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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 154

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 6, 2023 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 154 - Feb/6/23
Mr. Daniel Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona, NDP)
  • Feb/6/23 2:14:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as provincial premiers descend upon Ottawa to discuss health care funding, debate about health care privatization is raging. There are people who say that because there is already some private delivery in the system, we should not be concerned about there being more, but this misses the point. We know there is for-profit delivery, like in long-term care. We saw during the pandemic that these facilities had worse health outcomes and higher death rates. The question is whether we want more of that or less of it. Canadians should not trust the advice of Conservative governments, like the one in Manitoba, that plead poverty and call for privatization while closing emergency rooms and giving giant tax rebates. We need provinces to help develop a coordinated strategy to train enough health care providers across the entire country. Private centres hire from the same pool. We need a plan to expand that pool of workers, not a plan for discriminatory access based on ability to pay. I exhort the Prime Minister and the premiers to pay heed as they sit down to chart a course for the next generation of Canadian health care.
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Context: House Hansard - 154 - Feb/6/23
Mr. Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, NDP)
  • Feb/6/23 2:27:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our health care system is in crisis as result of cuts by the Conservatives and Liberals. Although the Prime Minister promised to strengthen our public system, he is confusing innovation and privatization. He is more than a little off the mark. Profit has no place in any discussion about people's health. We need to invest in our universal public health care system now more than ever. More money in the private sector means more health care workers not working in the public sector. When will the Prime Minister understand that privatizing health care is not innovation, but rather a step backwards?
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