately, there are still problems. People have yet to receive all of the money they are entitled to under the agreement. Some have found themselves outside the terms announced by the federal government so that they could not benefit from the terms of the agreement.
As my colleagues have said, the motion before us concerns hepatitis C, a new disease. It was identified in 1989, that is only 12 years ago.
It is not the first time either that there is talk of making May a month for hepatitis C awareness. As my colleague in the New Democratic Party said, a bill was tabled in the House in this respect, but unfortunately it was not declared votable.
In response to a question, the Minister of Health announced that May would be hepatitis awareness month in Canada but this does not detract from the quality of the motion put forward today, far from it.
On May 17, the Minister of Health said, and I quote:
Mr. Speaker, Health Canada has designated the month of May as Hepatitis Awareness Month in Canada. I thank colleagues in the House for encouraging that step to be taken.
I do not recall that we supported him on this issue, not that we would have had any problem doing so.
Employees from my office did some research on the department's website. I do not know whether they were going at it the wrong way but they found no press release confirming this. They have searched Health Canada's website and found absolutely nothing.
It is therefore a bit strange that, twice now, members of the House have taken steps to designate a hepatitis awareness month in Canada, specifically for hepatitis C as this evening's motion suggests, that the minister has taken a decision, and that the New Democratic Party member says that this month has already been designated, when we can find nothing on the Health Canada website.
It appears that everyone agrees with the motion. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I would suggest that you seek the consent of the House to make this motion votable.
I repeat that the motion put forward this evening has unanimous approval. With the fine speeches we have heard, with the support of the government members and of opposition members, unanimous consent can be sought, because everyone is in agreement. I believe that with unanimous consent we could vote on the motion put forward this evening and officially give our support to the Minister of Health.
In closing, we greatly appreciate the member's work and I once again seek unanimous consent so that the House can officially vote on the motion.