Madam Speaker, I think it is very important that the Saskatchewan study is within the confines of the principles of the Canada Health Act. It is important for us to have a public health care system and not a two tier American style system. We need to have a single payer system, which is the public. Health care must be accessible to everyone. Health care must be portable. Access to health care must not be based on income, where one lives, the size of one's bank account or the thickness of one's wallet. Those things are extremely important.
The other thing that is very important is that the federal government provide more funding for health care. Many years ago, when health care came in as a national program, the federal government funded 50% of the cost.
Today, in terms of cash transfers to the provinces, the federal government funds 13 cents, 14 cents or perhaps 15 cents to the provinces depending on the province.
If we are going to maintain health care as a universal program that is accessible to all, portable and publicly financed, then the federal government, with its huge and ballooning surplus, must come to the plate and put $4.2 billion more into the fund every year. This would be equivalent to the money it has taken out over the last number of budgets. I think that is very important. I hope my friend in the Alliance Party would support that point of view as well.