The Canadian Nurses Association fully respects the jurisdictional authority over health and education, but in particular in the area of health, we do have the Canada Health Act, which is federal legislation that requires a federal role in terms of ensuring that the Canadian health system is in fact that: a Canadian health system. People may question whether or not we have a system, but I think we have to work toward that, so that the principles of the Canada Health Act—universality, portability, and all the other principles—are actually held up and so that we as provinces and as providers are accountable to them.
I think the other important issue is that at least in the case of nurses, the Government of Canada is the fifth-largest employer, so it needs to be in the discussions if for no other reason than that it also is very concerned about the number of health providers that it has. I think that's sometimes lost in terms of the government's role.