Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank Ms. McLeod. She has a nursing background, so she really does have her heart in the subject.
I'd like to ask you to table something else, Mr. MacDonald. In answer to the several questions repeated by Mr. Caron about the 6%, we've already said that the table you're going to submit shows an average of 3.8% increases, not 6%, which is what the federal government's contribution is going up by. But just to alleviate his concerns, I'd ask you to table not just the averages, but the provinces' budgetary expenses for health care from the year before, because in that case, the average was 4.8%.
Reiterating what you said, Mr. MacDonald, the provinces had already started to make some changes on their own, recognizing they have a large jurisdictional responsibility to ensure health care is sustainable. They too have to make sure that taxpayers and the revenues that come from taxpayers ensure that all Canadians are eligible for what we think is very important: a provincially or a federally funded, publicly funded health care system.
So if you could table that other chart as well, perhaps that would alleviate Mr. Caron's concerns, and he would see very clearly that his position makes no sense.
Thanks.