Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge with gratitude the public service of the hon. member opposite. This side of the House would always treat that public service with the greatest respect.
The issue before the House is the public information of the Government of Canada. The issue before the House is whether the government has done its job to provide clear, timely and accurate information to the people of Canada about the public health challenges that they face in respect of H1N1.
It is our view that this message has been confused, dilatory and underfunded. That is the position we have taken. We have tried to point out that had the government spent less money on self-promotion and more money on public health promotion, we would avoid the confusion that we see in the lines across the country.
It is extremely important that everybody behaves responsibly in relation to the H1N1 epidemic and provide accurate and timely information to all Canadians. It is also no secret that northern aboriginal communities face particular challenges which are the responsibility of federal authorities. We have been very critical of the ways in which federal authorities have failed to provide accurate and timely public health information to that community.