Mr. Speaker, I want first to make a few comments on the hon. member's speech and then ask her a question.
The hon. member gave us a wonderful history of what has happened since 1919. At the end of that history, the hon. member mentioned it culminated in what we now know as Canadian medicare, which I hasten to say was enacted by a Liberal prime minister.
That medicare we know benefits all Canadians, including Quebecers. It is also the envy of the world. Every single survey and study that has been done has shown that 89 per cent of Canadians in every province, including the province of Quebec, believe it is something they would like to keep. It is important to them as Canadians. It is the most important thing we can possess as a country. In fact medicare and this history lesson led to something which is very positive and which Canadians still hold very dearly.
I also want to speak about the member's comment on the encroachment of the national health forum on provincial jurisdictions.
The forum is made up of members from every province, including the province of Quebec. The forum is made up of members of the public. It is not made up of people from government.
Perhaps the member could tell me whether she believes that the Canadian government does not have the right to speak to Canadian people in every province, which is what the forum is doing. The forum is not changing anything; the forum is having a dialogue with ordinary Canadians. Can the Canadian government not speak with ordinary Canadians? Something we promised in our red book was the ability to speak and to get input from Canadians, from real people and not just from government.
The hon. member speaks of cuts and interference in provincial jurisdictions. Health Canada's authority with regard to the Canada Health Act and with regard to medicare is a contractual one. The Canadian government signs a contract with provinces to receive money from the federal government. In turn, those provinces agree to the conditions based on getting that money.
The provinces do not have to accept any conditions, but then they cannot also accept the money because on a contract both sides
have an agreement. One side agrees to give money and the other side agrees to abide by certain terms. That is clearly what provinces do when they sign the contract.
Finally, the hon. member spoke of how cuts are affecting the provincial government's ability to provide services in Quebec. The Quebec government has a budget of $13.4 billion for health for 1995-96. That government made a cut of $565 million to its health care budget well before the federal government presented its cuts for 1996-97 within the Canada health transfers.
I ask the hon. member, why did her province's government make those cuts if it really needed money in the system? Why were there $565 million in cuts when the hon. member says that Quebec's health care system needs more money?