Madam Speaker, on Friday, October 22 during question period, my hon. colleague, the member for Vancouver East, raised a question concerning the effects of the removal of section 6 of the Canada Health Act in 1995.
My hon. colleague alleges that the Canada Health Act was changed in 1995 to make privatization easier. She argues that the repeal of section 6 of the act results in greater privatization of health care services, more specific, home care services.
The amendments to the Health Care Act were essentially technical amendments that were required as a result of the introduction of the Canada health and social transfer. These amendments had no effect whatsoever on the scope of the Canada Health Act or its application. The Canada Health Act sets out the criteria and conditions that provincial and territorial health insurance plans must comply with to receive their full cash entitlements through federal health transfers.
The act identifies two types of health services: insured health services, which are subject to the criteria, conditions and extra billing and user charge provisions of the act; and extended health care services, which are subject only to the conditions of the act.
Extended health care services apply to nursing home services, adult residential care, home care services and ambulatory care services. Extended health care services have always been delivered by provinces and territories through a mixed system involving public and private providers.
Prior to the creation of the Canada health and social transfer under the act of 1977, the health transfer had consisted of cash contributions in support of insured health services previously referred to in section 5 of the Canada Health Act, and an amount payable in respect to extended health care services referred to in section 6 of the Canada Health Act.
The repeal of section 6 does not mean that extended health care services have been removed from the act. Quite the contrary, they continue to be part of the Canada Health Act in the same manner they have been since 1984.