Mr. Speaker, in the House last week, after the Romanow commission report was tabled, I asked the Minister of Finance a question about health care funding but I am not sure if he completely understood because, in my estimation, I did not get a sufficient reply.
Under the present per capita method of health care funding, which was put in place by the previous finance minister, nearly 90% of the increase in federal transfers in the last three years has gone to the have provinces, namely, Ontario, B.C. and Alberta. The poorer provinces, such as Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, P.E.I. and Nova Scotia, have received almost no increase in cash transfers.
Romanow has called for changes in the funding formula to help the poorer provinces meet the health care needs of their citizens. Does the member for Pictou--Antigonish--Guysborough agree with the need to change the funding formula that discriminates against citizens of have not provinces such as Nova Scotia?