Mr. Speaker, I too would like to welcome the member for Calgary Centre to the House.
I would like to ask him about some parts of the throne speech he did not really talk about. Two of those things are the need for a universal, single-payer pharmacare system and what the throne speech described as a willingness to look at dental care.
During the campaign, I ran into many people, especially seniors, who were very concerned about their inability to afford prescription drugs. One day while canvassing, a woman came out of her house to talk to me about the importance of dental care to her family. She said that her husband had to spend $700 on dental work, which meant their kids would not see the dentist for the next year.
The member for Calgary Centre is a Conservative. He comes from a province where the provincial government appears less than fully committed to the universal public health care system. It has said it is not interested in a pharmacare system and has said nothing about a dental care system.
I wonder if the member believes we need a universal, single-payer pharmacare system, and whether that member also believes dental care is something that would help people in his riding.