Pierre Pettigrew

[Health, March 30th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, Health Canada fully accepts the findings and the recommendations of the report. We are moving forward to further improve the regulatory program for medical devices.

Health Canada has already acted on many of these recommendations, such as initiating a postmarket inspection strategy and creating an interactive database so that the public knows which devices are authorized for sale.

Health Canada is developing plans to respond to the recommendations that have not already been addressed.

[Health, March 29th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, everyone is well aware that health is obviously our government's top priority. We are determined to work with the provinces. I know that the Bloc does not like it when we say we want to work with the provinces, but that is what our government wants to do and will do.

Everyone agrees, and Canadians are fully aware of this, that money alone will not solve the problems. We need to develop a plan together with the provinces to ensure the long term sustainability of the system.

[Health, March 29th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the premiers agreed with the Prime Minister of Canada to hold a new federal-provincial meeting this summer, preceded by serious work by the health and finance ministers. Everyone agrees that ensuring the long term sustainability of the health care system will certainly require additional funding, but also a serious effort at reform and restructuring, which we want to discuss with all the provinces in the spirit of cooperation.

[Health, March 29th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, only an NDP member could possibly say that $2 billion on health care and $665 million on public health is not money. Only that party could possibly say that this is not money.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to call your attention to the fact that Roy Romanow, on the very day following the budget, absolutely supported the government's position on financing for the future of the health care system.

[Sponsorship Program, March 29th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, not in the least. It has been admitted on several occasions by the deputy minister himself that administrative errors were made at the time, and that is what we based our interpretation on.

I find it very interesting that the Bloc is constantly peppering us with all manner of questions on this. I can say one thing: we want to get to the bottom of this. More than any other government, we are going to get to the bottom of things with this public inquiry.

[Sponsorship Program, March 25th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, we never hid the fact that we were promoting Canadian unity. It is completely normal that the Prime Minister's entourage and I have supported Canadian unity for the past 30 years.

Our strategies are always open and transparent. We do not hide like the PQ wing in this House, the friends of Falardeau who spread obscene rumours about people like Claude Ryan, which the member for Trois-Rivières is repeating in this House. Such behaviour is scandalous.

[Sponsorship Program, March 25th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, when this country's unity is under fire, the government always has the responsibility to ensure that unity is maintained. When we go to the polls, we say, “Elect us, we will protect the unity of Canada”. They go to the polls saying, “Vote for us, we will not mention sovereignty for a while; vote for a good government”. They are hypocrites. That is what they are. On this side, we have a clear mandate to defend Canada.

[Sponsorship Program, March 25th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to know how much these people contribute to the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste. The Bloc recently paid for an ad in which Mr. Falardeau tried to tarnish the reputation of individuals such as Claude Ryan.

The Bloc paid for and distributed a rag in which Falardeau shamefully insulted certain individuals. Those people are in no position to preach to anyone. Our new unity approach is going to work despite the bickering.

[Sponsorship Program, March 25th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the Terry Fox Centre and the Katimavik program are examples of perfectly normal programs that were approved by the Treasury Board, like any other program at the time.

One thing is certain. When the Government of Canada promotes national unity, it is mandated by the public to do so, but when the Bloc and the PQ promote sovereignty, they hide this fact during the election campaign and get elected despite their blueprint for sovereignty. And their Conseil de la souveraineté was completely against—

[Sponsorship Program, March 25th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, this is a perfectly appropriate fund and the money was used for regular programs in various departments. Those were projects that met Treasury Board requirements and each one appears in the public accounts.