Mr. Speaker, it does bear repeating. We have been saying for some time that the difficulties facing medicare require not just money but a plan, and now we have that.
There is $21 billion of additional money, targeted money for specific priorities, but perhaps most important of all is that the Prime Minister negotiated an agreement that expressly acknowledges the role of the Government of Canada in the process of medicare renewal. The federal government is a full partner and participant in renewing medicare.
Unlike the Alliance and unlike the Conservatives, the Prime Minister recognizes there is a national interest in the country. Medicare is a national undertaking and the Government of Canada has an essential role to play in protecting that interest.