Mr. Speaker, as the member who posed the question, I too feel offended by the way in which the Reform Party critic has portrayed his position to the public across Canada today.
I think, as I said before, that this is a clever disguise or a clever ruse for fooling the public, because the record speaks for itself. The Reform Party has time and time again been on the record saying that what this country needs is a parallel, private, for profit system, that what this country needs is a two tier approach to health care, that what this country needs is an avenue by which those who have the money can pay for the services that they need. It says this without addressing what happens to the universality of our system and without addressing the long term effects on comprehensiveness and accessibility.
I think it is appropriate that on the very day that we are discussing this issue and hearing that kind of doublespeak from the Reform Party that we look back to the architects of the Canada Health Act, Monique Bégin, Tom Kent and the daughter of Tommy Douglas, Shirley Douglas, all of whom are speaking out on this issue. In fact, as we speak a press conference is being held with some of those architects who are very, very concerned about Ralph Klein's proposal, very concerned about Reform's position and in fact have said that medicare, based on equal access to comprehensive care, will barely survive the beginning of the new millennium without dramatic corrective action on the part of the federal government.
First, the federal government must intervene immediately and stop the Klein government from contracting with for profit hospitals.
Second, the money cut from the federal transfer payments must be restored for investment in the public health system.
Third, the federal government must exclude health and social services from all trade agreements.
The architects of the Canada Health Act believe that the kind of proposal we are hearing from the Reform Party would be absolutely contrary to the principles of the act, would be a fundamental shift away from medicare as we know it today and would end up costing Canadians much more down the road.
I am glad to see that the Conservative critic for health care is with us on this one and we look forward to pursuing a consolidated, united position, holding the federal government to account and demanding that federal transfers increase and that we preserve the principles of medicare.