Mr. Speaker, while we remain concerned about treating water as a commodity, we are also concerned about treating other things as commodities that should not be. I am talking about life forms.
I have a question for the Minister of Health as to what the government position is with respect to the patenting of life forms. Many in the medical community are concerned about the patenting of the use of gene sequences for human genetic testing. This would have serious consequences for our health care system both in terms of cost and the ability to care for patients.
What is the government's plan with respect to the patenting of life forms? Is the government against it and, if so, what—