Mr. Speaker, certainly the health care system over the last 10 years has faced many problems and issues. I think that the health transfers that have taken place, particularly in the early years, have been a bit short. However, the government has recognized and has listened to the premiers, finance ministers and health ministers of the provinces and territories and has responded.
Everyone will recall that we had a $42 billion deficit when we took office. Every department of government and service to Canadians had to endure cutbacks. However, the minute we had a surplus, we began to increase the transfers to the provinces.
We also have to remember that health care itself has undergone changes in the last 10 years. We have an aging population. There have been changes in practice. New diagnostic equipment has been discovered, which is very expensive. Costs have gone up for a variety of reasons. We are trying to do our part to assist our colleagues in the provinces and territories so that they can deliver the best possible health care.
The large amount of dollars I talked about in my speech goes a long way to improving things, but dollars will not do everything. It is not only about providing money. It is also about delivering services efficiently and effectively. That is why we are trying to do more collaborative work, identifying best practices, sharing information and doing all the things that we can do with the advantage of a federal government working collaboratively with its colleagues in the provinces in order to share all the best information and the newest techniques so that Canadians have timely access to health care.
That is why the federal government showed leadership in creating a health council, because Canadian citizens themselves are concerned about where the money is going. They want the amount of money and how it has been used reported to them. The premiers have agreed to a reporting system. They will report annually to Canadians on the outcomes of the expenditures. It will include things like waiting lists. It will include success stories from across the country. As we begin to build this body of knowledge about the health care system as it exists today in Canada, I am sure it will lead to some of the efficiencies and effectiveness that we all seek together.
In any case, one could look at it from a pessimistic viewpoint and suggest that things are going downhill. Or one could be optimistic that the new dollars that are being put in based upon the 2003 budget, plus the $2 billion that was promised in January of this year, which add up to $36.8 billion, will certainly alleviate some of the struggles.
I do not want Canadians to think that the federal government is insensitive to the struggles faced by the provincial health ministers. We are not. We are trying to help them and to work with them so that all Canadian citizens benefit from the best possible collaboration between the federal and provincial governments.