Opposition Motion—Pharmacare  Mr. Speaker, I am certainly pleased to stand today to address the motion from the hon. member for Vancouver Kingsway. I congratulate him on his speech and I thank him for his work on the health committee. The government is committed to implementing a national universal pharmacare program that ensures that all Canadians have access to the prescription drugs that they need.

Health  Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Newmarket—Aurora for his question. Almost every Canadian knows someone who has battled cancer. That is why we support prevention and treatment with over $50 million annually to organizations like the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and to cancer research, with $150 million from budget 2019.

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, this is one of those things that is hugely complex and affects everyone differently. We all have different approaches and different beliefs in this room about how we should approach this issue. I do not know whether we can find common ground. I think we found common ground or at least met in the mushy middle in 2015, and we let people down.

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member, who has spoken passionately about this matter. I heard you in the House in 2014 and now, and I thank you for that. Someone in the House said that we should proceed with caution. Someone else, a very smart man in this room, said we did that in 2015, and people suffered.

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, medical assistance in dying, or MAID, is complex. It is a deeply personal and difficult topic, yet this past January alone, more than 300,000 Canadians took part in the online public consultation to have their say. Many others, including experts and family members of loved ones who received MAID, took part in round-table discussions.

Pharmacare  Mr. Speaker, we are open to collaborating with members of the opposition. We are open to collaboration with members of the NDP. We will look very seriously at this bill. We will work toward coming up with things we can work together on to move forward for a national pharmacare for all Canadians.

Health  Mr. Speaker, as we learn more about COVID-19, our public health officials are updating their advice for travellers. If someone has recently travelled to any jurisdiction with a confirmed case of COVID-19 and they are unwell or unsure, we are asking that they self-isolate for 14 days.

Health  Mr. Speaker, at this time the risk does remain low, but we do in fact need to be prepared. This is a very rapidly changing situation, and based on what is happening around the world, we are preparing for a global spread of COVID-19. We must focus on the impacts within Canada. We already have emergency response plans in place.

Health  Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment to thank the front-line health care providers across this country. They have been seized with this issue from day one, have been paying attention and have been doing incredible work, and for that I am very thankful. We are committed to protecting health care workers and patients from exposure to COVID-19.

Health  Mr. Speaker, at this time the risk within Canada remains low, but we do need to be prepared. This is a rapidly evolving situation. Based on what is happening around the world, we are now preparing for a global spread of COVID-19. Our focus is now on limiting the impact within Canada.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, in 2019 over $40 billion went toward health transfers. Almost $200 billion will go toward it over the next several years, and it is going to go up by 3% every year. We are making those commitments to the provinces. Health care is provincial, but the federal government does have a role.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the member on the great work that Quebec does for health care. I look forward to perhaps using this as a model on dental care that we can study at the health committee. Maybe we can learn from Quebec. Quebec has done many things to lead the country in the past.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member as well for her incredible contribution as former minister of health and the work that she did on behalf of all Canadians. The member is absolutely correct. The number one thing we heard at the doors in Atlantic Canada was for better health care.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. The motion we are discussing today is on dental care for Canadians. What we have said from the start, and what we have seen in the mandate letter of the minister, is that we are willing to look at these things. We are willing to do whatever is necessary and whatever is possible to consider for the better health of all Canadians.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, we cannot get where we need to go for Canadians if we do not collaborate and partner with all provinces and territories. We will not get national universal pharmacare if we are not able to work with the provinces and territories. We cannot trample on jurisdiction.