Mr. Speaker, it is indeed an honour on behalf of many constituents to present to the House of Commons, pursuant to Standing Order 36, a petition addressing the very unfortunate situation we are facing with health care in the country.
Saskatchewan has lost $1.4 billion in health care since 1993 when the Liberals were elected. To say the least, the people of Saskatchewan are a little ticked off at the Liberal government for its lack of priority in health care.
The petitioners believe very strongly that, even though we have lost $1.4 billion from the Liberal government transfer payments for health care, the NDP government in Saskatchewan has backfilled every one of those dollars plus, even though it has lost the federal share. These people are really ticked off at the Liberal government because it is not only continuing the cuts, but the petitioners say that the government is also embracing two tier American style health care.
The petitioners call for the House of Commons and the government to stop for profit hospitals. They call for federal funding to be restored for health care, keeping in mind that if $1.4 billion has been lost in seven years to Saskatchewan what that means to Ontario, where the loss would be multiplied.
The petitioners also ask that the federal government share of health care funding be increased to a more suitable level to meet the very urgent needs of Canadians who require health care services.