Jean Chrétien

[Health, March 2nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, we do not spend money on health care. The provincial governments spend the money. It is not us. We have no control over the spending of the money.

We help the provincial governments with their health care systems and in exchange we ask for the five conditions to remain. It is the pride of Canadians to have a health care system which is universally free for everyone, not a system in which the rich have better services than the poor. That is why we are still

spending money on medicare, to ensure that these principles remain.

[Health, March 2nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I was a member of the House of Commons when the health care system was introduced. The five conditions written into the act will remain. I will not jeopardize the medicare system in Canada.

It is a very good system and we want to maintain it. We are holding discussions with the provinces at this time to see what can be done to make sure that while we reduce the cost of medicare we maintain the quality of service. That is exactly what we are trying to do.

The five conditions which are written into the act are there. They were in the red book and as long as I am Prime Minister they will remain in the laws of the land.

[The Budget, March 2nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, when the Minister of Finance spoke of 3 per cent, he was talking about 3 per cent of a provincial budget. The figure of 14 per cent is the cut in transfers. That is the distinction.

It is a funny thing about money transfers. For years, the opposition has been telling us to get out of these areas of jurisdiction. And when we do so, they tell us to keep on paying. But the more we stay in these areas, the more federal taxpayers have the right to insist that we be involved in such matters. We are saying to the provinces that, with the new system, we are giving them more flexibility, as they have been requesting for years.

[The Budget, March 2nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, we have in fact cut 19 per cent of federal government operations. Transfers to the provinces are cut, I believe, by 14 per cent. We were not as harsh on the provinces as we were on ourselves. I think the hon. member should recognize this. There is no difference between tax points and cash payments; they represent a transfer of resources from the federal government to the provinces.

[The Budget, March 2nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, it is true that there will be a loss of revenue in some provinces. As in many other sectors in this country where we have made cuts, people will have less money. That is what management is. When we can no longer afford to pay, we have to cut, and that is what we have done. We did not walk away from our responsibilities. There are people who blame us, and we are prepared to take the blame, but on the other hand, I know the Canadian public realizes that this government has not neglected its responsibilities and that we have done what the people wanted us to do.

[The Budget, March 2nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, we prepared the budget to squarely face the fiscal reality of the nation. At the moment I know the Canadian people support the tough action the government took because it was the right thing to do.

[The Budget, March 2nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, several years ago, the provinces started cutting their programs for health care, social services and education, and we kept sending money to the provinces.

However, because of our present financial situation, we had to make cuts. They did and we are doing the same. Today, everyone has to put his financial house in order, both the federal government and the provinces.

For years, the Leader of the Opposition has been asking us to reduce the federal presence in these sectors. When we do, he says: Pay, but keep quiet. In a democracy, he who pays the piper usually calls the tune.

Since we did what they wanted us to do, he should be satisfied, and stop criticizing.

[The Budget, February 28th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, my answer is that the hon. member's claim will not come true. At this point, we want to ensure that the pension plan is reviewed. We are required, under legislation enacted by Parliament, to meet with the provinces every five years. We must meet them this year to discuss that issue. We must ensure that Canada's pension plans can continue to exist for generations to come, as the Minister of Finance indicated in his budget yesterday.

[The Budget, February 28th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, program spending is being reduced at all government levels. Last December, if I am not mistaken, members of the present Quebec government, the opposition leader's friends, cut $600 million from health programs. We are doing the same, because cuts are necessary and all levels of government must benefit from those cuts.

[The Budget, February 28th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, provinces had been asking us for a very long time to remove certain conditions which applied to the administration of social assistance programs, and that is what we are now proposing.

As for health care services and the five conditions set in the federal Health Act, everybody in Canada agrees that they should be maintained because they are the very essence of our society and they give people access to the same health care system, regardless of one's financial circumstances.

In any case, we had to be fair in our budget. We could not cut federal government's operating expenditures systematically and not cut transfer payments to provinces. It is only a matter of treating all government programs fairly.