Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak in support of Bill C-95, legislation which will establish the Department of Health.
Two weeks ago I spoke on another piece of legislation. I reminded the House and particularly our friends from Quebec of the desire of my constituents for a united and strong Canada. With the end of the referendum that desire still continues. The people of Guelph-Wellington, all crusaders for Canada will always support Canada first. We have a strong attachment to this great country. We celebrate the privilege of being Canadian and we thank the people of Quebec for saying no to separation.
Over the past several weeks Canadians have heard much of the word change. We have before us a bill which changes the name of the Department of Health. That, as was said by the hon. Minister of Health, is the simplest part of this legislation. Within the bill there is a new focus. Bill C-95 contains a new vision of the future that promises to make improvements in what is already the best national health system in the world.
The people of Guelph-Wellington want to give a clear message to Parliament. We want our health system preserved. We reject those who want to dismantle what we have built in favour of a system that judges patients on how much money they have rather than how sick they are.
We recognize the need to respond to areas of concern, but we will not compromise the protection that is given to each of us by the Canada Health Act. This act declares that the health aspects of social well-being are the responsibility of the Department of Health.
We all know that we were elected to assist the well-being of our constituents and also of every single Canadian. It is the obligation of the government in every department and by every single member of the House to ensure the well-being of the people who have entrusted us with all of their confidence. The people of Guelph-Wellington have elected me to be a member of a government that is tempered with compassion, motivated by care and strengthened through its ability to make Canada a better place to live.
Our health care system is one of the values which makes Canada the best place in the world in which to live. Whether Canadians reside in Guelph, Ontario, Drummondville, Quebec, or St. John's, Newfoundland, they know they can depend on a federal government that is determined to protect the fabric of their health care system.
This legislation clearly acknowledges the responsibility of the Department of Health to care for the social well-being of my constituents and the people of every single region throughout Canada. Through this legislation we are acknowledging that there is more to health than health care. Health means the complete state of physical, mental and social well-being.
The people of Guelph-Wellington are fortunate to have quality health care providers who work for the benefit of our community. Organizations like the Victorian Order of Nurses, Homewood Health Centre, St. John Ambulance Association and the Welling-
ton-Dufferin-Guelph Health Unit work together to provide assistance, plan health services, give information and support the people of my community.
While Guelph-Wellington welcomes change, our people do not want an end to the government's commitment to the long tradition of ensuring health protection for every single Canadian. Ten years ago the Canada Health Act was debated and passed without any member voting against it in this House. Those were the days when the opposition parties joined the government in support of every Canadian regardless of their income.
The Canada Health Act contains five principles: public administration; comprehensiveness; universality; portability; and accessibility. This act was the result of the efforts of strong ministers of health including Hon. Allan MacEachen; the father of the current Minister of Finance, Hon. Paul Martin Sr.; Hon. Marc Lalonde; and Hon. Monique Bégin. They were supported by Canadians in their quest for a health care system that offers care and protection. They were supported by opposition members who defended the rights of all Canadians, Canadians who deserve members of Parliament who wish to preserve our health care system rather than to destroy it.
I mentioned organizations that work in my community to preserve quality health care. These are joined by hundreds of individuals working alone or through various agencies in building a growing awareness of the importance of nutrition, stress management, physical fitness, safety in the workplace, and the environment.
We are fortunate in Guelph-Wellington because on top of quality care institutions like the Guelph General Hospital and St. Joseph's Hospital and Home, there are people who care. These people deal not only with cures but with prevention. They realize that health prevention is the real health care revolution in this country.
My own family has been blessed with family doctors like Allan Simpson who was there when my children were born and has cared for them ever since. Anne Simpson, his wife, has also been a nurse and caregiver in our community. Without people such as them our health care system would not be the best in the world.
Our government is determined to save, sustain and improve Canada's health care system. We will continue to fight against those who fail to recognize that health care weaves the fabric of our very nation.
As part of the promises that we have kept since our election, the Prime Minister has initiated the National Forum on Health and has taken a real leadership role in finding solutions to the difficult questions facing all of us. The Prime Minister and Minister of Health are to be congratulated for this effort.
The National Forum on Health is asking: Are we getting the best results from our expenditures? Should we be spending more in some areas and less in other areas? Are we taking full advantage of new opportunities in the health field? How can we learn from experiences within Canada and from other countries?
These are important questions which deserve our time and our consideration. Canadians must dialogue about what our health system should look like over the longer term. We must develop a vision of the future. When I discussed priorities for federal spending with my constituents prior to the last federal budget, they told me that health care must remain a priority in Canada. In fact most of the people in Guelph-Wellington who responded to a questionnaire that I sent out clearly stated that health care should not be cut in any way. They are concerned about abuses. They are anxious to find solutions to what is wrong with our health care system but they absolutely reject the Reform Party's vision for health care in our community.
As in everything else we do, we want to work on a solution that will make our country better. We cannot accept the doom and gloom that is so often embraced by the third party in this House. We know there are challenges to making these improvements, but the people of Guelph-Wellington welcome these challenges because we want to make our health care system work for our children and our grandchildren.
I am pleased that one of the tasks of the national forum is to document case histories of health care approaches that have succeeded in improving the health of the population. I look forward to the policy recommendations that will be made in this area. The forum has taken the Guelph-Wellington approach to problems: build on successes, learn from mistakes and identify priorities.
Health is more than health care. There are many aspects of life and lifestyle that go toward making people healthy. As a government we must continue to rebuild our society to make it healthier. How can we do this? We can provide employment to those unemployed, give hope to Canadians who feel a sense of abandonment. We can provide a strong social support network for our Canadian family. We can build a better education system, find more agreeable working conditions for our workers, free the environment from pollutants and rid ourselves from unsafe products that contribute to an unhealthy environment. Health care means all facets of our society.
Each Canadian is also responsible for his or her own well-being. Personal health practices which include a positive outlook help reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. I have encouraged my constituents to work with the many organizations in
Guelph and Wellington county that promote, educate, assist and support my constituents who suffer from epilepsy, cancer, the effects of a stroke, and cystic fibrosis to name but a few. In Guelph-Wellington we believe that by supporting each other we can build a better community and a better Canada.
The government continues to look at positive ways to improve the health care of our country. I wish to take a few seconds to speak about the prenatal nutrition program which was promised in the red book and implemented by Health Canada in July 1994.
We know that prenatal and childhood health experiences will affect us throughout our lives. Low weight at birth is a problem for the growing child and in some cases contributes to ill health in adults and sometimes premature death. There is also increasing evidence that the way children are cared for at an early age influences their coping skills and health for the rest of their lives. We also know that it is possible to reverse some of the ill effects and positively influence later health and well-being by intervening with supplementary and enrichment programs at critical stages in the development of children and youth.
The prenatal nutrition program is providing $66.4 million over four years to set up or expand prenatal nutrition programs for low income expectant mothers. This is an example of a positive contribution of government for the well-being of our future. As a mother of three, I know how precious children are. I worked with many children through my efforts at the Wellington County Board of Education. Preventive health, positive lifestyle promotion and health education are going to contribute to bettering the health of our children and saving valuable health care dollars in the future.
Our health care system is probably regarded as one of the finest in the world and this is no exaggeration. At a time when Canadians are reflecting on what makes us so great, we need only to look at our health care system as an example of a country that truly works.
True, there are ways that we can improve our health care system. It is not perfect, but it works and it works well. It ensures that the poorest of our citizens receive help when they are most in need. It ensures that our seniors need not sell their homes in the event of a lengthy illness. More important, it ensures that the people of Guelph-Wellington and those in all parts of Canada can concentrate on getting better when they are sick, free from the worry of who will pay for their health care. That is the kind of protection needed and wanted by a vast majority of Canadians.
Many Canadians deserve credit for our health care system. Those who in the past had a vision of caring led the way. Volunteers throughout communities such as Guelph-Wellington ensure that people are cared for and educated about prevention programs. Health care professionals have the responsibility for providing care which has become extremely complex and extremely demanding.
Advancements in health care have meant an explosion of medical knowledge and information involving all kinds of advances in equipment and procedures. The front line workers are there first to care for the sick and their families. They feed us, give us medicine and often are there to care for us when we die.
I am pleased to have the opportunity to pay tribute to the dedicated physicians, surgeons, nurses, attendants, paramedics, researchers and administrators who, along with many associates, have built for Canadians a health care system which is the envy of the world.
I saw them care for my mother and I see them in their dedicated work when I visit hospitals and nursing homes throughout Guelph-Wellington. This past week they cared for my father-in-law who was struck down with a heart attack. They are wonderful people and we are lucky to have them.
We have a good health care system. We are facing new realities and we are confronted by old problems but I am confident that the foundations are sound. I know the people of Guelph-Wellington support legislation which promotes the well-being of every Canadian. I know they do not want a society in which the poor, the elderly and those less fortunate cannot get quality health care.
We in Guelph-Wellington are proud of Canada. We are proud of our health care system. There are those in the House who may wish to erode the principles of medicare, but in Guelph-Wellington we refuse to put a price on our health care system. To do so is to ignore our past and to let down our future. We accept the challenges ahead. We want to build on the principles of the Canada Health Act.
Later this month I will meet with members of the Wellington County Medical Society, as I meet with concerned constituents every week who have asked me to protect their health care system. I will tell the members of the society we stand with them and we will not abandon health care in Canada. This is why this legislation needs our support.