Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member for Winnipeg St. James does not understand how competition works, then I would propose that he is the one who is under complete and absolute illusion.
I will refer to the point made earlier by the member for Beaver River in talking about health care and will use the point of the member for Winnipeg St. James who is a government member. Why are members of Parliament entitled to a benefit under the public service health care plan that costs us absolutely nothing yet all other members of the plan, be they civil servants, have to pay $10.35 a month as family members? That is the first of this two-tier system which is creeping in.
Not only that, the member for Ontario has told us that dental services are not covered under health care. Why not? Why would people not want to have dental plans if they want to have their health plans? Because the country cannot afford it. We must realize that there will be abuse of the system unless there is a fee for use, however small.
I will finish on the last point the hon. member made. The member for Winnipeg St. James may think that one single insurer, be it the government, is the most efficient way to run a program. I am sorry but I think he does not understand the first simple fact about economics which realizes that competition gives the best quality and the best service at the lowest price. That is the point.