Mr. Speaker, certainly the major points that I think need to be made were made by the member for Medicine Hat and the member for Calgary Southeast. However, I cannot help but comment on what the last member, the member for Palliser, mentioned when he said that Saskatchewan was one of the few places that had put all its money back into health care.
My mother happens to live in Saskatchewan. I left Saskatchewan around the medicare issue. Certainly the complaints I have heard on returning to Saskatchewan indicate something quite different from what the hon. member just told the House.
The key issue is the fact that the federal government has cut 30% plus from health care transfers to the provinces. While it has done that it has kind of hid under a rock when it comes to taking any credit for the cuts in health care and has left it totally to the provinces to bear. I will not say whose responsibility that is, but Canadians should be aware of the fact that this federal government cut those massive amounts of dollars.
The reality we need to be aware of—and certainly they tell us this every time we meet—is that our constituents are extremely concerned about health care. They want the very best of health care for themselves and their families. We would be missing the boat if we did not take that message to heart and did not seriously look at what we should be doing to maintain and improve our health care system.
No matter whom we talk to, they would agree that the health care system was in desperate need of reform. There were too many hospitals. There were too many duplications of services, too many boards and too many extremes in the health care system. It did need some major reform.
The bottom line is that in creating that system the people closest to the system know what they want. They know the standards they want and they should be the ones to make that determination.
We had better get on record as mentioning that the biggest threat to our health care and our social programs is the $45 billion interest payment we waste every year. While we will spend $12 billion plus on health care this year, we will spend $14 billion on education and $22 billion on pensions. We do not get any services for the $45 billion in interest payments. Until the government recognizes and deals with that we will not solve that social problem.
We must also look at how to fix the health care system. The bottom line is not that we spend more money. We need to reorganize our spending and all the waste that occurs in Ottawa. That would provide lots of money to fix the health care system.
I would propose to the House and to the provincial governments that would be delivering this service that they involve health care providers.
On a fairly frequent basis I meet with nurses in my constituency who tell me the sorts of things that are wrong with the health care system. They know as they are delivering that service on a daily basis. I also meet with doctors in the constituency. They know exactly what is wrong and exactly what needs to be fixed. The most important people of all, the grassroots people, also know what they want and what they want the health care system to deliver.
Rather than asking the federal government to do this, we should let health care givers as well as the people receiving the service be involved.
The feds cannot expect to control the health care system when it gives less than 20% of the funds. They cannot control the system if they do not provide the money. It is a matter of put up or shut up and a matter of opposing this amendment because we do not need more federal involvement. We need to get the provinces and the people receiving the service involved.
In conclusion, health care is the number one issue. I think all of us agree with that. Getting the very best health care is what we should be concerned about. In terms of who can deliver that, I am putting to this House that it is the actual care givers in the community, the provincial responsibility and the people who are getting the service who will make it all happen.