Mr. Speaker, in an article that appeared in the Quebec media, former Senator Claude Castonguay, the father of health insurance in Quebec and former health minister, gave a very clear analysis of the state of our health care system and the future of the system.
According to Mr. Castonguay, the federal government's withdrawal from health care funding is a major threat to the survival of our health care system.
Still according to Mr. Castonguay, despite this withdrawal, the federal government continues to act like an inflexible regulatory agency and dogmatically enforces the standards of the system. By calling the shots without sharing the costs, the federal government puts the provinces in an almost impossible situation. To us, it is clear that the only way to guarantee the
survival of our health care system is for the federal government to withdraw, with full financial compensation for the provinces.
The Bloc Quebecois continues to say, loud and clear, that the provinces have exclusive jurisdiction over health care.