House of Commons Hansard #34 of the 37th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was protocol.
Judy Wasylycia-Leis NDP Winnipeg North Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, this is a great day for medicare. Roy Romanow has touched the soul of Canada and given us all hope for the future of our health care system.
Today we have been given the vehicle and the road map. Now all we need is the driver.
Since the health minister has talked about going to the health ministers meeting next week, I would like to ask her if she is going with a clear indication that the government accepts in principle the Romanow blueprint and is ready to act.
Anne McLellan LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, I think it is very clear that Canadians have told all levels of government that they want us to act to ensure that they have a renewed, high quality, accessible health care system.
I can reassure the hon. member and all members of the House that when I meet with my provincial and territorial colleagues next week, I will carry forward that commitment, as I know they will all come with a commitment to work together to ensure that we have a renewed, sustainable health care system for the future.
Judy Wasylycia-Leis NDP Winnipeg North Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, I am asking the health minister specifically about the Romanow report, “Building on Values”, which speaks for all Canadians. We are asking her today to show leadership on this report.
Will the minister start by clearing up ambiguities that she has created around non-profit health care? Will she stop waffling on private ownership and say, as Romanow has said, “No, not now, not ever”.
Anne McLellan LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, the Romanow report is a monumental piece of work in terms of the consultations and research that was done.
The government will study the recommendations of Mr. Romanow. In fact, I have no doubt that much of the work that Mr. Romanow has done will animate our decision making as well as the decision making of the provinces and territories as we move forward to ensure that we have that publicly financed, accessible, high quality health care system based on the values that all Canadians share.
Greg Thompson Progressive Conservative New Brunswick Southwest, NB
Mr. Speaker, when the former minister of finance introduced the Canadian health and social transfer in 1995 he effectively removed the ability of citizens to monitor how much the federal government contributes to the health care system. A succession of reports, including Romanow, Kyte, Mazankowski, Kirby, and in fact the Auditor General, have called for the government to put an end to that failed experiment.
To the new minister, maybe the kindlier, gentler minister, is he prepared to consider undoing the mess created by his predecessor?
John Manley LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
I will try to be kindlier if I can, Mr. Speaker, that is for sure.
What I would say of course is that we want to review the report. What we are interested in, I believe, and I think it is true on all sides of the House, is better outcomes in the health care system.
If we and the provinces agree that one of the ways to achieve better outcomes is to divide the transfer, then that is certainly something that we would have to consider very positively.
Greg Thompson Progressive Conservative New Brunswick Southwest, NB
Mr. Speaker, the former finance minister also mentioned that he thought the provinces should account for health care spending, which they have been doing since the agreement on health care was struck between the provinces and the federal government in September 2000. Now the former finance minister is suggesting those report cards are not sufficient.
Does the current health minister agree with the former finance minister on that point? Are those report cards sufficient or not? Should that reporting system be changed?
Anne McLellan LiberalMinister of Health
I must confess, Mr. Speaker, I am having a little trouble understanding what the hon. member is referring to in terms of report cards.
If, however, he is referring to the first ever performance indicator reports which all the provinces, territories and the federal government published at the end of September, that was a momentous step forward in terms of our ability as a government to provide Canadians with information around health outcomes. That was the first time ever we have been in a position to provide those performance indicators.
Of course, what we will do is revise them--
Stockwell Day Canadian Alliance Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC
Mr. Speaker, Liberal recklessness on terrorism does not stop with Hezbollah.
Today the Canadian foreign affairs department quite rightly advised Canadians not to travel to the Philippines until further notice and the Canadian embassy in Manila has been closed down in light of threats by Islamic terrorists. The major Philippine terrorist group, Abu Sayyaf, with links to al-Qaeda, can legally operate and raise money in Canada, though it has been banned in the United States for five years.
We are convinced of the danger of these groups in other countries, but the Liberals entertain them here in Canada. Why?
Lynn Myers LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Solicitor General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the House the Solicitor General announced the names of six new additions to the list, including Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. He also said that the listing of entities was a work in progress.
If the member opposite wanted to be helpful, instead of criticizing the government, he should be thanking the men and women who do such good work in ensuring that Canadians are safe and secure in this great country of ours.
Stockwell Day Canadian Alliance Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC
Mr. Speaker, an observer in the know about foreign affairs said that yesterday's refusal by the Liberal government to add Hezbollah to the list of terrorist entities was disappointing and unscrupulous. This courageous remark is from a Liberal parliamentarian. Even the Liberals are disgusted by this dangerous omission.
Is it true that the government is afraid of embarrassing the Prime Minister by adding to the list of terrorist entities a group with whom he chatted during the Francophone Summit?
Lynn Myers LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Solicitor General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, that is so outrageous it will not even get a response.
The Solicitor General has said many times that we will not discuss the names of specific entities that may or may not be listed because to be listed is very serious. The work that is being done to list an entity is a very thorough and deliberate process. We do not list entities based on opposition allegations nor newspaper reports.
Pauline Picard Bloc Drummond, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Romanow report says that we must not end up with 13 different health systems. What Ottawa wants is a uniform system. In Quebec, we already have a system that is different and that includes CLSCs and a universal pharmacare program.
How can the Deputy Prime Minister conclude that he will improve the health system by denying the differences that already exist, instead of giving the money directly to those whose job it is to provide health care? It is clear that what is needed is money.
Anne McLellan LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, far from denying regional differences we encourage provincial and territorial flexibility. We understand that even within provinces there are different needs as one moves from a large city like Montreal to parts of northern Quebec.
Let me reassure the hon. member there is no desire to create a one size fits all system. If the hon. member were to read Mr. Romanow's report, she would know he underscores the fact that it is impossible to have a one size fits all system in Canada.
Pauline Picard Bloc Drummond, QC
Mr. Speaker, could the Deputy Prime Minister tell us how creating a second pharmacare program, when one already exists in Quebec, will help doctors and nurses provide better health services in the emergency wards of Quebec hospitals? The government simply cannot prove this.
Anne McLellan LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, we have heard many of the same questions from the other side of the House this afternoon. I will keep delivering the same answers as long as my voice holds out, which will not be very much longer.
Let me again reassure everyone in the House that we are committed to working with the provinces and territories. We respect that within provinces there are obviously regional variations. We will work with the provinces and territories to ensure we have a system that is based on the values of all Canadians, regardless where they live.
Garry Breitkreuz Canadian Alliance Yorkton—Melville, SK
Mr. Speaker, today's Globe and Mail headline blared, “Gun registry to cost around $1-billion”. A National Post editorial calls on the government, “Time to ditch the gun registry”.
We hate to say it but we told you so. At a time when lineups for health services in Canada have reached critical levels, $1 billion would have bought, installed and operated 238 MRIs. Can the minister explain to Canadians how $1 billion blown on a useless gun registry was a better investment than 238 MRIs?
Martin Cauchon LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times, we on this side of the House have no concern with regard to the question of the policy. The gun registry policy is a good and valid one, and on this side of the House we will continue proceeding with it.
Implementing the program has always been a challenge, and it is still a challenge. However when we look at the impact that it has had in our society, it represents values highly supported by the Canadian population. It is a wonderful investigative tool for police forces. It has been more costly but, overall, it is worth proceeding with such a fantastic value as protecting our society.
Garry Breitkreuz Canadian Alliance Yorkton—Melville, SK
Mr. Speaker, Ontario's public safety minister, Bob Runciman, has blamed Ottawa for diverting money to a useless gun registry instead of using that money to address the real problem of the recent outbreak of handgun crime in Toronto. Last week the justice minister claimed that the revocation rate was higher compared to the previous system. The justice minister's own statistics revealed the opposite. Revocation under this new scheme is half of the old FAC program.
Does the minister have new statistics to justify the wasting of $1 billion of taxpayers' money?
Martin Cauchon LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Of course, Mr. Speaker, the program has been a bit more costly. Some provinces have opted out. We brought some changes as well to the program following consultations. The technology has been more expensive, but members should look at the results. It is valuable to our society and it is protecting our society. It is a wonderful tool used by police forces in their investigations. For example, police access the online registry 1,500 times per day.
Paddy Torsney Liberal Burlington, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Great Lakes hold about 20% of the surface fresh water in the world and the entire drainage basin measures some 750,000 square kilometres on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.
Paddy Torsney Liberal Burlington, ON
The Canadian Alliance members supposedly care about the environment. I would hope they would listen to the question, but obviously not.
Can the Minister of the Environment tell the House what the government is doing to reduce pollution and restore areas harmed by pollution in this precious Great Lakes basin?
David Anderson LiberalMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, as part of the Government of Canada's ongoing commitment to restore the Great Lakes basin ecosystem I announced on Monday of this week that 14 projects will be funded under the Great Lakes sustainability funding, which totals some $600,000. They include the Burlington, Hamilton and Scarborough areas. I would like to thank the members for Burlington and Scarborough East for their support.
The projects focus on restoring habitat for fish and wildlife, developing new ways of managing waste water and preventing agricultural runoff. We are doing this in partnership--