Mr. Speaker, I lived in Saskatchewan for a period of time. I just recently completed a tour of that province on this issue. It is true that there are problems in Saskatchewan. A number of hospitals were overbuilt in the years of largesse, building up a fairly significant debt structure in Saskatchewan.
Specific to Saskatchewan, it spent more on health care during the time of the cuts. It is closest to the people who are ill and has the most accountability. Every province in Canada but two during the times of reduction found funds by priorizing and cutting funds in other areas.
The part that troubles me most is that there were other choices for the federal Liberals to cut. There were large grants to successful businesses totalling billions of dollars. There was the opportunity to remove regional grants that were choosing areas in which to place money. There were significant areas of spending that were completely useless and easily totalled the $21.4 billion over five years.
How was that cut from health care? It was hidden under the Canada health and social transfer. The public was ready for deficit reduction at almost any cost, until it found out that the cost was our grandmas and our grandpas on waiting lists.
That is why health is now the most important issue and why it is so politically popular to say somebody else will be the scapegoat. The fact of the matter is the public does not care. It does not want to point at anybody. It wants the health care system fixed and that is what we should be expending our efforts doing.