Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a brief comment and put a question to the hon. member with regard to the social transfer.
As the member well knows, under the Canada Health Act the federal government is empowered to enforce the provisions of that. Those provisions are that our medicare is universal, portable, accessible, publicly administered, and comprehensive.
The transfer presently to the provinces with regard to health care is in the form of both tax points and cash. The member will well know from the current example with regard to the clinics in Alberta that the Minister of Health has indicated that in the event that the Alberta government does not respect and uphold those principles of the Canada Health Act there will be a withholding of the cash amounts relative to the extra billing in Alberta.
Under the Canada health and social transfer, the government has combined the transfer mechanisms primarily because of the cash component. In the event that there was no cash component with individual programs, the government would have absolutely no leverage whatsoever to help to protect those standards and those principles of the Canada Health Act and of the other programs.
The member will well know that the provinces do not necessarily spend the moneys transferred to them. Whether it be post-secondary education, health, or social programs, they do not necessarily direct those funds received for the purpose for which they were given. In fact the provinces have the latitude.
Since the provinces are already spending the money in a form they believe is appropriate for their province, how would combining the transfers for all the programs under one impact, if at all, the present operations of the provincial governments?