Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to the motion brought forward by the Bloc Quebecois, acting as a spokesperson for Quebeckers and Canadians who want the federal government to further invest in health-care.
The current government and the Prime Minister claim that health care is their top priority, however there is a disconnect between what they say and what they do. This is why, through the motion I will read for the record, as it did before in other areas, the Bloc is urging the federal government to commit to significantly raising its contribution to health care.
The motion put forward by the hon. member for Joliette reads as follows:
That, as the federal government's 16%-contribution to health-care spending is clearly inadequate, this House urge the government to invest at least half the current year's surplus in health care, over and above the two billion dollars already promised, in order to achieve as rapidly as possible the stable 25% federal contribution called for by Quebec and the provinces.
Each and every one of the words in this motion is important, but I want to draw the attention of the House to the fact that Quebec and the provinces are all asking for the same thing in this particular file. This is not a debate spearheaded by a sovereignist government in Quebec City who could be seen as not wanting to play the federalist game. Right now, there is a Liberal federalist government in Quebec City, and in the other provinces there are governments who are promoting Canada.
However, we are faced with a federal government who refuses to return a sizeable portion of the taxes it raises and would rather continue raking in huge surpluses. In the meantime, the provinces and regions do not have enough money to adequately fund the health care system.
To see if a system is failing, we may look for certain clues. The first one is that all these governments that have been providing health care are saying that the federal government's current contribution is clearly insufficient. That is the first reality. They even paid for a series of ads on television and in the other media to ask the question: what is Ottawa's share in health funding? Four answers are suggested: 50%, 33%, 25% and 16%. Unfortunately, the right answer is 16%. The federal government only provides 16% of the money required to fund health care, which is totally unacceptable.
Thus, the first real reason why our health care systems are failing and may not be able to meet the demand is the federal government underfunding, which Quebec and the provinces have criticized.
There is another major clue that we saw, unfortunately, in the news last night. Some people have to resort to a collective action to get compensation, because the health care system did not allow them to receive timely treatment for serious illnesses. Yesterday, they were talking about women who have breast cancer. It was very sad to hear this piece of news, that is that, in our country, in Canada, in Quebec, some people cannot receive medical treatment within a reasonable time frame because of underfunding.
It has been said for a long time that health care services have to be reorganized. Provincial governments of all stripes have made efforts to this effect. However, today, even after making these efforts, we realize that an unacceptable situation such as this still exists. We must absolutely receive the money we need.
This is why we are sure to get the support of the vast majority of people, whether in Quebec or in the rest of Canada, for the motion put forward by the Bloc Quebecois. The only group we have not managed to convince yet is the federal government.
I hope the Liberal members who are here and who are aware of what is going on in their regions will understand that, instead of building an $8 billion surplus this year and using it all to reduce the debt, they could spend it on major needs in our ridings. The money could be used much more wisely, especially if we were to do as the Bloc so reasonably suggests and reinvest half of this year's surplus in health care.
With an $8 billion surplus, we could invest $4 billion in health care and spend the other $4 billion on planned expenditures. That would bring us back to the issue of balance which was raised before by the government during the election campaign when it talked about spending 50% of the surplus on debt reduction and 50% on other needs.
Unfortunately, there is a huge difference between what was promised to us during the election campaign and what we are faced with. Which is why our party, that wishes for adequate health care delivery, has made this call so that, at the end of the day, we can get the funding required to meet the needs of the health systems.
When the current Prime Minister was appointed finance minister in 1993-94, the federal contribution stood at 22%. It was that finance minister, our current Prime Minister, who slashed transfers to Quebec and the rest of the provinces. Cuts of $21 billion were made, one-third of which were made in the province of Quebec even though it only represents one-quarter of the population.
When we talk about billions of dollars, we tend to lose sense of what it really means. One has to wonder what impact the Bloc motion would have if it were passed and all that additional money were invested in health care.
There are regions, such as the one I represent, where small hospitals are always looking for money to buy basic equipment in order to provide adequate service to the public. In addition to helping those hospitals buy equipment, the adoption of this motion would, in a sense, provide more room to manoeuvre and ensure that enough personnel is hired. This way, people who go the emergency room for treatment and seniors requiring home care would receive completely adequate service.
It is important to understand this issue. Last week, I met with people in my riding who work in home care for seniors. They came to tell me they are very concerned about impending cuts by the Quebec government, because they sense that the tap has been turned off and there is no funding available for them. They asked me to make representations, even though I am a federal MP.
The first thing I told them was that I understand full well what they are going through. We want seniors to be able to live at home as long as possible. That is the best option in terms of quality of life. It is also a good decision financially speaking. In order for the Government of Quebec to provide this service, it needs to have the necessary funds.
A person living in Quebec, whose government is the Government of Quebec, expects that government to answer these questions. Nonetheless, one has to realize that, in this system, a substantial part of the funding comes from the federal government, even if its share is currently only 16%, whereas it should be 25%.
This portion of the funding would help increase these services and obtain, at the end of the day, results that would allow us to invest in prevention and stop the cycle of systematically increasing costs. If we could invest more in prevention, we would eventually have fewer difficulties or problems funding major expenses such as hospitalization and the like.
The federal government says that it understands that priority should be given to health care, but it does not act accordingly. We are only a few weeks, or rather a few days away from the tabling of the budget and we will have to pass judgment on how the government is responding to the wishes of the population in this area.
Today, during question period, it was a little disappointing to hear the newly appointed Minister of Health tell us that meetings would be held in the summer of 2004 with the premiers and the health ministers of the provinces to address this issue. This does not augur well. It might mean that there will be no additional money in the upcoming budget, while at the end of the current fiscal year the federal government would have the dollars available to lend a helping hand and make sure the much needed funds make their way into the system in Quebec and all the other provinces in Canada.
We might see a repeat of a situation that was all too familiar when the current Prime Minister was the Minister of Finance. In the fall, we were told that there was not much extra money, but suddenly, a few months later, as the the fiscal year is drawing to a close, and things are more certain, we learn that there were important surpluses and that they were put against the debt.
Of course the federal government has a responsibility to pay down the debt. It is important to do so. However, the government also has a responsibility to provide adequate services to the population. People need the health care system at times when they are much more vulnerable and without proper financial means.
I think the Bloc's motion will help our fellow citizens to better understand this intricate system by which we have to pay taxes to two governments, one in Quebec and one in Ottawa. The one in Ottawa should give back to the provinces a substantial portion of this tax money , but it does not, and this is why the Bloc Quebecois is now calling upon the public and the members of this House to urge the government to invest more in health care.