Mr. Speaker, when BioChem Pharma, one of the bright lights of Quebec's pharmaceutical industry, was purchased by Shire, a British company, Shire promised to invest $27 million over four to six years in research and development into leukemia and pancreatic cancer.
Following this agreement between Shire and Industry Canada in 2001, the minister approved the transaction. Can the minister confirm to the House that his approval was dependent on these conditions and, if so, is he prepared to make these conditions public, now that Shire has closed the BioChem Pharma lab in Laval, putting 120 leading scientists out of work?