Mr. Speaker, on December 14, 1999, I asked a question about transfers to the provinces. My question read as follows:
Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, December 8, the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick unanimously passed a motion calling for re-establishment of social transfers to the 1994-95 level.
Is the Minister of Finance prepared to listen to his Liberal cousins in New Brunswick and to restore transfer payments to their 1994-95 level in order to ensure that the people of New Brunswick may benefit from better social programs?
The Minister of Finance responded as follows:
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member must realize that, including the tax points, or in other words all transfers together, we are already where we were five years ago.
The reason I referred to “his Liberal cousins in New Brunswick” was because a motion in the New Brunswick legislative assembly was passed unanimously.
The Liberal Party of New Brunswick was even in agreement with the Progressive Conservative Party in saying that the transfers to the province of New Brunswick were—and we know this, for it is the same everywhere in the country—not as high as those received in 1994-95, because of the cuts.
As we know, according to the figures available, the federal government is paying only 15% of health costs. Up until 1969, the federal government paid 50%, as compared to a mere 15% today.
I hear our Liberal friends across the floor saying “No, no, not true”. If it is not true, the Liberals of New Brunswick are telling untruths, because the provincial Liberals of New Brunswick voted along with the Progressive Conservatives members in order to tell their cousins in the federal government “We want the same transfers as in 1994-95”. So which ones are telling the truth? The provincial Liberals or their federal Liberal cousins? This is a question that must be raised.
The one thing we do know is that, in the health field, people are suffering. Hospitals have been closed and patients are being forced to go to the United States for treatment. This we know, and we know what suffering it is causing. Every day, the Minister of Health gets up in the House to tell us “New methods have to be found”. Might this new method be to go the American way? That is the question that must be asked. Answers must be found and they must be found fast, because we are paying the Americans millions and millions of dollars to look after Canadians.
As we know, this is going on in every province. People are forced to go to the United States for treatment. I is sad to say but, here in Canada, animals are treated better than people in the health system. A dog or a cat would not be allowed to be mistreated the way the sick are in the health care system of this, of which we are supposed to be so proud.
This country should be able to look after our health care programs so that the provinces are not paying up to 85% of costs. I am talking about costs, not just the tax points the Liberals keep coming back to, but real day-to-day costs. The government should look at the bill and pay half.
Tomorrow, I am sure that we could have better health care in Canada, and our friends and families would not have to go to the United States for treatment.