Mr. Speaker, let me assure my colleague that this government is firmly committed to actively defending our publicly funded health care system and to vigorously upholding the Canada Health Act that underpins it. Like all Canadians, we share the strong belief that all individuals deserve access to timely, quality health care, regardless of their background, where they live or how much they make. This is part of our national identity. Canadians believe in the equality of citizens, and our health care system reflects that fundamental belief.
The Government of Canada does not support a two-tiered health care system where patients may choose, or be required, to pay for quicker access to medically necessary services. Access to the insured services of our publicly financed health care system must be based on need, not on the ability or willingness to pay.
This is why the Minister of Health's mandate letter includes specific direction from the Prime Minister to ensure compliance with the Canada Health Act on matters of private delivery and extra billing. Patient charges undermine the principles of fairness and equity. If a province or territory permits extra billing or user charges for medically necessary hospital or physician services, a mandatory dollar-for-dollar deduction must be taken from the jurisdiction's federal cash transfer. The Minister of Health has made it very clear that she intends to enforce the CHA in this regard, wherever extra billing and user charges occur.
That is why, in March 2019, deductions in respect of patient charges that occurred in 2016-17 were taken from three provinces. There was $1,349 deducted from Newfoundland and Labrador's Canada health transfer payment, in respect of user charges for insured health services; $8,256,024 deducted from Quebec's payment, based on the amount of patient charges confirmed by the Quebec ministry of health; and $16,177,000 deducted from British Columbia's payment, based on the findings resulting from the Health Canada and British Columbia audit agreement and publicly available evidence.
The goal of our government in administering the Canada Health Act is not to take deductions from federal transfers, but to ensure patients can access the care that they need. Patient charges for medically necessary services pose a barrier to care. The new reimbursement policy provides an incentive for provinces and territories to eliminate patient charges. Under this policy, those provinces and territories facing deductions will be eligible to have them reimbursed if they eliminate patient charges in a timely manner. The first deductions eligible for reimbursement under this policy were those taken in March 2018.
Our commitment to the publicly insured health care system is reflected in our actions. In addition to mandatory deductions for patient charges, the diagnostic services policy, which came into effect on April 1, 2020, aims to eliminate patient charges for medically necessary diagnostic services such as MRI or CT scans, whether they are provided in a hospital or a public or private clinic.
Let me point out that the Government of Canada acknowledges that our health care system has always had a place for the private sector. The Canada Health Act does not prohibit provinces and territories from contracting for the delivery of health care services to third parties, provided patients are not charged for what is normally covered by publicly insured services. Ultimately, such fees create barriers to accessing health care, and this government is committed to seeing such fees eliminated. Let me conclude by confirming—