Today our health care system is facing many challenges: the booming cost of drugs and equipment, an aging population, and long wait times for key services such as MRIs and cancer treatments. Canadians want a system that is patient-focused; one that puts their health care needs first and responds to their demands for shorter waiting times. Canadians expect their governments to work together to improve access, to be accountable for the use of taxpayers' money, and to ensure that the system is sustainable for future generations.
It was Lester B. Pearson's government that created healthcare in Canada. And it was Prime Ministers Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin who improved access to health care, shortened wait times and allocated $41.3 billion to our provincial counterparts as part of the 10-Year Plan to Strengthen Health Care.
The federal government has a key role to play in improving health care in Canada; in being a good partner for the provinces, but also in being stronger in its own jurisdiction.