Madam Speaker, the minister concluded her remarks by expressing her desire to co-operate, collaborate and work with the provinces, and we applaud that. That is constitutionally correct and is the only way the system will be fixed.
However in the course of her remarks she used an unfortunate phrase. I trust it was a slip of the tongue when she asked rhetorically how we can coerce the provinces into national standards if we do not retain the present system.
Surely the minister is aware that she is losing her capacity to coerce the provinces as federal cash transfers decline. She is also aware that it is possible to have national standards without coercion as we have, for example, in the field of education where there is the universal standard that everyone under 16 years of age gets a free education. That was established as a national standard without any national education act or coercion on the part of the federal government.
This talk of coercing the provinces into national standards as her financial position weakens is completely contrary to the spirit of federalism and what she said later on. I should like to give the minister an opportunity to withdraw that statement and indicate that she did not mean in any way, shape or form to say she favours coercion of the provinces, which is a polite word for blackmail, into national health care standards.