Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate the question and the expertise of the member, but first let me say that as I understand it, Dr. Keon, who is a world renowned specialist in terms of the heart, has heartily endorsed this motion. He has not just expressed sympathy for the motion, but he has worked with my colleague and has actively supported it.
He supports it because, like so many other professionals and medical experts in the field, he knows the dangers of trans fats and knows the cost to human health and the cost to our health care system.
It seems to me that while the member can point to perhaps one study that puts into question 99% of those studies, we have to err on the side of where the evidence is. The evidence is clearly saying overwhelmingly that there is a direct link between ill health and trans fats.
I have heard this sort of logic before from the Conservative members when it comes to addressing the issue of climate change. Every time we try to talk about targets for Kyoto, members from that quarter of the House suggest that there is no scientific reason for us to work to control greenhouse gas emissions.
As my colleague from Windsor has just said, it seems to smack of the flat earth theory. We wish that members in the Conservative Party--not all of them, because some I think are with us on this--would study all the evidence and then say, “On the basis of where the evidence now lies overwhelmingly in terms of recognizing the health consequences of trans fats, let us act. Let us not sit and wait. Let us not bide our time when we know the impact. Let us do something”.
I think it is fair to say to the member, who seems to think that a voluntary approach would work or that the marketplace will do its job, that such has not been the case. I cannot think of many examples in society where in fact that has been the case. There is nothing wrong with that. That is the job of government: to gather the evidence, to make the connections and then to take the action through regulations and legislation.
The member will know that the science is there. I think he has to grapple with the role of government in that context. Despite our ideological differences, despite the fact that he is a Conservative and I am a New Democrat, despite the fact that we have different notions of the state and when the state should be involved, I hope that at least on this issue, when we are talking about kids' health, the serious impact on pregnant women and the damage to the fetus, and the direct correlation between heart attacks and trans fats, he can see the importance of getting this government involved and putting forth regulations that will see a ban on all trans fats within a year.