Mr. Speaker, the provinces certainly have a role, a duty and an obligation to do these things but there must be a role for the central government.
What would have happened back in the 1950s when health care was being developed if someone had said “no, that is a provincial jurisdiction”? What would have happened when the Canada pension plan was being developed if someone had said “no, that is a provincial jurisdiction”? We would have none of those plans and programs.
My friend references the letter. Yes, it was mentioned once but in the whole letter that was the final conclusion. The whole gist of the letter is that particular province should get out of everything, that it should withdraw from the Canada pension plan, that it should collect its own personal income tax and that it should eliminate any association with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
I invite my friend to read the letter where it states that Alberta should ignore the Canada Health Act and fight the matter in the courts. If it then loses in the courts, it should pay the penalty and allow no federal involvement in health care policy in Alberta. After going through this whole hodgepodge of initiatives, which that particular province should do, it should, “take the initiative to build a firewall around Alberta”.
I have a question for my learned friend. Is that his vision of Canada? I do not believe that is the vision of the people in Edmonton who sent him to Ottawa.