Mr. Speaker, in the last budget the Minister of Finance put more money into federal transfers for health and education. In the case of Newfoundland, that only slowed the rate of decrease in our transfers. This year Newfoundland received $274 million in these transfers. By the year 2002 the amount will have dropped to $245 million.
As of November there have been 429 cardiac surgeries done in Newfoundland. When asked recently in question period about the 220 cardiac patients on the waiting list at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John's, the Newfoundland Minister of Health said “Unfortunately we have to live within our fiscal means”.
When those means keep decreasing it is possible that some people may not live. I call upon the Minister of Finance to increase transfers for health in his upcoming budget. For some people on the waiting list it will be a matter of life and death.