Thank you very much to the minister and his officials for taking the time to come before the health committee today.
I know in the past, from sitting on the health committee, that all members of this committee have worked very closely together to address the issue of health. I think it's of tremendous importance to Canadians all across the country. Being the critic for health for the Liberal Party, I know that both myself and my colleagues here today have received numerous e-mails and numerous letters and phone calls from concerned Canadians across the country.
I want to speak about an issue that perhaps resonates with people from all across the country in all provinces and territories, and that is the issue of the wait times guarantee. We saw during the last election that the Conservatives promised the implementation of a wait times guarantee, perhaps continuing on the work that the former Liberal government had done, both with the signing of the health care accord and the investment of $42 billion, in particular the $5.5 billion for the reduction of wait times.
There were five areas that were decided upon, both by the former federal minister and the ministers of health from all the provinces and territories. Those were in the areas, as you know, Minister Clement, of cancer, cardiac care, cataracts, CT and MRIs diagnostic testing, and hip and joint replacement. I think it was quite disturbing to many people around this committee, and also to Canadians and parliamentarians, when they took a look at the stories that have appeared in The Globe and Mail over this past week. Just today, we have a story that I think says it all, where perhaps some individuals feel that Ottawa has dropped the ball on waiting times.
I would like to know, despite the promise that was made during your election platform, what you have in your supplementary estimates that says that as a new government you are investing in the wait times initiative.
I know that last week you announced the initiative or pilot project for prenatal care. Putting that specific project aside, which you have also mentioned in your speech here today, what other types of initiatives have you undertaken since coming into government, of working with the provinces, of working with the territories, to ensure that wait times are reduced? Despite the fact that a pilot project dealing with aboriginal women is of extreme importance, it did not address any of the five priorities.
When we take a look at the article, it talks about the fact that people affected with prostate cancer have to wait longer than the four weeks and that women in the country who have been affected by breast cancer have to wait longer than the targets that were set by the health care accord from the Liberal government.
So what types of initiatives have you taken, Minister, to ensure that this issue is addressed?
Secondly, what types of financial and monetary resources are you providing to the provinces and territories to address this important issue?