Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today to talk about what Canadians have described as their number one concern, both federally and provincially. They have asked their political leaders to deal with what they see as the decline of the health care system.
We saw on the news last night that the premier of Saskatchewan has struck a committee and a public inquiry, so to speak, into the status of health care in Saskatchewan. It is indicative of what we are going to see increasingly in Canada, which is a grasping for new ideas to make sure that the health care system that we all depend on will be healthy as we go into this new century.
The comments of the Saskatchewan premier last night on the news were interesting. He was asked “Is this an attempt to pressure the federal government to hold a similar type of conference to bring people together to discuss new ideas?” He said “Maybe in part”. I think he understated the case. Certainly many provincial health ministers have been in contact with us, saying that they are very nervous that the federal government has backed away from the idea of the need for all first ministers to get together in a formal way to discuss this very important issue. They are acting a little like skittish fillies. They are prancing around. Everybody wants to get in on it, but they are not sure exactly whether the federal government will provide leadership.
I hope the questions which are discussed and debated today by all sides of the House, especially by the health minister, will address the big problem. The philosophical question is where we will go with this, which is obviously the big problem for Canadians.
There are only so many ways to fund health care, and it does not take long to list them. There are federal and provincial tax dollars involved in the system. There are plans that help to provide and augment those who are fortunate enough to have access. Whether it be an insurance plan, a medical service plan or a provincial plan, people need to know what role those contributory plans will play in the system.
Then there are private funds, which of course fund a lot of the health care system. Anyone who has paid for their own prescriptions, paid fees to a chiropractor or to another health care professional for services that are not covered under the provincial health care system knows that private money is used extensively in the health care system, and that will continue.
The government with its tax dollars, the insurance people and the people with the private funds have to lock themselves in a room and say “When we come out of here we will decide how this system will be paid for”. It has to be paid for, but what will be the provincial role and what will be the federal role? What will be the insurance role? What will we ask insurance programs to look after?
No one will deny that dental care is health care, yet dental care is not covered under most provincial plans. People need private insurance plans. In other words, it is already extensively used. Now we need to decide, in this new, upcoming, expensive 21st century medicare plan, who will pay for what.
Also important is the list of procedures that we will continue to fund for all Canadians. It is no secret, as one of the architects of health care said on the news again last night, that no one thought about the $3 million CAT scan, no one thought about the MRIs and no one thought about the expensive drug treatment programs which are so effective but so expensive when we started this whole medicare plan.
Canadians see these programs, they want to have access to them, but they are told that they will have to wait months for the MRI that should be prescribed for them. It is a modern health care treatment to which Canadians deserve access, and timely access. It is not enough to say there is universal accessibility under the Canada Health Act if universal accessibility means that a person has to wait as long as everybody else. It is no good to tell someone that they are just the same as everybody else because they get to wait a year for their treatment. That is not universal accessibility, that is universal inaccessibility. While it may be equal, it is not fair. I would ask the minister to please address that.
I would also ask the minister to talk about some innovative ideas to which I hope all Canadians and all politicians will be open. We all talk about how we do not want the American system. The American system is nothing like our system. To most Canadians it is a frightening thing. The thought of breaking your leg and losing your house as a result, and all of the horror stories that we read about from time to time, make Canadians nervous. I do not think Canadians want to go there, but if we are not going there, then what new systems will we put in place? The minister should not say we just have to be innovative, he should explain what it is that we will be doing differently.
There are all kinds of innovative ideas. We have talked about savings plans for the private portion that we already pay for in our health care system. Are there ways through tax breaks to encourage people to save funds to look after the health of themselves and their families into the future? What about ideas such as those of Michael Walker from the Fraser Institute? I thought he had an innovative idea. He said “Please, do not change the system that allows everyone universal access to the public health care system, but put in place a system that rewards people who do not abuse the health care system”. In other words, he is saying that we should have a plan that is accessible to everyone, but for those who look after themselves, do not smoke, do not abuse themselves and do not need the health care system because they have taken care of themselves, they should reap a reward for that. Maybe we should look at that kind of thing.
I am sure the health minister will deal with the whole issue of preventive care. What is the role of the federal government in preventive care? Is it primarily a provincial jurisdiction? Largely, I think it is because so many of the social programs are administered by provincial governments. However, he should detail again what it is that the federal government sees as its role. Is there an overarching theme?
One of our members has put forward the idea of a headstart program. I know there is already an aboriginal headstart because that is a federal jurisdiction. We put in an aboriginal headstart to try to deflect some of the high risk kids into treatment, preventive therapy and preventive work in order to keep them out of the health care system when they grow up. Is there a role for all Canadians or does the federal government want to see that dealt with at the provincial level?
It is time to delineate the lines of authority. It is time to start talking about what can and should be done federally, what can and should be done provincially and to be honest with Canadians about what can be, should be and must be done privately. We should be telling them forthrightly what we can do for them and what we cannot do for them.
This is just like job creation. There are some things people have to do on their own. There is a role for government but there is also a role it will take on. I hope the minister will address what he sees as the delineation of authority and the programs he sees the federal government maintaining or enhancing, and then to be honest with the provinces and Canadians about the programs that he will not maintain or enhance.
I hope the government and the minister will talk about the Canada Health Act. It is an old act that has been around for decades and has served Canadians pretty well. However, time and again we have seen the need to bring it forward and open it up, not necessarily for change, but to open it up for debate.
There are five pillars to the Canada Health Act. Should there be six? Should we define what we mean by universally accessible? What about portable? If portable means we can get no service in this province just like we can get no service in the next province, there is no use in it being portable.
Let us describe what we want in the Canada Health Act. Let us not be afraid to talk about it. This is not to say that we will throw the whole thing out. Let us discuss whether there is a way in the 21st century to anticipate the expensive procedures, the expensive drug treatments and the aging population. Is there something we need to do with the Canada Health Act to make all those things possible? Maybe there is not but I think there is a need to talk openly about the Canada Health Act. Maybe we could add another pillar talking about a health guarantee for Canadians, that they will get access to care, not just the same as anybody else but in a timely fashion.
I look forward to the minister's speech. I would like to move:
That the motion be amended by inserting after the words “Government to”, the word “immediately”.
We believe this is something that Canadians want this parliament to be seized of forthwith.