Of course we saw the other side of the story, which my political friend from Newfoundland would not want me to leave out. I think we can conclude that gas taxes in the next 12 months after that election went up by something in the order of anywhere from 36¢ to 72¢ a gallon. That is what I have heard.
My point is that it is reminiscent of that debate of over 20 years ago now. Canadians did not want to suffer any short term pain for long term gain. I would have to say that it is a tough thing to take to the electorate. I am not sure how accurate this is but an historian told me that at that time in our history there had never been a Government of Canada elected to office by promising less and not more. We would have to check our history. Can we believe that? As I look at the sloppy habits of behaviour that successive governments have gotten into over the years, I would say that the statement is probably true.
I think we have grown up a lot as a nation. I think we need to have an intelligent debate on this issue of premiums and taxes. If we look at the more advanced countries in the world in terms of delivery of health care, the European nations, particularly Sweden, Denmark, Britain, France and Norway, they all have good systems. Just about every one of those countries, without exception, has some sort of premium or tax involved in the payment of that system of delivery.
Senator Kirby has gone a long way in bringing that forward in terms of getting some intelligent debate out on that particular aspect of his plan. Now we are looking for the Romanow report, but I think we have to look very carefully at what the option would be if it is not going to be that one. I think most of us feel that there has to be a buy-in by the Canadian people, even in terms of smart cards, which is something that they are talking about as well, so that as individuals we know how much is being spent on health care for us and how much a particular service is costing.
I will conclude with this and I hope I get some questions from my colleagues. In regard to the American system there is an old expression that I think really sums it up: Americans are only one sickness away from bankruptcy. That is the system we do not want, but I think we have to approach this in a very mature, reasoned way. We have to look at all the options that are on the table before we conclude that one system is bad or that any system that might suggest a premium is bad and one that does not is good. I think we have room for some intelligent debate here. We look forward as this debate unfolds on the reports from Senator Kirby and Mr. Romanow. Certainly the government will have some tough choices to make and I hope we can contribute to some of the intelligent debate as the government makes those tough choices.