Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time in this pressing debate with the hon. member for Edmonton—Strathcona.
I rise on behalf of the people of Surrey Central to address the motion of the Bloc Quebecois. Briefly the motion talks about the House recognizing the disastrous impact federal cuts to social transfer payments have had, particularly on health services in Canada, and that the House support the consensus reached by the provincial ministers in Saskatoon on the social union project.
The four principles mentioned in the motion are: to reinstate federal health transfers, to require support of the majority of provinces for new federal initiatives, to provide an opt out option for the provinces, and to provide new mechanisms of co-operation to avoid conflict.
Last week federal-provincial discussions took place to change the way social programs are developed and delivered. Our new Canada act introduced these concepts earlier this year. This indicates that the federal government and the provincial governments are somehow getting their ideas from the official opposition.
The new Canada act unveiled by the official opposition in May 1998 is a proposed blueprint for building a stronger federation in the 21st century. That act incorporates some of the Reform Party's best ideas on strengthening the federation and puts them into a new legislative format. It works on two of the main founding principles of the Reform Party of Canada: reform of the federation and democratic accountability.
The new Canada act outlines how our federation can be transformed into a true partnership between the provinces and the federal government. It balances existing powers, strengthening the federal and provincial governments in several key areas.
The present Liberal government has shown no leadership on one of the most important issues facing the country. When it comes to strengthening our federation, the Liberals have been unable to reach beyond the status quo. Our leader has said that it is our duty as the official opposition to fill this leadership vacuum.
The social union discussion on the weekend was the first where Quebec was a participant and not just an observer. It makes me proud that the new Canada act introduced by our worthy leader with a true vision of Canada is an alternative that federalists as well as separatists will embrace. Therefore I will be voting to support this motion.
I remind the House that the Liberal government has been making massive cuts to transfer payments to the provinces, amounting to about $6 billion or 23%. This has completely destabilized the social safety net. As a result it has placed greater pressure on provincial governments. It has forced cuts in hospitals, medical staff and pharmacare programs. All the while the Prime Minister and the finance minister, the prime minister wannabe, shed crocodile tears and pose as the champions of medicare. Our health care is suffering. Just yesterday the old Calgary General Hospital building was demolished.
Cuts to health care by this Liberal government have affected the delivery of health services in Surrey Memorial Hospital in my constituency. Patients have even died due to lack of adequate equipment and services. All schools, hospitals and medical or health care facilities across Canada have been hurt by the government's efforts to balance the federal budget.
The Liberals have not reduced or eliminated waste and duplication in government spending. Immediately upon balancing the federal budget, the government announced new spending initiatives.
It is important to emphasize that the Liberals balanced the budget by raising taxes. They did it on the backs of Canadian taxpayers. They did it by giving Canadians the highest tax burden in the G-7 countries. Nothing is sacred. The Liberal finance minister is eagerly and desperately searching for a way to take and spend the $20 billion employment insurance surplus. I warn the Liberals that Canadians will not stand for that.
Surrey Memorial Hospital is supposed to be providing hospital services for our community. Many people in Surrey Central tell me about the long waiting time, sometimes one to five hours, in the emergency ward. The situation is so bad that many of the people I talk to say they will go to a hospital in Vancouver if they need emergency medical attention.
Surrey is probably the fastest growing city in Canada. Our hospital services have not kept pace with our growth but the cold-hearted finance minister, the legal-talking lawyer health minister and the know nothing Prime Minister do not care about that.
We do not have a health care system in Canada. We have a sickness care system. The system does not help you stay healthy or get healthy; the system only serves you if you are already sick.
Turning to the question of the House supporting the consensus on a social union project reached by the provincial ministers in Saskatoon, we know that the only stumbling block to support for the project is the Prime Minister. The provinces want to limit the federal government's power to launch new programs in areas of provincial jurisdiction, such as health and education, without their support. They want better collaboration in launching new social programs and rules established in the event that collaboration fails.
This desire to establish rules is magnified because of concerns about remarks made by our Prime Minister last month. His willingness to give up some control over social programs was not made clear. His remarks in an interview claimed that “if the premiers do not want to take what I am offering, they take nothing”. This is completely unacceptable. The Prime Minister prefers fighting the old battles and maintaining divisions rather than bringing people together. No one is free to disagree with the Prime Minister. If you do, you will get fired or pepper sprayed.
Reinstating federal health transfers has been a Reform Party policy for at least as long as the Liberals have been cutting the transfers. In our fresh start platform we promised $4 billion more for health and education. We would have gone through our federal government's expenditures department by department, program by program, and if necessary, desk by desk to reduce and eliminate wasteful spending and duplication of work. On the contrary, Liberals preferred to fund the old pork barrel programs and sometimes invent new ones like the millennium scholarship fund. As the government we could find taxpayers' money to redirect to health and education.
Again, requiring the support of the majority of the provinces before starting new federal initiatives that are under provincial jurisdiction is a proposal found in the new Canada Act. Why would we want our federal government to implement a program that six of the provinces did not want? The new Canada Act calls for the federal government to have the support of seven provinces and 50% of the population before foisting a program on all of us and forcing taxpayers to finance it.
The Bloc motion also asks the House to support providing an opt out option for provinces with full compensation from new or modified federal social programs in the provinces' jurisdiction when that province offers a program or initiates a project in the same field of activity. The new Canada Act that the Reform Party is promoting offers an unconditional opt out clause.
The Bloc asks us to support providing new mechanisms of co-operation to avoid conflicts to deal with them fairly. No room for pepper spray here. I presume the Prime Minister will not be able to support this one. This is a well-known legal tool used to reduce levels of conflict. The goal is to replace the adversarial system of conflict and dispute resolution with a more co-operative system. Arbitration can protect both sides in a dispute.
I will be happy to support this motion. As hon. members know, the Liberals have been sneakily recycling our ideas and the other opposition parties have been learning from us as well. Now the Bloc has shown some interest in us.
I am proud of my leader and Canadians will be proud when he is the next Prime Minister of Canada.