House of Commons Hansard #227 of the 36th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was health.
Paul Crête Bloc Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Mr. Speaker, recently a Quebec minister tendered her resignation because she felt responsibility for an error committed as the result of bad advice from her department. As for the Minister of Human Resources Development, he has gone against a law of parliament in order to prevent directives that would have disastrous repercussions for him from becoming known.
Given the principle of ministerial accountability, what choice does the Minister of Human Resources Development have left?
Minister Of Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period
Papineau—Saint-Denis Québec
Liberal
Pierre Pettigrew LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, I see the hon. member for Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques is resorting to humour today, or maybe it is just his usual bad temper showing through. I do not understand where there can be any parallel between what he is referring to and the situation today.
The journalists have been provided with the documents they requested. The only problem is that there was a regrettable delay because we have twice as many requests as last year. We need to take steps to remedy this. We are going to do just that.
Paul Crête Bloc Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Mr. Speaker, the letter from the information commissioner is clear. The minister's office put his interests before those of the requesting parties and has defied the law all this time. This is totally unacceptable.
On behalf of the unemployed people who have been harassed, on behalf of the MPs who have been refused information, and on behalf of the law that has been broken, I am asking the minister to take the only appropriate step under the circumstances: resignation.
Minister Of Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period
Papineau—Saint-Denis Québec
Liberal
Pierre Pettigrew LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, one would think we were back in a referendum campaign.
Minister Of Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period
The Speaker
Order, please. The hon. Minister of Human Resources Development.
Pierre Pettigrew Liberal Papineau—Saint-Denis, QC
Mr. Speaker, honestly, I have trouble taking this seriously, but I shall try.
We are being told again that there are employment insurance quotas, when that is totally false. What is more, my office has never deliberately delayed providing information. There was a regrettable delay and we have taken corrective measures.
But the Bloc Quebecois, the branch plant of the Parti Quebecois, might perhaps have a look at what is going on in the Government of Quebec. We saw to social insurance. There was a target of $100 million and the same sort of investigation came up with $112 million.
Grant Hill Reform Macleod, AB
Mr. Speaker, one excuse the government uses to justify the high taxes in our country is medicare. The U.S. government spends more on its public medicaid and medicare system per person than does the Canadian government; in fact, $800 per person more.
With taxes in Canada so high, why is medicare spending so low?
Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, one of the reasons that the Americans spend so much money on health care is that their system is so inefficient compared to ours.
We have just announced that over the next five years we are putting an additional $11.5 billion into the hands of provinces and they have promised to use it for health care.
We believe in medicare, unlike the Reform Party that would repeal the Canada Health Act and take the American route. If the hon. member does not like the American system, why is he arguing in favour of it?
Grant Hill Reform Macleod, AB
Mr. Speaker, there is another example of Liberal math. While he was telling us that the government is putting $11 billion back into medicare, he quietly forgot to say that the government took $21 billion out five years before. That is Liberal math, is it not?
This is not just an academic exercise. What has it done to Canadians? MRI is very valuable to health care. Here is what a radiologist said about our MRI, “The big shocker is that when Canada is compared to other countries in terms of MRIs per capita, we rank at the bottom”.
With taxes in Canada so high, why is medicare spending so low?
Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, the money we have given the provinces should help them address their responsibilities when it comes to MRIs.
This is not an issue of dollars for the Reform Party. It is not an issue of technicalities. It is an issue of policy and philosophy for that party. It does not agree with Canada in our approach to medicare. It does not agree with the Canada Health Act. It does not agree with the equity of making health care available to everybody regardless of what they have in their wallets. It takes a different approach.
We will never agree with the Reform Party and their American style approach to medicare.
Daniel Turp Bloc Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC
Mr. Speaker, today, UNHCR appealed to the international community to honour its financial commitments and hand over the $66 million promised but not yet forwarded by the end of May.
Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs tell us whether Canada has given UNCHR the $5 million promised and whether it undertakes to hand over before May 31 the additional $20 million it promised UNCHR on April 22?
Diane Marleau LiberalMinister for International Cooperation and Minister responsible for Francophonie
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada always honours its commitments. We have already forwarded the money promised.
Daniel Turp Bloc Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC
Mr. Speaker, information I obtained only today does not make it clear whether or not the government has handed over the $5 million.
Did the government hand over the $5 million to UNCHR and, if not, is there not a credibility problem when a NATO member does not give UNCHR the money it has promised?
Diane Marleau LiberalMinister for International Cooperation and Minister responsible for Francophonie
Mr. Speaker, we have delivered the money, but let us remember that many countries taking part have made grand promises that they have not kept. Pressure must be brought to bear of these countries.
Reed Elley Reform Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals like to say that health care is part of the basic fabric of Canada. We now see how the Liberals treat the basic fabric. They ripped $21.4 billion out of the cloth and it is full of moth holes now. In spite of the $800 more per person that the U.S. spends on public health care, American taxes are 30% lower than in Canada.
When is the government going to get off its big fat budget surplus and put the Canadian health care system back on the road to recovery?
Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, just two months ago the government announced that it is increasing by $11.5 billion over the next five years the amount of money available to the provinces for health care. Just two months ago we announced our plans to spend $1.4 billion ourselves on areas like health research, early intervention with children to prevent illness and improving health for aboriginal and first nations throughout this country.
We know where the Reform Party stands. Reform would rip up the Canada Health Act, turn its back on public health care and opt for an American style model. We believe that health care is part of the fabric of this country.
Reed Elley Reform Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC
Mr. Speaker, I have a brother who would love to have the Minister of Health in his math class. This is math from the Liberal perspective.
The numbers are real. The government took $21.4 billion out of health care. It is going to put back $11.5 billion and it is telling Canadians to be thankful.
The U.S. government spends more per person on public health than the Canadian government. That is a fact. Canadian taxpayers pay over 30% more in taxes than their American counterparts. What do Canadians have to show for it? Waiting lists, delayed surgery, staffing shortages and the declining health of thousands of people. Thank you very little, Mr. Health Minister.
When will the government begin to act responsibly—
Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member seems to like his sums today, so let us try a number on him which maybe he does not know. The member apparently likes the American system of health care. The member did not mention that over 100 million Americans do not have medical insurance because they cannot afford it. The member did not mention that there are tens of millions of working American families who worry that one day they are going to have to choose between their health and their homes.
If the hon. member likes that system, then he is free to go and join them. I will tell him one thing, we will never opt for the American style of health care.
Francine Lalonde Bloc Mercier, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Copyright Board cannot validly sit according to the Official Languages Act to hear the important case involving the representatives of the French language musicians and the cassette producers, because the Minister of Industry has taken so long to appoint French speaking commissioners.
When will the Minister of Industry facilitate the operation of this board, created through the struggles of authors, composers and interpreters?
John Manley LiberalMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, I would say to the member that the hearings of this agency were not delayed by the fact that there were not enough members. However, I will be appointing other members and a deputy chair soon.
Gurbax Malhi Liberal Bramalea—Gore—Malton, ON
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Transport.
About one million vehicles are affected by recalls every year due to a variety of safety concerns. What will the minister do to get this important information to vehicle dealers and owners more quickly?
Stan Dromisky LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question because it deals with an issue that is of concern to everyone who owns a vehicle in this country.
Transport Canada's first priority is safety. As a result, when a vehicle manufacturer or importer becomes aware of a safety related defect they are required under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act to notify the Department of Transport and to notify in writing each owner of the affected vehicles. Past experience shows us that this really works effectively.
In addition, the Department of Transport mails out a monthly list for recalls to subscribers. I would also like to notify everyone that they can find this information on the web, by inputting the make of the vehicle, the model and the year.