Madam Speaker, I very much enjoyed listening to the member for Yellowhead, except for the last part of his speech, but we will not go there.
I want to congratulate the health committee for a lot of the work that it has done in this Parliament. On a collaborative basis, it is one of the best committees on the Hill in terms of producing important information and reports for the House.
With regard to this matter of pharmaceuticals, I note that the report from the committee, as the member outlined, was simply to ban bulk exports of prescription drugs except for those that are in fact produced in Canada for export purposes. I am sure there is more to this, and this report probably could have been much larger. I hope members will take an opportunity to look at some of the evidence that witnesses brought forward because, as I understand it, there are bulk exports of drugs that are not supply sensitive. This in fact may be too broad or too sweeping a ban and may run into some trade problems.
I want to ask the member to comment on a couple of issues. Certainly the number one issue is with regard to the drug industry. We are talking about a business. We are talking about trade and free enterprise and why the industry is not doing anything to police itself.
Here is the view of the Canadian Medical Association, and in fact of the American Medical Association, with regard to the responsibility of physicians: it is that a physician must be somewhat in charge and responsible for the ultimate prescription of these prescription medications. These prescription medications must have, one would think, under the rules of ethics for the prescription of drugs by the medical profession around the world, a physician somewhat in charge and responsible for the ultimate prescription of these.
I also have some concerns about the possibilities, or the impossibilities, let us say, of controlling the Internet, because there are other areas in which we have had some difficulty, particularly with regard to matters such as child porn and somehow imposing controls. I also want to specifically ask the member for an answer with regard to what I think is the most fundamental issue, and that is the seriousness of the supply situation for medically necessary drugs for Canadians and how this activity over the Internet has placed at risk the health of Canadians.