Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my wonderful and brilliant colleague from Salaberry—Suroît for her compliments. Fortunately, I was wearing my mask. Otherwise everyone would have been able to see me blush.
As members no doubt know, red does not suit me very well. It is not part of my usual colour palette, although, as I often say, it is better to wear or drink red than to be subject to it.
That being said, just yesterday around 8 p.m., my colleague across the way, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, tweeted the following:
On December 10th, the PM—who I will not name since I cannot do so under the rules—and I will meet with Canada’s Premiers to discuss our continued work together to fight COVID-19, strengthen health care, and on the distribution and logistics of vaccines.
Other than wanting to know when they will finally be able to start vaccinating people and when the vaccines will finally be available, the provinces' and Quebec's main request is a substantial increase in health transfers. What is incredible about this statement by the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs is that this invitation was issued when the Prime Minister of Canada was sure to arrive empty-handed.
Why did he make sure to arrive empty-handed? That very afternoon, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance basically explained how she intends to spend money she does not have, how she will spend that borrowed money. To no one's surprise, there was not a single penny for transfer payments to the provinces.
How ridiculous is that? We are in the middle of the worst health crisis in history and the federal government cannot find a way to increase transfer payments, a very basic demand from the provinces and Quebec to help them face not only this pandemic, but the day-to-day delivery of health care services in their jurisdiction.
The government prefers to invest elsewhere. It prefers a “national” regime. As my colleague from Salaberry—Suroît said, and as former Bloc Québécois leader Lucien Bouchard used to say, there are two countries in this country. We obviously have a different definition of the word “national”. As far as a national child care system goes, Quebec already has one. That is the choice we made, as my colleague mentioned.
Regarding national long-term care standards for seniors, we wonder why the federal government thinks investing in standards is a better idea than investing in health care. It is going to impose standards on the provinces and Quebec in an area it knows absolutely nothing about. The federal government has no expertise in that area, but it thinks it knows how things work and it is going to show provinces and Quebec how it is done.
Why does the federal government think it has to get involved? According to the government, provinces were so negligent that the army had to step in. It is as if the armed forces could only offer humanitarian aid abroad. I will simply remind my colleagues that Quebeckers also pay for that army. It is only normal for the army to intervene when needed.
Let's come back to the Canadian Armed Forces. It is interesting to see that they do not recommend at all that the federal government proceed as it intends to. In fact, they say that there is already an abundant supply of standards and that the problem is elsewhere.
The problem is insufficient staff. There are not enough available and qualified people. The report says, "According to our observations, the critical need for CHSLDs is an improved level of staff with medical training.” The health care system, Quebec and other provinces do not need standards; they need resources.
What has been happening in the long-term care facilities in Quebec and all other provinces since the spring is the result of negligence by the federal government. People will wonder how this can be. It is quite simple. The federal government had agreed initially to provide 50% of the money for health care, but it does not even spend a dime on long-term care for seniors.
The result of federal cuts in health care funding is that 80% to 85% of the money for long-term care comes from the Government of Quebec and the rest from users themselves. To find that kind of money, the Government of Quebec has to draw from the scarce resources left for health care after successive cuts from the federal government. If the federal government had maintained its funding levels at 50%, the Government of Quebec and the provincial governments would have had more resources available to provide long-term care properly. Unfortunately, the federal government chose to disengage.
That is why we are a little afraid when the federal government tells us it wants to impose new standards along with a budget envelope. We know that the funding will eventually run out but that the standards will remain. In fact, the federal government has maintained its requirements under the Canada Health Act even if it does not provide more than 20% of the funding for health care.
I will conclude by coming back to the wording of the motion, which proposes that the House “acknowledge the extraordinary work of health care workers (including doctors, nurses and orderlies) during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly with seniors but also with the general public”. We all agree on that.
The motion also proposes that the House “recognize the courage and sacrifices required from them and their families in order to be on the front lines”. We cannot disagree with that either.
The motion proposes that the House “highlight the work of Quebec and the provinces in responding to the health crisis and note the direct impact on their respective budgets”. The pandemic definitely had a direct impact on Quebec's finances and the provinces'. The federal government may not acknowledge that, but it is a fact.
Lastly, the motion proposes that the House “call on the government to significantly and sustainably increase Canada health transfers before the end of 2020 in order to support the efforts of the governments of Quebec and the provinces, health care workers and the public”. There might be some disagreement on this last point.
I have heard my Liberal Party colleagues' speeches up to this point. I just want to tell those colleagues that, even if they do not really agree with that last point, they should vote in favour of this motion for at least two reasons. The first is that it respects the Constitution that the Liberal Party of Canada imposed on Quebec. The second is that it is consistent with the federal government's promise at the time to cover 50% of health care costs.