That is right. The government is talking prevention out of one side of its mouth. On the other hand it is causing hundreds of thousands of youths to take up tobacco smoking and will cause between 40,000 and 200,000 premature deaths over the next 20 or 30 years. That is not prevention.
If the government had enacted sensible solutions with respect to tobacco, we could accept it and work with it. I cannot accept talking about prevention on the one hand as a solution to health care problems, while on the other hand lowering tobacco taxes and decreasing the tobacco reduction strategy. That simply does not make sense.
I implore the government to work with us to amend the Canada Health Act so that medicare can provide essential services to Canadians from coast to coast. It must also realize that we have a problem. Pedantic statements about preventive health care, saying that somehow we will build greater efficiencies into the system and quoting laparoscopic surgery as the panacea for health care cost control will not work. It will take more radical, thoughtful, sensitive changes for all Canadians to have their health care needs met.
It disturbs me greatly that members of the House across the way accuse us of wanting an American style health care system. They accuse us of saying that what is in our pockets when we need health care services is what matters. We deplore that. It is anathema to us and we will fight against those types of attitudes every way we can. In my estimation as a physician we are the only party in the House putting forward a plan to save not only health care but all our social programs.
If we can put aside the political rhetoric and work together to build strong and sustainable health care and social programs, we can build a better country for all Canadians. We are building the country for Canadians from coast to coast. We are particularly preserving health care programs for those most in need.