Mr. Chair, I too would like to thank the member for Brampton--Springdale for her comments this evening. I respect her as a health care provider, the information she is able to share with us and the special insight she has regarding this debate.
I would agree with the member completely on the issue of foreign credentials and the need for Canada to have a system in place across the country recognizing foreign credentials. Currently it varies from province to province and it is really quite difficult. In my home province of Saskatchewan there are a number of excellent physicians from South Africa. This is a serious issue. In Saskatchewan we have the longest health care wait lists in the country, so anything that is going to contribute to shorter wait lists is welcome news.
One could debate who had this plan first. This was a pillar of the Conservative Party's plan for health care in the last election campaign. I know this is something that the leader of the official opposition believes in strongly and I am sure it will be a pillar of our policy again.
I was going to spare the member from any partisan comments but then she talked about the Prime Minister who in 1995 was the finance minister. She commended him because health care is a priority. In 1995 when the current Prime Minister was the finance minister, we saw health care cuts of $25 billion, so I would hate to see the cuts to something that was not a priority. That was absolutely frightening.
I would like to ask the member quickly about bulk exports. There is unanimity here tonight that bulk exports need to be stopped in order to protect the Canadian drug supply. Quite simply, given that the member for Yellowhead brought forward a motion that was unanimously passed in this House calling on the government to stop bulk exports, I am wondering if the member opposite could tell the House what luck, if any, she has had in discussing this issue with the health minister or with the trade minister to expedite the matter of banning bulk exports.
It is a very serious issue that Canadians are looking at very closely, to safeguard our drug supply. What success has she had in discussing the matter with the ministers and why has it taken so long--