Mr. Speaker, I begin by commending and commenting on the work of the NDP industry critic, the member for Churchill. She has done an incredible job of following the bill, pursuing amendments and making suggestions all the way through the process.
The member indicated my background in health care. I was the culture minister in 1986 and I was health critic for the NDP in the Manitoba legislature from 1990 onward. I had to deal with the ramifications of the Conservative government in Ottawa making drastic changes to the Patent Act which put us on the course we are on today.
At that time we tried very hard to get the Conservative government of Manitoba to speak out against Bill C-91 that had been brought in by the Mulroney Conservatives. We failed in terms of trying to ensure that provincial voices registered clear opposition to those very regressive moves. The battle continues today.
My questions for the member for Churchill are threefold. Since she has followed the process and been on the committee, I should like to know from her whether or not the government gave any indication of caving in further to the World Trade Organization and extending patent protection even further since we know from some of the documentary around this issue that the United States government has said it would see 20 years as a minimum.
I would also like to know whether she heard any explanations for the flip-flop by the Liberals on this issue between pre-1993 and the actions taken since they became government.
Finally I would like to know if she heard anything from the government throughout the committee process about alternatives to dramatically increasing prices in the field of drugs and solutions for a very serious problem in Canada today.