Debates of Nov. 28th, 2002

Health

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Medicine Hat.

Employment Insurance

[Monte Solberg, Canadian Alliance, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today is the day of the finance minister's annual pre-Christmas mugging of workers and employers.

Today's announcement of a pathetic 10¢ cut is 40¢ less than the actuary says is needed to keep the EI plan solvent.

Why should workers and employers have to pay artificially high EI taxes to finance every non-related EI project that the government dreams up?

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the reduction today of EI premiums continues the series of 10 consecutive reductions in EI premiums, part, as I said earlier, of the $100 billion tax reduction package.

We have reduced EI premiums. We have reduced personal income taxes and corporate income taxes. We have reduced taxes so much there is no other period in Canadian history that has seen such a reduction.

[Monte Solberg, Canadian Alliance, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, taxes as a per cent of GDP in Canada have never been higher than they are today.

Every time the government wants to go out for a cup of coffee it dips into EI premiums.

The government owes workers a 50¢ rate cut. All it has done it cut the rates by a dime.

Is it not true that EI premiums have less and less to do with funding EI benefits and more and more to do with financing the government's out of control spending?

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, it is such a crazy question that I am obliged to put two and two together here.

That party does not like the Romanow report because it wants to privatize health care and it will pay for that by cutting EI premiums. It would take so much money out of government revenues that we could not afford to offer a public system.

That is what that party is all about. Why does it not just come clean and admit it?

Health

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government has caused irreparable harm to the health system with absolutely unprecedented cuts. The Romanow report confirms it; unfortunately, this report recommends giving federal public servants responsibilities for control which are inappropriate. It is on the wrong track.

I would like the Minister of Health to show us how giving responsibilities, control and statistics to federal public servants will improve health care in emergency wards.

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, let me say again, and I wish everybody would listen, that in fact it is very clear that the provinces and territories have the primary responsibility for the delivery of health care.

We are committed to working with them in partnership. For example, that is why we provided money for medical equipment. That is why we provided money for primary health care renewal. That is why we are working with them on common drug reviews and pharmaceutical utilization studies.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the Minister of Health wants to get involved in the health care system along with her public servants, to stick her nose into something that is none of her business.

The provinces are responsible not only for providing health care, but also for identifying needs, planning, coordinating, providing and overseeing care. None of this concerns the federal government. We would ask that it mind its own business and let the doctors, nurses and managers in Quebec look after health.

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, let me go back to the fact that, for example, we transferred $239.3 million to the Government of Quebec for medical equipment and Quebec made the decision, the Government of Quebec and health administrators made the decision as to how that money would be spent. We transferred $133 million in relation to primary health care renewal--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. There is so much noise that we cannot hear the minister's answer. There is too much noise coming from across the way. The hon. Minister of Health has the floor, and she has the right to speak. Give her a chance.

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Edmonton West, AB]

Mr. Speaker, honestly, all I have to say in conclusion is that far from administering the health care system in the Province of Quebec or elsewhere, our goal is to work in partnership to ensure that the provinces and the territories can provide that high quality--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Wetaskiwin.

The Environment

[Dale Johnston, Canadian Alliance, Wetaskiwin, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Health, who just happens to be the senior Liberal in Alberta, said:

...we must ensure that there is nothing, as we move forward to implement Kyoto, that in any way would undermine or impede the growth of projects like the oilsands--

It is too late, I am afraid. Husky Oil and Petro-Canada have already pulled back $5 billion in investment in western Canada alone.

If there was an implementation plan, why did she not share it before Lloydminster lost the Husky Oil upgrade?

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Minister of State and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, may I suggest that for someone to ask a minister about another department is out of order, and if he were to ask a question about a vote already being taken, were that to be the case it would be equally out of order.

[The Speaker]

I thought the question was eventually being directed to the Minister of the Environment. I am sure that the hon. member for Wetaskiwin will make that clearer in his supplementary.

[Dale Johnston, Canadian Alliance, Wetaskiwin, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I was asking the Minister of--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

I think we had better go to the hon. member for Wetaskiwin. We will have to take the government House leader's answer as an answer.

[Dale Johnston, Canadian Alliance, Wetaskiwin, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it was far from an answer, but we on this side are not used to getting answers from them anyway.

The whole concept of ratifying Kyoto before we know what is in it and implementing it is absolutely bizarre in the extreme. The only plan the government seems to have is to ratify and then not implement.

Given that there is no guarantee that projects like the oil sands will have any protection, could the Minister of Health confirm that she will be voting against the Kyoto accord?

[The Speaker]

I think the question is out of order. A member cannot ask questions indirectly of a minister that are really of another minister. We will move on to the hon. member for Brampton West--Mississauga.

Hiv-Aids

[Colleen Beaumier, Liberal, Brampton West—Mississauga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this week is HIV-AIDS Awareness Week, and December 1 represents World AIDS Day--

[The Speaker]

Order. It seems to be very unruly in the House today. I assure hon. members that I am having trouble hearing, so if they are having trouble I am not surprised. I can only say that maybe members sat in the briefing session too long this morning having to stay quiet and listen to the briefing on the report, which unfortunately I missed, but I am here to listen to the questions and the answers.

The hon. member for Brampton West--Mississauga has the floor. We will want to hear her question.

[Colleen Beaumier, Liberal, Brampton West—Mississauga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this week is HIV-AIDS Awareness week. December 1 represents World AIDS Day.

The recently released UN AIDS report confirms that the AIDS pandemic is worsening. There are currently 42 million people living with HIV worldwide. This will increase to 50 million by 2005. More than 95% of new infections are in developing countries.

Would the Minister for International Cooperation please tell Canadians what Canada is doing about this?

[Susan Whelan, Liberal, Minister for International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, in addition to the $50 million announced by our Prime Minister for the international AIDS vaccine initiative, and in addition to the $150 million committed by the government for the global health fund to fight HIV-AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, today I was able to announce an additional $19 million toward six initiatives in developing countries around the world, which includes a $2 million increase to the core fund for UN AIDS.

It is unfortunate that the other side does not want to be quiet to hear how we are working to fight this terrible disease. We are committed to putting more resources toward HIV and AIDS.