Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for her wise oversight as chair of the health committee. It was through her leadership that we were able to move forward with this legislation. She was very good at working collaboratively and developing consensus with the different witnesses as well as the members of committee. I thank her for that.
She brings up a very important point. It was acknowledged that the intent of the legislation was to treat risk group 2 human pathogens differently than groups 3 and 4, so it was very important to clarify exactly what was meant. There were three amendments included that recognized that facilities dealing only with risk group 2 human pathogens should be treated less stringently under the bill, the program and regulatory framework, as they are less risky than human pathogens in risk groups 3 or 4 or toxins.
There was also an amendment included which specified that there will be no requirement for security screening of persons with access to only risk group 2 human pathogens, as well as an amendment to lower the possible penalties for contraventions of the act or regulations involving only risk group 2 human pathogens.
The government also proposed two further amendments to respond to the concerns expressed by the Privacy Commissioner and moved those forward as well. I hope that answers the hon. member's question.