Grant Hill

[Food And Drugs Act, February 5th, 1998]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-307, an act to to amend the Food and Drugs Act.

Mr. Speaker, we have titled this bill the Reform health freedom amendment.

This bill is designed to change the regulatory framework for natural health products in Canada. Today these products can be regulated in a very heavy handed fashion.

We believe the government should only be regulating if there is proven harm, proven side effects or proven contamination. In other words, if the product is safe why would the government be involved in the regulation at all.

This bill has received a fair amount of public support. The health committee is currently studying this issue. It is quite timely that it should be placed on the docket at this time.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Tobacco Act, December 8th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I take it from that response that the health minister is not going to give any exemptions to anyone else other than Formula 1.

The Minister of Health has a choice. On the one hand he can have a strong, powerful bill which will protect our youth from advertising. Let the adults have their advertising, if they will. Or he can have a weak bill and cave in to the big interests of the tobacco companies. Which will it be?

[Tobacco Act, December 8th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, let me correct a statement that the finance minister made. Reform's position during the election was $4 billion back into medicare, not the nonsense he is feeding us.

On a different issue, the tobacco companies have just taken away the sponsorship from racing and cultural groups in Canada. They want those cultural groups to do their dirty work for them.

Will the Minister of Health stand up for the health of our youth rather than caving into the blackmail of the tobacco companies?

[Health, December 4th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec has now agreed to cut a cheque for the victims of hepatitis C. Will the health minister admit that the real reason he is not ready to give them compensation before Christmas is that his leadership rival down here in finance will not show him the money?

[Krever Report, November 27th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, he blocked Krever when he was trying to do his report and now he is blocking the victims.

The minister apologized and then said that the federal government was in fact involved and that he would act fully on the report. But by his vague answers on compensation, he now is hurting the victims. Would he prefer these victims of hepatitis C to drag their hospital beds into court where the lawyers will get most of their settlements, or will he give them a dignified compensation package before Christmas? Hepatitis C deserves better than this minister.

[Krever Report, November 27th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the Krever report on tainted blood clearly indicates that the federal government played a major role in the tragedy.

Its first recommendation was to compensate victims immediately. When will the Minister of Health announce that this compensation will be paid? When?

[Tobacco Sponsorship, November 25th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I took the opportunity to speak to this researcher in Britain just a few moments ago. She said that this information was so important that she could not even let her study go to the end of its normal lifetime, that she had to put this information in front of the public immediately.

The British prime minister did his U-turn when he got a $2 million gift. Why has our prime minister made the similar U-turn?

[Tobacco Sponsorship, November 25th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, on this issue of tobacco advertising on race cars, I have a brand new article here published just a week ago in the prestigious journal the Lancet .

This article shows absolutely clearly that the most important influence on young men starting smoking is race cars. Which of the Liberals is going to stand up and finally admit their U-turn on this issue is absolutely wrong?

[Petitions, November 24th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, finally, I wish to present two petitions that decry the sanctioning of the act of euthanasia.

[Petitions, November 24th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, in the second petition, the petitioners ask for a binding national referendum to be held at the time of the next election, asking Canadians whether or not they are in favour of federal government funding for abortion on demand.