Mr. Speaker, I first want to comment on the position taken by the member for Yellowhead. I am certainly one of those members who can assure the member that most Canadians understand the five principles and have understood them for many years.
Short of the current difficulty we find ourselves in, we, and certainly the people who I spoke to over the weekend who carry no bias, political or otherwise, certainly agree with the Romanow committee report and are very much in favour of a system that provides a comprehensive plan to attack what many see to be serious deficiencies in the system, notwithstanding the strains that have encompassed it over the last little while.
Could the hon. member tell me whether the CMA supports the general thrust of Romanow? Concerns have been raised about the NAFTA investor privilege found in section 11 of NAFTA, an exemption that was tried before. From a U.S. study that was done some 11 years ago, does he not see that the public way of delivering medicare is much better and more affordable than the private system that he has proposed? Does he not see that Romanow would be the right way to proceed on this, notwithstanding the objections that he has just raised?