Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I take part in this debate on the motion brought forward by our colleague from the Progressive Conservative Party.
However, I must say that I am somewhat uncomfortable with the wording of the motion. First of all, I must say that we, in the Bloc Quebecois, recognize that the issue of health should be of concern to all parliamentarians. I will have the opportunity to get back to that later on. There are many factors which prompt us to wonder how services will be delivered and how the health system will be structured in the future.
However, the wording of the motion brought forward by the Progressive Conservative Party suggests that it is the responsibility of parliament to propose a national plan for our health care system. I think that is a mistake.
Like all my colleagues in the Bloc Quebecois, I would have been more comfortable with a motion asking that transfer payments be restored to their 1993-1994 level. Everyone knows that, to all intents and purposes, money that was supposed to go to the provinces was taken from them without their permission.
As mentioned many times by our colleague from Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, our finance critic, these funds to which the provinces were entitled but which they did not get total $33 billion.
Since the first health cuts in 1993-1994, Quebec alone has had to make up for a $6.5 billion shortfall.