Mr. Speaker, between 1.9 million and 2 million Americans file for personal bankruptcy every year because of medical causes. We know that the cost of paperwork for health care in the U.S. is about $1,000 per person per year, while in Canada the figure is only $300. Obviously private health care is not efficient and is expensive, given that the U.S. spends 15% of GDP on health and Canada spends only 10%.
In May of this year, the Canada Health Act annual report had no report on the subject of private clinics in Quebec, Alberta and Ontario. It was appalling. There was no tracking of private health care services. I have a question for the member. How can Canadians strengthen our public health care system and lower wait times if the federal government refuses to monitor and enforce its existing legislation as it deals with privatized health care?