Health  Mr. Speaker, as this is my first opportunity to rise in the House, I wish to thank the people of Parry Sound—Muskoka for this immense privilege. I want to assure the hon. member opposite that the government is committed to universally accessible, publicly funded health care that

Health  Mr. Speaker, I am in agreement with the hon. member that in fact we have to have innovation in our health care system, but it has to be openly accessible and universally accessible within a publicly funded system. There is a lot of innovation that can occur within that mandate.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, as one of the many newly elected members of the House, I want to begin by expressing my sincere thanks to the great people of Parry Sound—Muskoka who put their trust and faith in me to represent them in this new government. I am honoured to serve the 85,000 people in

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, as has been outlined by the Minister of Indian Affairs, there is no agreement in place that has been endorsed by a court, so we find ourselves struggling with this issue. It has the full attention of the Minister of Indian Affairs. We all want a settlement as soon as

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I think it is safe to say that the discussions on wait time guarantees have been initiated since the election of this government. They are ongoing. What I can report to this House is that considerable work has been done on benchmarking in the months gone by. I see

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has touched on the various elements of my speech to the House on this very issue. As he may recall, earlier today I mentioned four cornerstones for a wait times guarantee to become a reality. They are research, technology, jurisdictional cooperation a

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, this is one of those areas where a bit of investment at the beginning can make a huge difference in terms of overall accessibility to cost. I will give the hon. member an example that is absolutely fitting for northern Canada. When we invest in information and commu

Public Health Agency of Canada Act  moved for leave to introduce BillC-5, An Act respecting the establishment of the Public Health Agency of Canada and amending certain Acts. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Hepatitis C  Mr. Speaker, as hon. members on both sides of the House know, this issue has been festering for a number of years. We made a campaign pledge and we intend to keep it.

Hepatitis C  Mr. Speaker, I can assure the hon. member that this is one of my top priorities. I know there has been a little barracking on both sides of the House, but I can tell the hon. member that this is a priority for this government. We are moving with alacrity. I can tell the hon. memb

Health  Mr. Speaker, what I can report to the House is that the budget of this government has added a further 6%, $1.1 billion, in transfer payments to the provinces. Next year there will be another $1.2 billion. Of the $41 billion of the new deal for health care, fully $5.5 billion wil

Health  Mr. Speaker, as I explained to the House, there is an additional investment in wait time reductions. We have followed through on our promises, which are consistent with our promises in the campaign. If I were dining on Liberal promises, I would be wasting away right now. They do

Health  Mr. Speaker, it is important for this situation to be more regulated. The regulatory requirements are now clear. I want to add that in the current context a doctor has to make the request. I believe this situation is clearer and promotes women's health.

Health  Mr. Speaker, it is important for the situation to be regulated. That is now the case. It is important for Health Canada to protect women at all times. I want to add in this House that a regulated situation exists and that we can defend women in this situation.

Health  Mr. Speaker, in my colleague's budget on behalf of the Government of Canada, there was $1 billion earmarked for pandemics and pandemic planning. To prepare for the pandemic, $600 million is going to go to various government agencies designed to cooperate not only with other pro