Health  Indeed, Mr. Speaker, earlier this week I was on hand in Toronto for the official launch of the Canada-wide Terry Fox Research Institute. That is why we are here: because we are helping that research institute, just as we have created a Canadian partnership against cancer, just as we have spent over $250 million on cancer health research, and just as we have put $10 million directly into that foundation.

Health  Mr. Speaker, over the past two years, the government has committed over $2 billion in new money for health care. I would say to the hon. member that she and I are on the same side. We both want to see reduced prices for generic drugs, which is why I have said to my counterparts at the provincial and territorial levels that we can work together.

Food and Product Safety  Mr. Speaker, I have never seen a good law drafted by the NDP so I might decline her offer. We do take this issue very seriously. In the Speech from the Throne, which the hon. member voted against and hon. members opposite did not vote on at all, we indicated that product safety and food safety issues are a priority for this government.

Food and Product Safety  Mr. Speaker, I encourage the hon. member not to belittle the fact that at healthycanadians.gc.ca, Canadians can get more information than ever before when it comes to product safety, product recalls and food safety. However, the hon. member is correct. After 13 long years of Liberal inaction, we will act.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague. With respect to blue-green algae, our government and our Minister of the Environment have taken steps to fix the problem, to take on this challenge. In light of our funding, our investments and our action plan, I have every reason to believe that we will make progress on this issue in the future.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is not really speaking to the issue but I would remind the hon. member that the last dinner we were both at he tried to take credit for the translation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms into Urdu and said that he was the one who made the translation when in fact it was the Pakistani embassy working in concert doing the translation for us.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I am sure the hon. member was paying attention but I did in fact mention wait time guarantees in my discourse. When it comes to wait time guarantees, we have done what no other government in the history of Canada has done. We have worked with the provinces and territories to establish Canada's first wait time guarantees in every province and every territory.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  My colleague would like to know what that site is. It is healthycanadians.gc.ca. This gives Canadians a one stop option to get information on toy and children's products and food recalls. With this new web tool, Canadians can now search for information on recalled toys and children's products dating back to 1995 by either the product name, the company name or the date of the recall.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, at this time I will be participating in the debate on the Speech from the Throne as a member of Parliament for Parry Sound—Muskoka of course, and as the Minister of Health and Minister responsible for FedNor. Certainly, my constituents believe that the Speech from the Throne is a testament to the strong leadership that our government is providing to deliver the better Canada that Parry Sounders and Muskokans, and indeed all Canadians want.

Food and Product Safety  Mr. Speaker, today my colleague, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, and I were pleased to launch the consumer product recall database at healthycanadians.gc.ca. This web tool will give Canadians for the first time immediate and accurate information on products that have been recalled dating back to 1995.

Drugs and Pharmaceuticals  Mr. Speaker, not only have we increased transfer payments, but we are in fact working with the provinces and territories to establish best practices in areas including how to deliver better information to patients. May I say to the hon. member, one can never be too close to the finance minister.

Drugs and Pharmaceuticals  Mr. Speaker, on this particular topic, the hon. member is quite correct that Canadians should not be paying more than they need to pay. It goes to reason this is why this government has increased its transfer payments to the provinces and territories to the tune of $2 billion last year alone.

Health  Mr. Speaker, today I announced that we are accepting the recommendations of the task force to limit trans fats in our food supply at 2% for vegetable oils and 5% through the rest of the food supply. We have given industry two years to use market forces, which they are doing. We have cut the trans fat supply in half over the last two years in our food supply because of the results of consumers and industries.

Health  Mr. Speaker, perhaps the hon. member missed the press conference, but indeed, the Prime Minister and I were able to announce that we have in each and every province and territory a patient wait times guarantee, at least one in many of the provinces and moving ahead with more. We have kept that promise.

Consumer Affairs  Mr. Speaker, this is indeed a serious situation. The hon. member is talking about the possibility of tainted toothpaste which has been available in the marketplace. I can tell the hon. member that in fact we do have inspectors and investigators who are on the scene and who are busy analyzing the products to see whether there is any kind of health hazard.