However, there is light at the end of the wait times tunnel. Our government has made a commitment to reduce wait times and will guarantee reasonable wait times. This is a priority.

Last Friday, when I went home to the riding, my first stop was at the funeral of a well known and dearly loved constituent. Our friend and neighbour died of that dastardly disease that is no stranger to many of our friends and family, and that is cancer. As unfortunate as this story is, I know that even in his worst moments, he received the best care from people he loved. Our government has made a statement on wait times guarantee and I want to be sure that Canadians receive the health care they have paid for with their hard earned tax dollars.

As I mentioned, I am not new to the evils of cancer, nor are my colleagues, many of whom are in the House here now. My mother, brother and sister have been affected by this disease. Fortunately, they received the care they needed. However, far too often Canadians find themselves on waiting lists that are far too long, forcing them to wait, sometimes in pain, discomfort and fear, and some at risk to their lives.

I want to ensure that no Canadian has to wait too long for treatment. I know that this government to which I belong will ensure that no Canadian is left out in the cold and that we will work together with our provincial partners in order to meet the wait times guarantee.

I know the Minister of Health and his team are working very hard and are responsible for a budget of $41 billion over 10 years in health care and will be contributing to the health care envelope. I am happy to report that $5.5 billion of that has been earmarked specifically to reduce wait times. That is no small amount. Further, the guarantee will ensure that if people cannot get the medical care they need where they live, in the public system and within an established benchmark, they will be able to get that care either outside their community or their province, with the cost being covered by the public insurance system. No one can argue that this is significant progress.

Thinking outside the box, commonly referred to as innovation, will be critical to ensure that health care remains timely and sustainable. It should be noted by all in the House, indeed this country, that Alberta has recently reduced wait times from 47.7 weeks to 4.7 weeks for hip and knee replacements. This clearly demonstrates that dramatic, patient-centre innovation is achievable within our current public health care system. We must be mindful that these approaches must be consistent with the principles of a universally accessible and equitable public health care system. We in Cobourg are most fortunate to have a state of the art new hospital due in part to the current minister, when he acted in his provincial capacity, and most commendably due to the generosity of the people of west Northumberland. In Quinte West there is an expanded hospital at the Trenton Memorial Hospital, part of the Quinte health care system. The hospital my family and I use is in Campbellford. The Campbellford Memorial Hospital is a most caring, loving and competent place with which to receive healthcare. Some of the best hospitals are in my riding and the health care workers, men and women, who operate them are second to none.

In addition to health care, I want to remind Canadians why they voted for this new government. It is because we promised to deliver five key priorities: cutting the GST from 7% to 6% and then to 5%; ensuring our communities are safe by cracking down on gun, gang and drug crime; giving parents choice in child care with a $1,200annual payment for each child under the age of six; creating 125,000more child care spaces; and working with the provinces and territories to establish to a health care patient wait times guarantee. I look forward to the things that are to come under the direction of the new Prime Minister, including today's announcement of the federal accountability act. This is just another way we are sticking to our election platform commitments. That is why I am so pleased to see the Speech from the Throne set an agenda and stick to it, which is a welcome change to what we have seen in governments past.

Question
Mr. Yvon Godin (Acadie—Bathurst, NDP): Mr. Speaker, we talk about child care and the $1,200 to be given to families to help them. I looked at the throne speech and there was nothing in it about working families and employment insurance. Because of the cuts that the Liberals made to EI 1996, only 38% of men qualify for EI and only 33% of women qualify. This means that 800,000 people in our country do not qualify for employment insurance, and 1.4million children are going hungry. The throne speech did not talk at all about that.

It is nice to give money, which the province will probably takeaway from people who are on welfare, for example, or through taxation. People are hurting due to the changes made by the Liberal government in 1996. What are the views of the member on my comments, which are facts?

Mr. Rick Norlock: Mr. Speaker, I come from a working class family. I am the eldest of six children. I can recall wearing hand-me downs, et cetera. I can say that the $1,200 for every child under six, which the government proposes, will indeed affect mostly Canadians of lesser means. In addition, I have heard talk in the House of how supposedly little the 1% reduction in the GST will mean to people as a whole. In particular, I have seen many statistics where it is actually the poorest people who will save the most. Under the former Liberal government's reduction plan, 32% of Canadians would pay no tax and would receive nothing from their tax reduction. Every Canadian will receive a benefit from the 1% reduction in the GST. That will go a long way to helping people manage their budgets.

[A second question was not answered due to expiry of time and adjournment for the day]