Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. parliamentary secretary for his response. The belief that the private sector in a free market can do everything better than the government is a bankrupt idea. Connaught Labs was proof. It provided affordable medicines and vaccines that saved lives and made Canada a world leader in public health. The free market has brought us more expensive medicines and a focus on profit.
Canada needs a universal pharmacare system and a publicly owned model of medicine, development and production will make it affordable. Privatizing Connaught Labs put us farther behind in our fight against COVID-19. It is time to go back to a common-sense model that serves the common good.