“Alberta is allowing more private health care, where people pay to jump the line. The federal government must enforce the Canada Health Act to stop this and protect our public system.”

“Madam Speaker, here we are just three days into the fall sitting of the House, and I am once again having to drag the government back into the House for an adjournment debate to protect our universal public health care system. Back in April, I asked a question during question period referencing the fact that the Minister of Health stood here and called herself “the guardian of the Canada Health Act”. After months of delay, she has failed to act while Alberta Premier Danielle Smith expands American-style pay-for-access diagnostics and two-tiered health care. Canadians cannot afford more stalling while our universal health care system is being undermined. Since that time, on September 1, Alberta’s Bill 11 has landed on our doorstep. The Canadian Health Coalition, which I want to thank for its tremendous work advocating for our public health care system, commissioned a legal opinion stating that Bill 11 is the most serious threat against public universal health care we have seen since the Canada Health Act was passed in 1984. The first parts of Premier Smith’s draconian Bill 11 in Alberta just recently came into force at the beginning of this month, with the rest being enacted in the coming months. Bill 11 opens the door to the privatization of public health care in Canada. As Friends of Medicare has so succinctly said, we must slam it shut. Shockingly, despite my repeated attempts at ringing the alarm bells around Alberta’s Bill 11 here in the House, through the media and in many meetings with the Minister of Health asking that she enforce the Canada Health Act to protect our public health care system from a threat that no one voted for, it was not until the eve of the recent coming into force of the bill that the minister finally said that she would be considering the ramifications of the bill. If the minister is truly the guardian, why is she taking so long to enforce the law and stop the erosion of our public health care system? This is an issue of national unity. What can happen in Alberta does not necessarily stay in Alberta. Canadians are united in their opposition to the insults and damage flowing from the American President towards Canada. The Prime Minister has been travelling abroad and hosting summits with billionaires here at home, so what happened to “elbows up” and “Canada strong”? Protecting our health care is Canada strong. That is nation building, but eroding our public health care system through inaction and failure to enforce the Canada Health Act is not Canada strong. It weakens Canada. It is not Canadian. It erodes the security of the very thing Canadians most closely identify with as part of being Canadian. Canadians do not want American-style health care, the queue-jumping for people with money or the so-called dual practice, which is now under way in Alberta. I will ask the government this again. Why has it not enforced the Canada Health Act to prevent the erosion of our public health care system, something that Canadians identify with in our shared values as a healthy and inclusive society? People should use their health care card, not their credit card, to get the help and services they need when it comes to their health.”

“A province is breaking the rules of our public health care system by moving toward private care. The federal government must enforce the law and stop this now. The NDP is the only party standing up to protect public health care.”

“Madam Speaker, I have deep respect for my colleague. I want to thank him for volunteering tonight and for coming in. I am going to ask him to volunteer to stand up against a province that is in violation of the Canada Health Act. They are moving toward a private model. That is clear. This undermines the Canada Health Act. It is the responsibility of the government to enforce it. If the government is truly the guardian of our public health care system, it needs to act. It needs to act now. Innovation is one thing, but breaking the law and the rules of the country is another. That is the responsibility of the government. It is the NDP that is showing up here at night. I am volunteering to show up, to stand up for Canadians, because no other party is coming in here to stand up against the privatization of our health care system. We will stand strong to protect our public universal health care system. I hope the government will act and act soon.”