Ujjal Dosanjh

[Health, March 10th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I have said it so many times that I guess it bears repeating. We stand for public health care and for public delivery, which is our preference, and we stand for enforcing the Canada Health Act.

My officials are in dialogue with the provinces. Yes, we absolutely do want to enforce the Canada Health Act.

[Health, March 10th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, we will be providing $41 billion to the provinces over the next 10 years to stem the tide of privatization. They can put that money into the public health care system.

I have said very clearly that we support the public health care system. We support public delivery of health care services across this country. Our preference is not privatization.

I also said that the practice of opting out has existed from the time of Tommy Douglas and that it is outside the ambit of the act.

The hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona said that to the press some months ago. It is clearly on the record. I agree with--

[Health, March 9th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the director general of the WHO was here last year. The WHO has looked at our preparedness and has said, “Canada is the best prepared country in the world by far to deal with this issue”.

[Health, March 9th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, we are enforcing the Canada Health Act. We shall enforce the Canada Health Act.

We need to remember that the kind of clinic the hon. member talks about, her predecessor said that those kinds of clinics, which are totally outside of the system, were outside the ambit of the act. I agree with her predecessor on that issue. That is how I have looked at the act and that is how I understand it.

We have provided $41 billion for the next 10 years to the provinces on this issue. We stand for public delivery of health care and public pay for health care.

[Health, March 9th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, when the hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona was the critic for health he indicated that the kind of clinics that the hon. member is talking about were outside the ambit of the Canada Health Act and have been outside the practice around health care in Canada since the days of Tommy Douglas. I want the hon. member to remember the words of the member for Elmwood—Transcona.

[Health, March 7th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I repeat essentially what I said earlier. I reaffirm it. Obviously, a dialogue takes some time and a process takes some time. We shall get there.

[Health, March 7th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, instead of a phone call, many letters have been written to all the provinces where potential violations exist with respect to the Canada Health Act. That dialogue was resumed with them in late fall of last year, and it continues. We will be enforcing the Canada Health Act by going through the dispute avoidance resolution process.

[Health, February 24th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, our position remains the same. We have a law in Canada that bans all forms of human cloning.

We did not support the resolution because it left avenues open for the kinds of research that Canada did not agree with.

[Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, February 23rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's question is about a week late.

I announced last week that we are going to have the most open and transparent method of approving drugs, and then the most open and transparent method of surveillance of drugs after they have been approved for market. It is important that we do that. It is important for the health of each and every Canadian who takes those drugs.

[Health, February 22nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, what we will guarantee is that there will be good ethics in Canada when they are practising medicine. There will be good ethics being conducted by the pharmacists. There will be good business in Canada. As well we will protect the pricing regime for the country.

We are not intending to shut down any business in this country. We just want to make sure that we have good medical ethics and that we protect the pricing regime for all Canadians.