Health  Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member is well aware, under the previous Liberal government, delays and wait times doubled in this country. When we came to power, we were the first government to work with the provinces and territories to institute the first patient wait time guarantees in this country, putting the focus on the patient, making sure the patient has recourse in the system.

Health  Mr. Speaker, we have invested in the fight against cancer and the fight against wait times. This government has invested in wait time reductions. It has invested through a unique partnership called the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. This is the first instance in the history of this country that there has been a national campaign with the federal government at the table to tackle cancer once and for all.

Autism  Mr. Speaker, this is something parents around the country, who have autistic children, deal with on a day to day basis, including members of our caucus. This is why the government acted. We did something last year that no other federal government has done. We invested $1 million in a brand new chair of autism research.

Health  Mr. Speaker, it is a delight to stand and talk a little about our wait time strategy. As the hon. member might recall, last year we announced funding for wait times reductions through our patient wait time guarantee with the 10 provinces and 3 territories. I would remind the hon. member, if she has not seen the media on this, that I was in Halifax this past Friday announcing additional wait times guarantee projects with the Government of Nova Scotia.

HIV-AIDS among Aboriginal People  Mr. Speaker, there are three issues that the hon. member raised. First, it is very important that I state this for the record and I do not want this opportunity to slide by. In terms of the so-called cuts to AIDS services, there were no cuts to AIDS services that were initiated by this government's policy.

HIV-AIDS among Aboriginal People  Mr. Speaker, indeed, I wish to confirm, as I mentioned earlier, that this partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is the first of its kind in the world. Really, we have become an exemplary model for other countries as the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation goes and does its work worldwide on so many issues.

HIV-AIDS among Aboriginal People  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's question allows me to elaborate a little bit on our balanced approach when it comes to HIV-AIDS. Indeed, I can assure the House and the hon. member that this government has increased funding for services for HIV programs over the two years plus of our mandate thus far.

HIV-AIDS among Aboriginal People  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Vancouver East for this unscheduled opportunity to rise tonight in this House to discuss this very important issue. First, I wish to express my prayers and sympathies to all those who suffer from HIV-AIDS throughout Canada and indeed around the world.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, we have heard everything from all sides from Liberal opposition members. One week they are saying we did not act soon enough and on another week they are saying we should have acted sooner. That is not leadership. On this side of the House we recognized when we were properly informed that there would be a long shut down, that we had to act to protect the lives and safety of Canadians.

Natural Resources  I guess, Mr. Speaker, that this week the Liberal opposition question is: why did we not act sooner? Last week it was: why did we not act? The question is this. When is the opposition going to show leadership on that side of the House? One week it is, why do we not act and the next week it is simply, why do we not act sooner?

Health  Mr. Speaker, that is not true. There was a problem facing Canadians and we had to take action to protect their health. I can only quote Chris O'Brien, who is the head of the Ontario Association of Nuclear Medicine. He said this on the very day that we were debating the bill before Parliament: Last week, I guess you could describe it as struggling.

Health  Mr. Speaker, the position of this government and this party is clear. We support the five pillars of the Canada Health Act, which include universality, accessibility and affordability. We have acted to ensure better access. The Liberal members are barracking right now. When they were in power, the wait times doubled in the country.

Health  Mr. Speaker, she and I at least share one thing, diminutive statures. I was standing up for medicare. Perhaps that was not noticeable where she is in her part of the House. We do take this seriously. That is why our focus has been on the patients. That is why we have worked with the provinces and territories to ensure health care is a priority for this government and our future governments as well.

Chalk River Nuclear Facilities  No, Mr. Speaker, in fact it is quite the opposite. When this government learned of the situation, which was a serious situation affecting the health and safety of Canadians and other citizens worldwide, we acted. We put a bill before Parliament to do the best thing and the quickest thing and the most effective thing to restore isotopes which was to get the Chalk River reactor open again.

Chalk River Nuclear Facilities  Mr. Speaker, the last refuge for scoundrels is to say that they have been misled. All of the information that has been put before this House has been fair, has been accurate, and has been borne out by the facts. We were acting for the health and safety of Canadians. Clearly those on the other side of the House were acting in a partisan political way and that is shocking.