Madam Speaker, I want to compliment the member on her speech. It was certainly a speech I would have expected from any one of my 37 colleagues in the NDP. She is right on in her analysis.
She talked about health issues, disease prevention, high blood pressure, smoking, and other lifestyle issues in which the government should be actively involved. I am sad to say that the previous Liberal governments that had been in power for many years should have been more active on this file as well, but that does not excuse the lack of action from the Conservatives at this point.
The fact of the matter is that there are countries, such as England, which pay the doctors based on the doctors getting their patients to live a better lifestyle. In other words, the doctors are paid to get patients to quit smoking as opposed to approaching health on the basis of treating people after they are already sick.
We have been talking about this probably for 25 years. It is certainly a major issue for the NDP. It is a constant battle to get government to act, to do the right thing and take preemptive action. As the member pointed out, if we were to do that, we would actually save money in the long run. People would be healthier and would live longer as a result.