moved for leave to introduce Bill C-497, an act to amend the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act (prevention of private hospitals).
Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to introduce this bill on the prevention of private hospitals for first reading. The bill is in response to growing health care privatization and, in particular, to the threats posed to universal public health care by Alberta's bill 11.
The specific purpose of the bill is to control the entry of private for profit hospitals into our public system. It amends the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act to provide that provinces be financially penalized if they allow public funds to be used for the provision of insured services in private for profit hospitals.
The bill ensures that the principles of medicare and the spirit of the Canada Health Act are absolutely and unequivocally reflected in the letter of the law and that the federal government is equipped to respond immediately and effectively to any attempt by a provincial government to permit private for profit hospitals.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)