Mr. Speaker, I am standing in this evening for the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health, as my colleague was unable to be with us this evening.
On February 28, budget day, the Government of Canada announced a $2.5 billion increase to the Canada health and social transfer for provinces and territories to be used over four years for health and post-secondary education. Let us not forget that this $2.5 billion increase follows the largest single investment in this government's history made through the previous budget, an $11.5 billion increase in funding over five years specifically for health.
In 2000-01 the CHST will reach a new high of close to $31 billion. Of this amount $15.3 billion will be in the form of tax transfers and $15.5 billion in the form of cash transfers. The bottom line is that the federal government spends in excess of 31 cents of every public health care dollar spent by governments in Canada. That is clearly more than 7 cents or 13 cents, as some provinces and the opposition claim.
Let us review the facts. It is projected that governments will spend—not individuals, but governments—$64 billion on public health care this fiscal year. Federal direct funding combined with CHST health spending means that about $20 billion out of next year's projected $64 billion in public health care spending, or 31 cents on the dollar, will be financed by the Government of Canada.
In fact if we factor in the $9.5 billion that the federal government will transfer to the less prosperous provinces and territories to invest in health care and other priorities, total federal transfers in 2000-01 will reach $40.6 billion.
All told, Government of Canada spending clearly exceeds 31 cents on the dollar. Let me emphasize, as the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance have said, that if more money is needed to ensure accessible and sustainable high quality health care for the 21st century, the Government of Canada will be there.