Mr. Speaker, I listened very carefully to the speech of the Reform Party member. Sublauses 4(1) and 4(2) of Bill C-18 give the minister extended powers to act in every area related to the promotion and the preservation of the heath of Canadians.
These two provisions give the federal government the authority to interfere in an area which comes under the exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces. As everyone knows, when the federal government gets involved in areas of provincial jurisdiction, it is very costly and it results in waste.
For example, the national forum on health, which the government decided to hold without the provinces' participation, is a useless effort, precisely because the provinces are not participating in it. I want to ask the hon. member what she thinks of these two provisions which grant extended authority to the minister. As I said, this is a source of waste which we cannot afford right now.