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House Hansard - 6

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 29, 2021 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 6 - Nov/29/21
Mr. Stéphane Bergeron (Montarville, BQ)
  • Nov/29/21 4:08:35 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-2 
Mr. Speaker, we are studying a bill on providing support to certain sectors of the economy. I think that is entirely appropriate. At the height of the pandemic, we saw the limitations of our health care system. The government keeps saying that we have to take care of our health care system, but falls short on taking meaningful action to do so. I would like the government to stop invoking health like an incantation. What needs to happen is an increase in health transfers. The federal government promised a long time ago to cover 50% of health care costs in Canada; it now covers only 23%. However, when we ask the Prime Minister to keep his promise, he tells us we are asking for a blank cheque, the term our Conservative colleague used several times. It seems like the government is the one asking us for blank cheques and refusing to do what it promised, namely increase and maintain a 50% contribution to health care. The provinces are calling for an increased contribution for health care from the federal government, which is absolutely necessary during a pandemic, since we have seen the limitations of our health care system. What does our colleague think of the Prime Minister's claim that this is akin to asking for a blank cheque?
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