Madam Speaker, I have heard the hon. member opposite speak at length in the House, but I do not know if I have ever seen him this fired up. The Bloc must have definitely struck a nerve.
Canadians are rightly proud of our health care system, but decades of austerity and privatization have challenged our ability to deal with a public health crisis like COVID-19. It was back in 1976 when then Prime Minister Trudeau first proposed replacing the 50/50 cost-sharing with a new regime of block grants that exposed provinces and territories to unilateral federal cuts over the subsequent decades. The federal share of overall health care spending in Canada has plummeted to 22% at present. The Liberals promised a new health accord during 2015, but once they got in power, they kept the Conservative Harper cuts.
Given that health care expenditures are projected to increase by an average annual pace of between 6.5% and 8.4%, does the member opposite believe that it is time to increase the health care transfers from the current 3%?