Madam Speaker, in his remarks, the member asked a question. He was wondering why the federal government had put a $12.5 billion cap on transfer payments.
I want to remind the hon. member that, when we first made the option, we took note of a priority identified by Canadians and we increased payments for health by $1.5 billion, as the member just said. We raised them from $11 billion to $12.5 billion. Why $12.5 billion? Because the national council on health has met this past year, and it has consulted all those affected by the legislation and the health care networks. It has recommended that we invest $12.5 billion. We listened, and now the member is criticizing us for putting back in funds we had cut. In our province, the Premier of Quebec also cut back funding for health care by $3 billion, in fact $3.5 billion.
To address the member's questions, the Premier of Quebec's motives may or may not have been political, but the fact remains that, last week, he announced that he too was going to invest an additional $2.1 billion.
I would like to know whether this is new money or if he is not following our lead. Why is the member criticizing us but not his own premier?
I have another question for him. Often, the suggestion is made that all problems in health care are due to insufficient funding. When I look at Quebec, which spends 40% more than Ontario on health care, while its population is 60% of that of Ontario, I wonder if something could not be done about the administration, if service delivery could not be refined.
Does the member agree with the premier, who stated during the debate on Tuesday that he had made every effort and, as a result, waiting lines had been shortened and health care services were being delivered rapidly. If contributions to provinces were restored, does the member agree that the funds should go to health service delivery?