Public Safety committee  Right. In fact, that is the reason why we advocate controls on raw materials.

Public Safety committee  Mr. Bertrand said that...

Public Safety committee  Not entirely. In terms of loose tobacco, he said it was effectively impossible and they hoped there would be controls. Even the government of Quebec, in its Tobacco Tax Act, has controls on the delivery of loose tobacco. We do not necessarily share its opinion on other raw materials, because there...

Public Safety committee  The U.S. government has been able to license two of those illicit manufacturers. There are currently negotiations with the illicit manufacturers, and it's a very, very slow process. They just got the second one to be licensed federally, but there are still a lot more illicit manufacturers on that reserve.

Public Safety committee  I'm not familiar with the procedures or tactics used by the RCMP or the authorities to enforce the laws existing in Canada or in the United States, or whether that's one way they're looking at as part of their investigation. I think the appropriate person to answer that question is Joe Oliver.

Public Safety committee  I'm a native from Montreal. A few years ago there was a major raid on the Kahnawake Reserve. They shut down one of those illicit manufacturers, but it was on the grounds that it was involved in illicit drugs also. That's where they had the cooperation of the peacekeepers on the reserve, but when the media asked the peacekeepers what they were going to do about the other illicit tobacco manufacturers, they were very quiet about it.

Public Safety committee  We've been advocating with some people in the United States to try to get them to look into this issue, and we are amazed at the lack of information politicians in the United States have about the current problem at Akwesasne. If the problem were reversed, if the illicit manufacturers were on the Canadian side of Akwesasne, for sure we would hear a lot from the American authorities to deal with this issue.

Public Safety committee  My name is François Damphousse. Since 1995, I have been the Director of the Quebec office of the Non-Smokers' Rights Association. I would like to address a few points and then give the floor to my colleague Rob Cunningham from the Canadian Cancer Society. He is going to talk to you about the measures we would like to recommend for controlling the problem.