Mr. Chair, before I ask my question I would like to say that the previous speaker commended a member of Parliament and I would like to commend our three privy council members, the Minister of Health, the Minister of State for Public Health and the parliamentary secretary, for their excellent work on a great number of tough issues, including this one.
I have a question for the member on arbitrage and what effect it will have on the prices in Canada and the United States. Before the member answers that, I want to mention that the supply of drugs in the north of course is different than it is in the south. It is even harder to get them there. We have to remember that there is a good supply available.
I remember that at the beginning of the last century there was the great Iditarod escapade, in which a diphtheria serum was needed in Nome, Alaska. There was a thousand mile dog trek to get there, which has led to the great thousand mile dog race held now between Whitehorse and Fairbanks.
Even today there are not international flights to most of the north, so drugs have to be available in Canada. Sometimes there are only periodic flights within Canada. We have to make sure there is a good supply of drugs in Canada for Canadians.
However, could the member answer the question I asked at the beginning of my remarks?