Madam Chair, I just want to refer to what the hon. member had to say about prevention and the importance of healthy living. Let me just briefly say that this is a key priority for my department, because I do believe that we need to invest more money in the front end of health care.
There are two reasons why. One is that there is a better quality of life for everyone if they are healthy and if they are committed to wellness. Also it will help us sustain our health care system. We have to put more attention and more dollars into the front end, into keeping people well, into preventing disease. That is why my department is working with provincial and territorial colleagues around the development of a pan-Canadian strategy as it relates to healthy living.
The first tranche of that healthy living strategy will focus on good nutrition, physical activity and healthy body weights, because we know that those are the foundations of a healthy lifestyle. They are the foundations for a healthy society. Without that, we will continue to see adult diabetes increase and obesity increase. We have seen the pages of the paper these past few days. We see the challenge of obesity with our young people.
That is why the whole area of healthy living and wellness is so important, and it has to become more important to all of us. It has to be inculcated as part of our culture when we think about health and healthy living.