Mr. Speaker, there is a crisis in health care and the blame for that can be laid right at the door of the government and specifically the health minister. The government has had seven years to do something, seven years with not one single idea. If that is not frightening in itself, just consider this. If the Liberals stay in power until 2004, and hopefully they will not, but if they do, the Liberal government will have surgically removed $30 billion from health care alone.
Given the fact that Ralph Klein and other premiers have had to scramble, the question would be why not? They have had no choice. Funding has been drastically reduced to the point where the provinces are going to have to make up the shortfall. The government has created this crisis.
The approach by the government has been ad hoc, making it up as it goes along. The Liberal government has never had a plan and it has been going on seven years without a plan. The health minister should consider calling a national symposium on health care with all of the stakeholders in one room. It should include health care professionals, caregivers and doctors along with the first ministers, the health ministers and most important, the Prime Minister. Why has that not been done? The government has conveniently blamed the provinces for the past seven years. That approach is not going to work. It is going to cost the Liberal Party its power. Canadians are not going to take any more. It reminds me of the famous phrase, no ideas, no votes. The government is devoid of ideas in the health care field.
The federal government has violated the five principles of the Canada Health Act not to mention what the provincial governments have done. Just to remind the health minister, the five principles are a system that is accessible, universal, comprehensive, portable and publicly funded. If the system is not publicly funded as it has to be by the federal government, what choice do the provinces have? The answer is simply no choice.
I want to read into the record a couple of questions that my leader, Joe Clark, had on this issue. These drive the point home quite well. Why does the Liberal government not restore the health care funding that was taken away without consultation right now? Why does the Liberal government not restore the stability of funding so that hospitals and health care professionals and provinces can plan with some certainty?
Our party and our leader suggest that we need a sixth principle in health care which would be stable, long term, sustainable funding so the provinces know where they are going and what they can do. Making it up as we go along is simply not good enough. We are asking for leadership on this issue. We have had absolutely no leadership from the minister or the government.
I read the minister's statement. What has he come up with? A paltry $4 million for what is now called health care police. The government is going to spend $4 million to peek around the corners, lift up the carpets and find out what is going on within the hospital system. Is that the best the government can do after seven years? It is not good enough. I am suggesting that the government immediately call together all the principal stakeholders in the health care field and get to work to come up with a long term sustainable plan.
The government has basically taken $30 billion out of the system and downloaded it on the backs of the taxpayer. At the end of the day where does that money go? What is done with it? Where is the shortfall? Is it ever used? Does it show up? Of course it does. The Liberals are bragging about balancing the books, fiscal responsibility. It is fiscal responsibility on the backs of the taxpayers. The government has no plan.
The U.S. system scares the heck out of Canadians and that system is the way our system is headed if the Liberals stay in power. The U.S. system is fueled by two things: litigation and insurance companies. We do not want to see that happen here. Unfortunately if the minister stays in his present job and the Liberal government stays in power, that is exactly where we are headed.
The provinces are scrambling to make up the difference. Examine everything that has happened in Alberta and all the other provinces. Incidentally, Alberta is not alone in this. In my home province of New Brunswick, the private sector accounts for about 35% of all spending. In Alberta it is slightly less than that. The problem is not isolated in Alberta alone. It affects all provinces and jurisdictions simply because the federal government has refused to act on the number one issue or the number one challenge in the minds of all Canadians. Young or old, we are all suggesting that the federal government can do more.
The underlying theme to our position is let us see the plan. The Liberals have been here for seven years. The backbenchers love to yak, but they are devoid of ideas themselves. They are nothing more than lapdogs to the minister who has consistently done nothing about this problem. If they have something constructive to say, then they should get up on their hind legs and let us hear them. They have not done a single thing. They are nothing more than the peanut gallery. They are trained seals who prop up the health minister whenever he needs it. Today is no exception. Let them come across and we will give them some ideas. Let them be brave enough to stand up on their hind legs and suggest what some of those ideas might be.
We want leadership on this issue. Canadians are demanding leadership. There has been no leadership. No ideas, no votes. The jury is out. The Canadian public will decide whether the Liberals have handled this file properly or not. I suggest they have not.