Mr. Speaker, the government is engaged in a public relations exercise. It is as simple as that. The medical evidence is out there in terms of the linkage between herbicide spray and exposure to that spray. That has been proven and the government of the United States recognizes that. It has compensated literally thousands of victims exposed to that type of herbicidal spray. Canada has not. We have compensated one soldier.
The government has been hiding on this issue. Pure and simple, this is a public relations exercise to get it through to the next election with doing nothing. That is what it is all about. It did the same thing on the hepatitis C file if members remember. The parliamentary secretary was on this side of the House at the time and drove that battle to the government. Now he is on that side defending the government on something that is completely indefensible. The government's position cannot be defended.