Mr. Speaker, I enjoy the debates of my colleagues, both in the House and in the medical profession.
I would first like to say that patients come first as far as our health care system is concerned, but profit, never. When the member made the comment that not a penny was coming from the public purse for private health care, I must remind him that when a profit institution exists through our tax system, some money does come from the public purse.
Second, he said that doctors have gone to the United States. I must say that it has been my privilege to have trained in the United States and decided to be a Canadian. Just because we have an excellent medicare system it does mean that we have to settle for the status quo? Of course not.
The Minister of Health has made it clear that we have to go forward and institute meaningful reform. What he said earlier this afternoon was that money alone, important as it is, was not the only means for a solution. He said that we must have leadership and that leadership means we must have ideas, vision, planning and good management.
I was surprised that the member debating did not consider the option in his debate that we can reform the health care system and make it even better without creating a parallel private system. For example, we can have a national health information system. We can re-orient our practice guidelines.
I ask the member opposite if his party is opposed to the CHST transfer. Is he committed to a full privatization if he believes that this is so good?