Public Accounts committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just to make things crystal clear, is the fact that 400 technical amendments are not enacted today only a problem with regard to communication to the taxpayers, or do we also need to take into account legal consequences for them--for taxpayers--or for you vis-à-vis lack of revenues?

Business of Supply  Of course, there are going to be differences between members on some of these questions. However, we should be focusing on the things and questions that we are clear about, that we do know about and about which we have reached a powerful consensus as a world. We understand perfectly well that promoting women's equality promotes women's health. There is a direct connection and direct link between them.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I listened with great interest to the member's speech because I thought the motion was incredibly ambiguous. The hon. member talks about the government's ambiguity, but we have been pretty clear that this is all about providing health care, clean water and basic nutrition. We have doubled aid to Africa since taking office. I know this is something that our government is very proud of.

Health committee  I want to be clear when I say efficiency is going to go down with the collaborative model. That just means that you cannot churn through patients as fast. That doesn't mean you are providing good care. From an efficiency perspective, we just had our health care budget completely analyzed by government consulting services, and we actually came out per capita, per unit of service, actually more cost efficient than the civilian health care sector using the CIHI data.

Official Languages committee  No. Our commitment to and our policy on official languages are clear. We are making unprecedented investments in every region of the country in order to protect, promote and celebrate both official languages, French and English, in each region of Canada, including Quebec.

Public Accounts committee  Yes. To be clear, the new processes for improving the filing will, we believe, be an improvement. But it's not that the current system, at least in terms of our collating information, failed to achieve its desired purpose.

Official Languages committee  I think VANOC, with all the best intention, wanted to make sure that these games were inclusive of all Canadians. I think that was very clear for the entirety of the games and the entirety of the effort. But what Canada needs to recognize going forward is that the Canadian standard for official languages is not necessarily the same as the IOC standard for official languages, for example.

Official Languages committee  As for the Olympic Games, we have all been clear. No one complained about the signage, the bilingualism at the Games,and so on. The problem was with the opening ceremony. I will repeat what you said: that even the Commissioner of Official Languages, Graham Fraser, said that he was impressed by the level of bilingualism at the Olympic Games and pleased with the presence of French at the closing ceremony.

Health committee  Should I go first? You've identified a very clear issue in the transition from the military to the civilian sector. Obviously, as I stated in my opening comment, my mandate as the Surgeon General ceases the moment you no longer wear the uniform, so that becomes partly a Veterans Affairs issue, but the member then re-enters the civilian health care system.

Health committee  I would like to answer you in French, but this is official testimony. So with your permission, I will answer in English, to be sure that what I say is clear and exact. I very much appreciate that question. Obviously for that very specific reason, the Canadian Forces have their own military health care system. It's not just doctors; we have a complete health care system that is more or less self-sufficient.

Official Languages committee  Or you can make that a binding factor even before the judge is named. That's what's not really clear, but the principle is something that we supported.

Health committee  The FHP partner organizations have endeavoured to mitigate these shortages; however, these strategies, including third-party contracts, have led to a significant financial and administrative burden to the departments. As mentioned, the health human resource committee was stood up in July 2006 to develop clear and actionable recommendations that would address the federal physician shortage. The committee tabled its report in March 2007, highlighting six recommendations: to increase compensation package and salary levels, to be competitive with provinces, territories, and the private sector; to develop an attraction program to attract medical graduates; to establish a partnership network; to focus on the overall change in government culture; to increase liability coverage; and to encourage continuing education.

Official Languages committee  I said that this happens when the judges meet afterwards and discuss among themselves. I want my comments to be clear and I do not want words to be put in my mouth.

Official Languages committee  We referred to them as the French side and the English side because there were no attempts to harmonize activities between the schools. A very clear division happened on the playground. This is a testament to what we have referred to as the two solitudes that happen. There needs to be a concerted effort to harmonize that. The two sides are administered by a French and an English school board, but I don't think that should be a barrier to creating further integration.

Official Languages committee  Finally, we also endorse the FCAF's call for increasing the powers of the Commissioner of Official Languages. It is clear to the QCGN that the English-speaking community of Quebec is best served by an empowered, apolitical guardian of linguistic rights. It is a matter of record that on matters of education, employment, and immigration, the Government of Canada has negotiated bilateral agreements with the Province of Quebec, this without substantive consultation with the English-speaking community of Quebec and without any mechanisms to account for how federal funding supports our community's vitality.