Mr. Speaker, I said earlier this week in the House that the Workers' Compensation Board, its staff, the chairman of the committee and committee members are fully aware and are as equally disappointed as I am that we haven't been able to move the appeals process forward as quickly as we should have.

I concur with the honourable Member that it is -- if I may use the word -- ridiculous that the appeal process has taken as long as some of them have. But I do want to say that the appeal process is a long, drawn-out affair where we have to consider all the facts and give the person who is appealing the benefit of the doubt, to the best of our ability.

It is not a simple exercise where you sit down one day, debate the issue, look at the evidence and make the decision. It is a long, drawn-out process. Every effort has been made by the board. It has recognized that this is one of the areas where we have not done as well as we should have. Every effort is being made by the board to priorize and give the fiscal resources necessary -- because this costs money -- to resolve this issue.

I'm confident that, under the stewardship of the chairman, he has the commitment, the moral fortitude and the ability, to move as quickly as possible to try to resolve the 44 appeals that are before us and the three that are pending. Hopefully, within the next six months, we will be able to bring the ones outstanding to a conclusion. We all recognize the frustration, if you're an injured worker, of having to wait for a long period of time to have some sort of decision made.

It is certainly not the intention of myself, as Minister, or the appeals chairman to prolong the debate or prolong the issue. I'm optimistic that six months from now we will be in a position where there will be fewer appeals and a more expedient way of dealing with them. Thank you.