Jean Crowder

[Health, March 9th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, clearly the Canada Health Act is not addressing what is happening with privatization. For years we have heard the Liberals say that they are going to stop it.

Let me talk about something else here. The warning gets clearer, the wolf is at the door. We can expect an influenza pandemic that will rival the one in 1919. Our own military experts believe that this avian flu could be used as a terrorist weapon.

We look to our doctors as the first stop. How is this Liberal government preparing family doctors for the pandemic?

[Health, March 9th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. Which is it? Two weeks ago he said “just watch me” about privatization. Today he says that this is outside of the Canada Health Act.

If the Canada Health Act does not stop privatization, what does?

[International Women's Day, March 8th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to rise in the House to recognize today, March 8, as International Women's Day. This year the United Nations has adopted the theme, “Gender equality beyond 2005: Building a more secure future”.

In the 30 years since the UN first celebrated International Women's Day, we have made progress in a number of areas, but there is still work to be done. Women in this country deserve nothing less than complete equality.

The House must act to ensure women's issues that matter most in the lives of Canadian women are dealt with in a meaningful and lasting manner. This means combating domestic violence, finding solutions to end poverty, and ensuring that Canada develops a national not for profit public child care program. We need to make pay equity a reality and change systems that promote inequality for aboriginal, Inuit and Métis women, immigrant and visible minority women, and senior women.

Today I invite all Canadians to join with me in celebrating the accomplishments of the past three decades and to work together to find meaningful solutions so that gender equality beyond 2005 can be more than a theme, it can be our reality.

[Health, March 7th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, it is fine to talk about throwing around money and throwing around letters, but let us talk about promises to stop privatization.

During the Liberal convention the minister called the Canada Health Act medicare's charter and promised to enforce the act. I have already asked when the minister would stop the privatization of our health care system other than letters. He previously said “Just watch me”.

Canadians are watching and waiting for the Minister of Health to actually enforce the Canada Health Act across the country, with no exceptions. When will the minister actually keep this promise?

[Health, March 7th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, we used to worry about the creeping privatization of health care, but under the Liberal minister private health care is taking off at a gallop.

Every day we hear another story of Canadians' emptying their wallets to pay for health services that should be covered by medicare. Every week there is another report of a private clinic opening in Canada. It does not take $41 billion to enforce the Canada Health Act. All it takes is a phone call from the minister to stop privatization.

When will the minister make that phone call?

[Status of Women, February 23rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the recent report, “Canada's Commitment to Equality: A gender analysis of the last ten federal budgets”, reveals that the budget measures over the past decade have disproportionately hurt women.

Whether it was employment insurance cuts that made it hard for new mothers to qualify for benefits or CPP regulations that left senior women in poverty, the government has been blind to how policies have affected women.

The Minister of Finance recently stated in the House, “I will do my very best to respect the principles of gender equity in the preparation of this budget and indeed every budget going forward”.

Respecting the principles of gender equity requires more than words. It requires action.

After 10 years of waiting, Canadian women are expecting in today's budget an allocation of resources that will actually make a difference to programs for women and children.

[Health, February 21st, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, that answer is just not good enough. It was not good enough on Friday and it is not good enough today.

Our “see no evil, hear no evil” health minister would not be able to stop a private clinic operating out of his own living room. The minister has said many times that he plans on dealing with the creeping privatization.

The question is when? When will the minister shut down these private clinics?

[Health, February 21st, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health.

During the election the Prime Minister promised he would defend medicare. He said he opposed credit card medicine, but we have credit card surgery in B.C., credit card hospitals in Alberta, credit card home care in Ontario, and credit card MRIs in Nova Scotia. Patients are now paying a doctor in Quebec to jump the queue.

What is the health minister going to do about it?

[Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act, February 18th, 2005]

Madam Speaker, as soon as we talk about accountability, it is interesting to note that members of the House begin to point fingers at provincial governments. I thank the Bloc for talking about fiscal imbalance and the crisis being by many of our provinces.

Let me just talk about child care for example. British Columbia is struggling with a lack of child care spaces, again, because funding is not coming in on a consistent basis.

We need to talk about responsible partnerships between federal and provincial governments and talk about responsible fiscal arrangements that would allow provinces to fulfill their mandates in the direct delivery of service.

[Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act, February 18th, 2005]

Absolutely. What we now have is a legacy. It has a legacy that talks to the fact that we need to reinvest in innovative health care, but it has to be publicly funded and publicly delivered.

We need to take a look at some of the really excellent practices happening throughout Canada. They talk about the fact that we can make health care a quality, affordable, long term strategy for all Canadians. That is where we need to spend our energy.