Madam Speaker, I do not want to look to the past but to the future concerning the workability of the Canada Health Act and whether it is the provinces or Canadians who look to the care of their health system.
I have talked to health professionals in my riding and they are wondering how certain services will be addressed. I suppose we could get into debate. Do Canadians want unlimited access and attention for any or all complaints or health concerns, a system that gives service to all the people all of the time? Do they want long waiting periods? These kinds of things from the citizens of Canada are coming to provincial and federal tables to be addressed. What we see is a system which will not be able to answer these things in future years.
I know of men and women facing uncertainty. They are waiting for tests to determine the extent of an undiagnosed situation, perhaps cancer. They have sleepless nights. Seniors are waiting for months with a decreased ability to walk or breathe while they wait for operations.
I do not see how the government can say the present system will continue to work with decreased funding to the provinces with inflexible guidelines which will not allow caregivers to give the care needed by Canadians.