Food and Drugs Act  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-51, An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Canada Consumer Product Safety Act  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-52, An Act respecting the safety of consumer products. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Product Safety  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his analysis of the situation. I think he is absolutely correct. After being only interested in power and about their own self-justification, the Liberal Party members did nothing in the area of product safety and consumer safety for 13 long years.

HIV-AIDS  Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, some spending was cut by Liberal budgets, but we can all work together to improve this situation. I have given my commitment to these groups that we will try to make these Liberal cuts as least intrusive as possible so that the programs themselves could be saved.

Health  Mr. Speaker, let me first thank the hon. member for an excellent question. I would say to the House that even in good economic times there are those at risk of being left behind, but Canadians are guided by the values of compassion, kindness and generosity. That is why we created the Mental Health Commission in the first place.

Health  Mr. Speaker, I am not quite sure what the hon. member is talking about. Indeed, the meeting last December was postponed as a result of a request from the provinces, not as a demand from the federal government. In fact, we have agreed to a meeting later on this year. When it comes to the issue that she mentioned in Alberta, I have been in contact with the Alberta minister of health.

Anti-Drug Strategy  Mr. Speaker, I think we can all agree that when one in four young people across this country has used at least one illegal drug, when twice as many Ontario kids are smoking pot as tobacco, when the number of young Canadians smoking marijuana has almost doubled in the last 10 years, it is time to speak up.

Health  Mr. Speaker, in fact, the hon. member is incorrect. There was an increase of 6% on health care transfers found in the budget as part of the health accord that goes to the provinces and territories to assist them in hiring and replacing health human resource professionals, as well as our hospitals and so forth.

Health  Mr. Speaker, in fact, there is a fund that is part of the health accord, $175 million in total, where we are working with the provinces and territories on that very issue. Perhaps the hon. member and her caucus could explain why they are voting against a budget that will in fact help the mentally ill, help the homeless, help our cities, help the middle class, lower income and all Canadians.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, in budget 2006 we added $1.1 billion of federal transfers for health care across the country. In budget 2007 there were $1.2 billion extra. In budget 2008 there was another 6% extra. We have been acting to benefit Canadians and access to the health care system. Now it is up to the provinces to live up to their promises as well.

Health  Mr. Speaker, as a former member of a provincial parliament, the hon. member of all people knows that this is within the purview of the Ontario government. As a result of budget 2007, we increased the amount of money to the Ontario government by over 6%, as a result of the budget that will be tabled today, as part of the 2004 health accord, at least another 6% in addition.

Agricultural Marketing Programs Act  moved that Bill C-44, An Act to amend the Agricultural Marketing Programs Act, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Health  Mr. Speaker, I am sure the House realizes that nothing could be further from the truth. The Canadian Breast Cancer Network did approach us because it had concerns about the funding arrangement that had been agreed to with the previous Liberal government in 2004. We on this side of the House have committed to continue to fund the Canadian Breast Cancer Network.

Chalk River Nuclear Facilities  Mr. Speaker, this is, indeed, a serious issue and it requires all members to take the issue seriously. The record is clear. My depositions before two parliamentary committees were quite clear and they were supported by my deputy minister and assistant deputy minister. When we learned of the issue on December 5, we acted swiftly.

Chalk River Nuclear Facilities  Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, a lot of information was shared at committee level. The head of MDS Nordion, at committee or at the scrum thereafter, said, “I think the government was doing what they could do, frankly”. As soon as we learned that this was not just a shortage but a crisis that was going to affect the health and safety of Canadians, we acted.