Mr. Speaker, I listened to the parliamentary secretary's address to the House with regard to thalidomide victims and what our government intends to do with and for them.
The parliamentary secretary asked something that I think is very reasonable. She asked that we try to refrain from partisan sniping, because we all agree that something needs to be done and that we should work with the victims. Let us make today a day that we talk about the issues surrounding those living with the terrible results of taking this drug.
We cannot undo the past. We cannot make right something that occurred some 50-some years ago. However, in the House today, with regard to what the parliamentary secretary asked, we can talk to each other, make some suggestions, say how we really feel about those victims, and make a commitment that this should not happen again.
With that in mind, and because we can never be 100% sure of anything in this world, I wonder if the parliamentary secretary could once again tell us some of the things the government has done to help ensure that we try as hard as we can and that we do not approve drugs that end up being worse than the illness or disease they are intended to ameliorate.