October 18, 2004

Hon. Bill Blaikie (Elmwood-Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. The Minister of Health will recall that as leader the Prime Minister in the recent election campaigned against the Tories because he said he was against credit card medicine. We now have credit card medicine in Montreal.

What is the Minister of Health doing about it and how does he reconcile the fact that he is not doing anything with the things the Liberals said during the election campaign?

Hon. Ujjal Dosanjh (Minister of Health, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I want the member to remember that we just poured $41 billion into health care for the next 10 years. I just want him to remember that.

We are the defenders and protectors of health care. I am looking at the Canada Health Act situation with respect to the Montreal clinic. It is very important that we review the situation. It is also important that we deal with these issues in an amicable way to make sure that the spirit of the act survives and that across the country public health care thrives every day.

Hon. Bill Blaikie (Elmwood-Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I am beginning to understand why we did not get anything for him when we traded him to the Liberals.

The Minister of Health said that pharmacare was years away, that they could not afford it, and yet they promised a national pharmacare program during the election. Presumably they did not know they had the kind of surplus they have today. Why can they not afford pharmacare today when they have a surplus that is way larger than it was when they promised it?

Hon. Ujjal Dosanjh (Minister of Health, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, after I left, I did not know whether they had anything to give over there. I honestly did not know.

We established a task force headed by the minister of health from B.C. and myself as co-chairs. We are going to look at bulk purchasing. We are going to look at national formulary. We want to make sure that we build the blocks so that eventually we may have a national pharmacare plan across the country.