Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to my hon. colleague's comments regarding our motion and the health care system.
He talked about the importance of pharmacare, home care and community care. I would be the first to agree that those are very important aspects of our health care system. I am wondering if the hon. member has any comments as to why the government would not have given something very concrete in providing assistance or resources for those areas of concern.
I realize the budget has indicated that further down the road there will be discussions with the provinces around some of these issues. Knowing that the budget was coming up and knowing that health care was the number one priority of Canadians right across the country, I am wondering why we are looking further down the road. Why could there not have been some leadership taken prior to the budget to establish a very clear indication of the resources that would be available to assist provinces with these very important areas of concern?
It sounds as if this is an afterthought, something left hanging out there, something that is up to the provinces to initiate. I would suggest that the federal government has the responsibility to show leadership and make sure there is a good national standard of health care right across the country. Leadership should be taken by the federal government to ensure that those kinds of programs are put in place and are properly resourced.