Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to address this motion put before us by the hon. leader of the Reform Party:
That this House recognize that since the inception of our national health care system the federal share of funding for health care in Canada has fallen from 50 per cent to 23 per cent and therefore the House urges the government to consult with the provinces and other stakeholders to determine core services to be completely funded by the federal and provincial governments and non-core services where private insurance and the benefactors of the services might play a supplementary role.
I hasten to say that by laying out his party's true agenda for health care in Canada, the leader of the Reform Party has dispelled any doubt that his party stands against medicare as we know it today with its five principles of universality, accessibility, comprehensiveness, portability and public non-profit administration.
So many times in the House we have heard members opposite insist they support medicare. What we have in this motion is the Reform Party's advocacy for a multi-tier health system, one standard for the rich and one standard for the poor.
His motion proposes governments get together with stakeholders to determine core services and non-core services. The member further proposes that only core services be completely funded by governments, while non-core services be left to patients who, in the Reform Party vision, should pay out of pocket for supplementary health insurance.