Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, Minister and all of your officials, for being with us today.
Minister, I want to pick up on where you very astutely acknowledged the federal government's responsibility to enforce the Canada Health Act. I agree with you very much on that.
We know that for-profit clinics across Canada are currently charging desperate patients tens of thousands of dollars in some cases for two-tier access to non-emergency surgeries. Those clinics are exploiting a loophole in the Canada Health Act that allows people to pay to jump the queue, as long as that surgery is performed in a province they don't reside in. I don't think any of us think that's the way the Canada Health Act is supposed to work.
Minister, will you act to close that cash-for-access loophole?