Thank you, Mr. Chair. My congratulations on your French.
I will start by raising a point of order.
A few moments ago, a number of committee members raised points of order at the same time. I would remind members of the committee that this makes the task of interpretation very difficult. Because our sessions are hybrid, I would like to ask members of the committee to try not to intervene at the same time—even though sometimes they seem to want to do that—out of respect for our interpreters, who are doing a remarkable job that I would like to recognize.
That concludes my point of order, Mr. Chair.
My question goes to the Minister.
In the light of the answers that Dr. Tam and the Minister have given us, I can see that the public health system was already fragile before the pandemic, because it was underfunded. When we look at what the Parliamentary Budget Officer said about the matter, it is clear that the underfunding is in large part explained by the federal government's abdication of responsibility.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer says this:By indexing federal funding for health care at the rate of growth of GDP, the federal government has mostly insulated itself from the fiscal impact of an aging population. But provincial governments, with direct constitutional responsibility for the delivery of health care, are unable to do so.
However, just now, the Minister told us that there would actually be a premiers' meeting at the beginning of December, where that issue may come up. The Minister of Finance is also announcing an economic update for sometime soon.
Can the Minister tell us whether the requests made by the provinces in the Speech from the Throne, could in part find an answer here, meaning better funding for health care provided in a stable manner, not just for the duration of the pandemic?
I recognize the work that the Minister is doing during the pandemic. However, in the longer term, can we expect positive news at the beginning of December, even though we do not have the exact date?