Mr. Speaker, yesterday Ontario's outgoing premier once again misled Ontarians by blaming the federal government for his own policies, but he left out a few important facts.
Last night the Prime Minister reminded him of what has actually happened. Last fall Premier Harris agreed to a health accord providing provinces with an additional $21 billion in federal health funding over five years.
Moreover, Premier Harris seems to have forgotten the facts in his own provincial budget. It clearly states that of the $1.2 billion in new health care spending, $1.1 billion or 92% comes from the federal government.
It appears that Mr. Harris is blaming the federal government for his own decision to cut taxes at the expense of medicare, but the Prime Minister made it very clear last night by saying “Do not fool around with public medicare. The people of Ontario will not stand for it and this Liberal government will not stand for it”.