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Adjournment Proceedings

2026-05-28 Sitting 124 Showing 1–4 of 4

In a debate about healthcare, an NDP member accused the Liberal government of allowing public healthcare to erode, while the Liberal member claimed they are working collaboratively with provinces. The NDP member called the Liberal's speech dishonest, and the Liberal accused the NDP member of spreading misinformation.

Official Hansard ↗

Heather McPherson

NDP 6:35 p.m.

“Alberta's public health care is in crisis. I asked if the minister is letting it collapse on purpose or just doesn't care enough. Instead of an answer, all I got was vague platitudes. People are literally dying waiting for care. Emergency rooms are overloaded and understaffed, with patients treated in hallways. Meanwhile, Danielle Smith is openly dismantling public health care, allowing two-tiered care and private billing. The Canada Health Act is being violated. The federal government is silent while corporations get whatever they want. I'm worried public health care is being sold off in secret trade deals. The feds must act to enforce the Canada Health Act now.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, Albertans are tired. They are tired of hearing talking points while their public health care system collapses around them. I asked the minister whether she is deliberately allowing public health care to erode or whether she simply does not care enough to protect it. What I got in response was another vague non-answer and more platitudes about working with provincial partners. Meanwhile, in Alberta, people are dying as they wait for care. That is not figurative or rhetorical; it is literal. Emergency room doctors in my province are warning that preventable deaths are happening because emergency rooms are overcrowded, understaffed and overwhelmed. Seventeen rural emergency rooms are closed today because there are not enough health care workers. Patients are being treated in hallways and storage closets. Nearly one in five Albertans leaves the emergency room without receiving care, because the wait times are so unbearable. While all of this is happening, Danielle Smith is openly dismantling public health care. She passed Bill 11, introducing two-tiered health care into Alberta for the first time in Canadian history. She is allowing doctors to charge patients privately while still billing the public system. She is diverting public money and health care workers away from the public system, and the public wait-lists grow longer. This violates the spirit and the principles of the Canada Health Act, in terms of universality, accessibility and equal care based on need, not on wealth. While I am not surprised to see this Conservative government attack health care, the silence and the complicity of the Liberal government in the face of the breaking of the Canada Health Act is shocking. We watch the Liberal government, and every single time a corporation comes knocking, it opens the doors. However, when it comes time to protect our public institutions, we hear nothing. I am very curious about whether health care is being quietly put on the block in negotiations such as CUSMA and other trade agreements, in which corporate access and investor protections are treated as untouchable but public services are treated as bargaining chips. How far is this government willing to go to accommodate corporate interests, even if it means weakening something that Canadians fundamentally believe in and fundamentally require? The minister says she supports the Canada Health Act, but support without enforcement is meaningless. If the federal government refuses to act while a province openly builds a two-tiered health care system, then what exactly is the Canada Health Act for? Right now, Albertans are watching the slow Americanization of our health care. People with money move to the front of the line, and everyone else waits longer. This is not Canadian health care, and Canadians know it. The federal government cannot keep hiding behind scripted talking points. Albertans deserve answers. When will the government enforce the Canada Health Act?

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Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal 6:40 p.m.

“I want to make people think we are doing something. We talk to provinces. It is not just Alberta with health problems. The federal government gives provinces a lot of money for health care. We will keep talking to provinces to make changes. No federal cuts to health care. Liberals support the Canada Health Act. It is part of our identity.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I will indicate to the member that the Minister of Health has had some discussions. We have been working collaboratively not only with the Province of Alberta but in fact with all provinces, territories and indigenous communities to deal with the important issue of health care. When we think about Alberta, because the member made reference to Bill 11, the Minister of Health's counterpart in the Alberta government has received a promise from Alberta that it will keep its bill within the boundaries of the Canada Health Act. The member made reference to a litany of problems dealing with health care that the people of Alberta are concerned about. I can assure the member that the types of issues that are there are not unique to the province of Alberta. There are other provinces, and I can talk about my home province of Manitoba, in which there are some very serious issues dealing with health care. However, much like Alberta, we have a federal government that is working collaboratively with the provinces, territories and indigenous communities. I will give a specific example. We have given $5 billion, over the next three years, to deal with health care infrastructure. We hope that every province will take it up. That is about $215 million-plus going to the province of Manitoba in order to deal with health care capital expenses. I, for example, have made the suggestion that this is the time Manitoba should be re-establishing emergency services at the Victoria Hospital in the south end of Winnipeg and the Seven Oaks hospital in the north end. I just use that as an example. Never before have we seen the number of dollars transferred to provinces and territories that we are seeing today under the federal government and the Prime Minister. Even at this time in our history, we have reinforced our commitment to health care. There are no federal cuts going to the health care system. We will continue to work with and encourage provinces to manage the changes that are necessary in order to have the type of health care services that Canadians want and deserve, but it means that we have to work with these other jurisdictions. We will continue to do that to manage the changes that are necessary. Let there be no doubt that every Liberal member of Parliament understands and fully supports the Canada Health Act. The Canada Health Act, I would suggest, is a part of our Canadian identity. We value the system we have. We understand it. We support the Canada Health Act. In the specific case the member raised, the Minister of Health has had dialogue, has had direct communication with her provincial counterpart and has had the assurance that the bill the member is referencing will be in complete compliance and stay within the boundaries of the Canada Health Act. As we continue to move forward on such an important file, it is important to see the different jurisdictions working together. Let us get best practices. Let us make sure that we have the health care that Canadians want well into the future for future generations.

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Heather McPherson

NDP 6:45 p.m.

“I don't believe that the Liberal government is honest. They say they talk to provinces and get assurances, but nothing happens. They break their promises on pharmacare, mental health, and dental care. The Liberals claim to support the Canada Health Act, but they won't meet with the Canadian Health Coalition who say that Bill 11 breaks the law. The Liberals should defend the law.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I have to say that I feel as though that was one of the most dishonest speeches I have ever heard in this place, to be honest. The member talks about the minister's having dialogue with her counterpart and says that they have been assured. Is this similar to when the Liberal government asked grocery stores to behave better, and they got an assurance? Is it the same thing as when the Liberal government promised to support pharmacare for all Canadians, but then did not do it; to expand mental health care for Canadians, and then did not do it; to make sure that all Canadians had access to the dental care they require, and then backed away from those promises? Is this the same Liberal government that says the Canada Health Act should be universally accessible but refuses to meet with members of the Canadian Health Coalition, who have a legal opinion that has been created and actually says that Bill 11 breaks the Canada Health Act? It breaks the law. They should defend the law.

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Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal 6:45 p.m.

“I want to say my party is helping Canadians. We have a dental program and pharmacare. The provinces are responsible for health care but we're spending a lot of money on it too.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in my previous answer, the Minister of Health of Canada has met with the counterpart and has been provided the assurances. However, the member is full of all sorts of misinformation in terms of her response. We do have a national dental program for millions of Canadians, thousands in the member's own riding, that is there today being ensured by this Prime Minister and by this government, to continue to be there for Canadians. We do have a pharmacare program. What the member does not realize is that health care is a joint responsibility with the provinces, which are charged with the responsibility of administering it. When we can do so, through finances such as supports for mental health, long-term care, pharmacare and dental care, the federal government has been there and will continue to be there.

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What they said. What they meant.

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