Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows perfectly well that there is no evidence to show that a private health care system is cheaper. The evidence we have seen from around the world shows the administrative costs in a public system are at 9%. In a private system the costs are at 25%.
My major concern is that human beings, the physicians and the caregivers, are seduced to the private system, which makes the public system waiting lists longer.
I have another concern about the private system. My experience is with the tiny ones that exist in Toronto. What happens after hours in private hospitals? Who looks after the complications? The patients go straight back into the public system with even less accountability.
I think we want a system that is properly organized, not one that will actually allow doctors to be seduced into a private system with no accountability. In a for profit system the administration costs go up for some reason.