Mr. Chair, it is a pleasure to speak on the take note debate that we are having tonight. I want to begin by first thanking and congratulating my colleague, the member for Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, who has been a leader on the health issues in Canada in the short time that he has been elected to Parliament.
The member has been willing to bring forward the issues that Canadians are prepared to discuss and wanting to discuss, and facing them head on with solutions that are sensible and acceptable by many and most Canadians.
We are talking about the bulk export of drugs particularly into the United States. It is important that we not confuse this with the one on one sale of drugs which constitutes the online pharmacy industry. It is important because sometimes the government in its anxiousness to be seen as protecting the health care of everybody at all cost, it sometimes confuses the two issues. It is very important to acknowledge that the online pharmacy industry in Canada is separate and different from the bulk export industry.
There is not a Canadian, there is not a member of Parliament, who would suggest that at any time we should ever jeopardize the supply of drugs to our Canadian population. We understand that. I think we all agree to that, but I think we cross a line sometimes when we try and tie the two together. Sometimes we attempt to make political points in some parts of the country at the expense of others who are to some degree taking advantage of a system that has been put into place and enhancing their opportunities not just for the individuals that are doing it but for the people of the communities that they represent and live in, and the people that they work for.
I know that some members of the government would agree that there is a distinct difference. I know that the President of the Treasury Board stated and he believes that Ottawa can rescue the Internet pharmacy industry and save the jobs, not only in Manitoba, but across Canada. He believes that is has found a market, found an opportunity and has developed it into a good business with sound principles, but also a business and an industry that understands that we must be always aware and cognizant of the issues affecting the drug supply to the people in Canada.
It sometimes surprises me when the Minister of Health makes statements that I think are meant to aggravate and perhaps incite the people of Canada. However, I sometimes wonder if what he is trying to do is in the best interest not only of the industry but in the best interests of Canadians.
I do want to make note and I know that the member for Charleswood St. James—Assiniboia has mentioned it a couple of times, that there was a motion passed in the health committee that asked to study this issue. It was agreed upon and yet to this day the minister refuses to engage that committee and create some relevance where we can get a better understanding of the issue.
I do not think it is wise for governments to move forward on issues like these without proper consultation, without discussion, and without engaging Canadians on what they are asking for and what they are prepared to accept and prepared to work with.
We are talking about the Internet pharmacy this evening. I know that it has been mentioned by some of the members and one of the ways that they would control or regulate it would be by forcing patients to have an appointment with a doctor in Canada.
We live in an electronic age. We can travel anywhere in this world. We can access banking institutions with a card. We can access services anywhere in the world based on the recognition of a card. We put a card in and take our money and our services out. It is time that the government and Canadians accepted this as a way of moving forward and a way of providing service.
I challenge the government to tell me if it does not want to shut the industry down because sometimes I think that is its motive and that is what is driving the government.
We have a system in Canada right now where our patients cannot see doctors. We cannot get in. We have extremely long lineups and members across the floor would agree that it is an issue. Obviously, government members identified it. They said they have committed $41 billion to reduce lineups to see doctors. Yet, we want to force another group of people to have an appointment with a doctor in Canada. No matter where we are, the prescription is written by a qualified doctor. That, to me, is the issue. We do not have to question the credentials of the doctor. We do not have to verify them. Obviously, the relationship has worked well and has worked for many years.
I live in a border community and long before online pharmacy, people from the United States travelled to Canada with their prescriptions. This is not something new; it has been going on for many years. If we live in a border community anywhere in Canada and we ask our pharmacist what percentage of traffic is made up by Americans, I think we might be surprised at the number of people who are actually accessing our services and have been for years.
That is an important note to remember when we partake in the debate because the bottom line is that nothing has changed that has not happened in the last 20 years except the technology and the ability to access it. That is important to remember.
Where I live, and I suspect where most people live, getting an appointment with a doctor is difficult enough. To add this on top of it is only a ruse to suggest that the government wants to shut these pharmacies down. Government members may mask it in terms of ethics or in many other words they choose to use, but in essence, they are saying they want to shut this industry down. I do not think that is a good thing for Canadians or for the Canadian consumer. If we want to look at it purely from an economic position, it is not a good thing for the economics of our provinces and of our country.
As I said earlier, we must not confuse bulk exports with the one to one sale of drugs which constitutes the online pharmacy. I think we all agree that as long as we can offer a safe and secure supply to Canadians, we should continue to support the online pharmacy industry. Even the online pharmacies have agreed and recommended that if we were to ban the sale of bulk drugs to the U.S., we could resolve many of the issues that we have. It is not a complicated matter. It is a matter of supply and demand. We would not move large bulk supplies across to the United States or any country for that matter with the idea that we would protect the Canadian consumer.
In closing, we have to remember that across Canada many people access prescriptions without ever having seen a physician. It is done through home care. It is done through nursing. It is done through nurse practitioners. They make the call, they give the definition of the symptoms and the drug is prescribed. It is important that we never forget that. I think that a ban on bulk exports would satisfy all the stakeholders. It would ensure the viability of the Internet pharmacy, and a healthy Internet pharmacy in Canada is an option that we should all look at and consider.