Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Toronto Centre—Rosedale.
The residents of Waterloo—Wellington have gratefully received the throne speech and what it entails. That bodes well for us as a government and certainly as Canadians. That is important to note. I also thank my colleague, the hon. member for Windsor—St. Clair, for moving the Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne and the hon. member for Laval West for seconding it.
I extend my congratulations to Her Excellency the Governor General for being installed in that prestigious position. It is one which the residents of Waterloo—Wellington think is a great position for her. We are grateful for that.
I want to look at some of the health care provisions provided in the throne speech. The government continues to be deeply committed to a universal and publicly administered health care system that delivers the highest quality health care to all Canadians, no matter where they live in this great country of ours. As reiterated in the Speech from Throne on October 12, good health and quality care are essential to the well-being of all Canadians.
The measures announced in the 1999 federal budget will improve access to quality care and help restore the confidence of Canadians in the future of medicare, but a high quality health care system depends on more than money. It requires adjustments in the way health care is organized and delivered.
At their meeting in September 1999 in Charlottetown, health ministers from all Canadian provinces and territories underlined access to quality care and its link to an appropriate supply, deployment and distribution of highly qualified health professionals. Those ministers agreed to continue to work collaboratively on health resources and the human resources necessary in planning, having noted concrete progress in this area. That is also important to note.
The throne speech puts further emphasis on the government's connectedness agenda to ensure that Canada is economically competitive in a global marketplace and to improve the quality of life of Canadians. Investments in the health infrastructure have an important role to play in this regard.
As we have noted, a modern health information system will give health professionals and individual citizens improved access to up to date information about health issues and treatment options. The government will ensure that citizens in every region of this great country have access to such information so that they too can make better informed decisions.
As part of the government's plan to improve Canada's information infrastructure, the government will reintroduce legislation to protect personal and business information in the digital world. The reintroduction of the bill, formerly Bill C-54, will have some impact on the development of the health infrastructure. Examples will include that Canada's privacy concerns are protected.
The government's intention to build on the personal gateway project to the government information and community content, www.access.ca, could tie into the health infrastructure initiatives such as a Canadian Health Network.
In addition, the government's five year plan for improving physical infrastructure includes telecommunication in health. The government will also take steps to modernize overall health protection for a changing world. Investments in the health protection branch national health surveillance infrastructure will be part of this modernization process. That too is important.
The government will also continue to address the serious health problems in aboriginal communities, for example, supporting their efforts to promote wellness and to strengthen the delivery of health services for them. The first nations health information system can help achieve this objective in a very meaningful way.
The government announced in last February's budget that it was providing $328 million over three years to start building a truly national network of information about health and health services to strengthen the health care system and make it more accountable to Canadians. All these measures are important to Canadians as core values for all of us.
Let me turn my attention to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research which are important vehicles. It will fund health research that will improve the quality of life and health of Canadians and lead to more effective health products and services and will result in the strengthening of the Canadian health care system. It will offer unique opportunities for economic development in the knowledge based economy. This initiative came from the research community which has been working closely with health officials to develop the design and structure of the CIHR.
The CIHR will integrate the wide range of approaches to health research under a single umbrella organization, providing co-ordination and support for these efforts based on a shared health research agenda. Biomedical scientists will work collaboratively with clinic researchers; researchers specializing in health services and systems; and researchers working on the health of populations, societal and cultural dimensions of health and environmental influences on health.
The CIHR will be a truly national institution, breaking down traditional barriers between disparate research sectors and different research agencies. It will establish strong, co-operative partnerships among researchers, research funders in federal, provincial and territorial governments, voluntary health organizations in the private sector and users of health research in general.
Virtual health research institutes will link researchers working on a common theme. These institutes will be guided by a strong ethical framework and will adopt integrated multidisciplinary approaches to health research as a whole. The CIHR will provide opportunities and support for Canadian scientists to participate in international collaborations for the benefit of all Canadians, no matter where they live and within the wider global community as well.
In the budget last February the government gave $50 million a year for three years to the granting councils to work toward the objectives of the CIHR. The impact of this new funding has already been felt in the research community. I look forward to the CIHR bill being introduced this fall.
I will now turn briefly to a discussion of the Canada health and social transfer, the CHST. In the budget of 1999 the Government of Canada announced an investment of $11.5 billion over five years in health care. This was the single largest new investment the government ever made. The increase in the CHST cash from the previous 1999 budget level of $12.5 billion to $15 billion by 2001-02 takes what is regarded as the health component of the CHST to as high a level as it was before the period of expenditure restraint in the mid-1990s.
The budget of 1999 also dealt with the issue of equitable distribution of the CHST to provinces and territories. By 2001-02, CHST entitlements will be distributed on an equal per capita basis. As a result provinces and territories will receive $985 per capita in CHST entitlements by the year 2003-04. This increase clearly demonstrates the government's determination to work with all our partners to provide the absolutely best health care possible to all our citizens.
The Speech from the Throne reaffirmed the government's commitment to move forward with our partners in the health care community on a common priority and common front. They include supporting the testing of innovations in integrated service areas such as home care and pharmacare, ensuring that citizens in every region of the country have improved access to up to date information about health issues and treatment options through the modern health information system so that they can make good choices.
All this underscores what we are up to as a government in terms of the throne speech and the vision that will take us into the 21st century. It is important to note that as we march confidently into the 21st century we do so by linking arms with all Canadians and not, as some would have us do, by leaving some Canadians behind.
Let us as a government on behalf of all Canadians keep our focus on the opportunities of the future in the 21st century and not on the grievances of the past. In the spirit of co-operation, fairness and equity that is precisely what we as a government are doing. We are doing it with vision, foresight and compassion.