Mr. Speaker, I think we have a better idea today why the health minister's response to the Alberta privatization initiative has been so pathetically weak and timid.
Today the auditor general reports that the government has no idea whether or not the provinces are complying with the Canada Health Act. The health minister has no idea and no way of knowing if the provinces are playing within the rules governing health care. He does not know how much money is going to the provinces, where it is going and what impact it is having.
Is it not time for the minister to seize control over his department so that he can get on with his full time job of protecting health care for Canadians?