Mr. Speaker, we scored an important victory two weeks ago when the president of the CIHR announced that he was backing off experiments on human embryos for a one year period. Members on this side of the House have been very vocal in criticizing the CIHR for circumventing parliament on issues of national and ethical importance.
In the face of much pressure from the health committee, Dr. Bernstein was forced to admit that his plans were premature. The Bernstein announcement had an effect on postponing research on human embryos announced by Genome Canada a week earlier.
The role of the ministers of health and industry in this affair are unclear but we know that these ministers ignored the hard work of the health committee. The need of parliament to be heard on these issues is important. We are the party committed to democratic, transparent lawmaking. We would not stand for allowing unelected scientists to set the agenda. The voice of parliament must be heard.