In the Public Health Agency, on page 9, the notable change was that healthier Canadians reduced health disparities in a stronger public health capacity. Now, we've already dealt with the fact that the budget for public health capacity is going down--which I don't really understand at all. But I guess I'm most disturbed, in terms of the program activity for first nations and Inuit health, that the planned spending for 2010-2011 is dramatically reduced, in terms of gross expenditures, as is even the number of people doing it.
In terms of what we've known about equity and the things that work best, the health human resources of our aboriginal people--this is the $100 million that I've asked you about many times--how many more aboriginal physicians and aboriginal nurses are we able to show for the $100 million that was put into the health accord? Not just cultural sensitivity and nice things that we want all Canadians to do, but how many more aboriginal nurses and how many more aboriginal doctors do we have in this country?
How on earth can you be reducing the money in the program activity on first nations and Inuit health at the same time as you are saying that you want to reduce health disparities? We know this is the biggest embarrassment for our country: the gap in health status of our aboriginal peoples.