Mr. Speaker, it was not a choice I had. I had a duty to enforce the Canada Health Act.
The Canada Health Act is very specific. Extra billing is not allowed. Once a year provinces are asked to submit a report on the extra billing that is going on in their province. When this report was sent to me I had no choice but to act on it because extra billing restricts access for people.
I ask the hon. member, how can paying extra money for a physician give everybody better access? All it does is make some physicians richer than others.