Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his questions. This gives me an opportunity to explain a little more about what I did not have time for in my presentation.
With regard to accountability, I think we miss the boat when we get bogged down by the question of whose jurisdiction it is, of whether it is a federal or provincial jurisdiction and whether the dollars are federal or provincial dollars. We have to understand that they are all taxpayer dollars from taxes paid by Canadians. That is what is so critical about accountability. Accountability does not come with that.
Accountability comes when we move Canadians, the users of the system whose hard earned dollars pay for a system of health care that they are so proud of, closer to the system and give them the opportunity, the education and the understanding to be able to access the system appropriately and to feel accountable to it. I believe that every time they access services they should have an account of what is paid on their behalf. The paradigm would suddenly shift. Instead of thinking that health care is just there and they can use it without any responsibility, they would then have an understanding of who is using it. Something else would happen: doctors will start treating patients a lot differently when they know that the patients know exactly what is being paid on their behalf.
I think that is how we start bringing accountability into the system. That could be a federal jurisdiction because it is a broad plank and a broad idea.
We will not solve health care problems with one silver bullet. If we thought one silver bullet would do it we would have used it a long time ago. We would have fired that bullet.
We have to start with a broad plank and then start building from there. That is how to bring accountability into the system.
In regard to taxes, we absolutely need to lower the taxes to hopefully give ourselves a little more competitiveness so that hard earned dollars go farther in this country. We have put a sign up that Canada is open for business, but will it solve the problem of the brain drain of our professionals going south? It is maybe a step in the right direction, but we have to do a lot more.
We make a fatal error in Canada with our human resources by not negotiating when physicians are going through the educational system. That is when they need our help. That is when they are vulnerable. We should negotiate then as to exactly where they will come out and serve, not after they get a degree. Any head of business will tell us that negotiations happen when both sides need each other, not when one side does things in isolation or afterwards. The brain drain is a big problem. Human resources is one of the major problems and it will not be solved overnight.