Mr. Speaker, I was summarizing the fact that the Liberals are the ones who have destroyed the Canada Health Act. They are the ones who have destroyed the accessibility, portability, comprehensiveness and universality of the health care program. They are the Kevorkians of health care.
What are the solutions? One solution is obviously that of funding. There is a need to return that funding. Over the 10 year period from 1993 to 2004 the Liberals have cut $36 billion from health care. We need co-operation between the provincial and federal governments, not using the axe as a hammer and not staying with the socialized state run health care system which was good in the 1960s but is not good in the 21st century.
We only have to look at today's newspapers to see what the government is doing with the provinces. Whether it is the health minister and his drive-by smear or the Prime Minister promising the status quo on health care, over and over again there is the attack on the provinces.
We are 23rd out of the 29 OECD countries when it comes to technology. Germany, Sweden and other countries have looked at new and modern methods of surgery. They are putting us in the dark ages in comparison. One only has to visit hospitals across the country to find that out.
We need to stop scaring people and stop using emotion. We need to stop threatening two tier U.S. for profit health care. Everybody is opposed to it. Let us make that clear and stop scaring seniors in particular.
Let us talk about the waiting lists. Let us talk about technology and the shortage of specialists. Let us talk about the brain drain. Let us talk about what we are going to do about long term care patients and the fact that one in ten Canadians today are over 65. In 25 years one in five Canadians will be over the age of 65. These are the real problems which members should be talking about and for which we should be trying to find solutions in co-operation with the provinces instead of constantly hammering the provinces.
We need to fix the Canada Health Act. We need to talk about clarifying the role of the provinces and the role of the federal government. This has to be looked at with an intelligent approach, not based strictly on emotion but based on an unsustainable system where the status quo is not acceptable.
We need a results based health care system, one that is centred around the patient. We need patient centred health care where we worry more about the patient than we worry about the system. If we start from this grassroots basis we will deliver a health care system people will be happy with.
Above all we have to encourage provinces to try pilot projects. Maybe Bill 11 in Alberta is not the answer. At least the federal government should want to try new things as pilot projects and not threaten the provinces to cut off the funding. We cannot smear the provincial governments. It is not the way to build co-operation.
I ask the government to stop playing politics with our health care system. Let us find some solutions.