Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to question my learned colleague from St. Albert.
Where are these great waiting lists the member talked about? Who are the thousands of people who have gone to the United States in search of services? I have one of the largest ridings in the country. I do not have these large numbers telling me about this. On the contrary, I hear a lot of people complaining about the provincial government and the way it administers services.
It is interesting that the hon. member used the Fraser Institute to support some of his information. Really, that is the Pravda of the political right in this country.
While I agree with some of the comments the hon. member made with respect to the home care issue, I would hope he would take the time to read the Canada Health Act. Under the Canada Health Act our requirement is only to deal with hospital services and MD services. If we want to talk about the home care issue, we have to go beyond the act. Therefore, he is really speaking out of context.
All the provinces, including Alberta where the member comes from, support the five principles. It is interesting that the comment has been made that the province is not in agreement and in particular that the member is not in agreement with the five principles. Could he tell us which part of the five principles he or the Reform Party is prepared to abandon? I presume he is speaking on behalf of the Reform Party since he is a member of that party.
I also want to point out to the hon. member that when we compare ourselves to the United States where competition and market forces exist, 39 million people in the U.S. have absolutely no protection and are in no position to get sick. Another 39 million in that same jurisdiction where this great aura of competition exists are also underinsured.
Does the position the member has taken here today really deal with whether or not members of his party are prepared to understand the full implication of what they are lamenting here today? Before the hon. member answers that question, there are some other examples which I think have to be taken into account.
Dental services are not covered in Canada. Most people will not go to a dentist to get necessary treatment because they are concerned about the possible costs being assigned to them.