Mr. Speaker, I simply want to tell the hon. member for Portneuf that I greatly appreciated his remarks, particularly with regard to the health care system.
I would like to ask my colleague, the hon. member for Portneuf, to tell me if it is fair to say that, if the federal government cuts its transfers to the provinces for health care, the provinces could encounter serious difficulties, which in turn could threaten the universality of health care. The danger is that we could revert to the way things were in the 1950s, when there were two health care systems: one for the rich and one for the poor. Illness can strike anybody regardless of their ethnic origin or their financial status. Therein lies the danger in reducing transfer payments for health care, and I would like to know the views of my colleague, the hon. member for Portneuf, on this matter.