ADDRESS BY PRIME MINISTER JEAN CHRÉTIEN On the Occasion of the Prime Minister's Dinner

November 28, 2002
St. John, New Brunswick

I want to talk tonight about some of the big issues on our Liberal agenda. Issues like the economy. Innovation. Kids. Cities. Ratifying Kyoto and protecting the environment. Renewing Medicare. For our children. And future generations.

When I first became the Prime Minister, Canada was a far different country than it is today. More fragile. Less united. Less self confident.

Well, what a difference nine years make.

The Canadian economy in 2002 is creating jobs faster than it has for decades. Interest rates and mortgage rates are very low. Personal disposable income has been rising for five years in a row.

The number of children living in low income families has dropped by 25 percent from 16.7% in 1996 to 12.5% in 2000.

The unity of the country is stronger than ever. We have become a very strong, very confident country.

During the recent global slowdown, our economy experienced only a brief contraction. But the American economy shrank in each of the first three quarters of 2001.

Not long after I became Prime Minister, the Wall Street Journal called Canada a candidate for Third World status. I admit to feeling very proud the day before yesterday when the International Monetary Fund released a report on Canada.

It said: "On the heels of exceptional macroeconomic performance since the mid-1990s, the Canadian economy has remained remarkably resilient in the face of the global downturn. The economy’s strong performance owes much to the sound policy framework and its skillful implementation. Canada’s macroeconomic prospects continue to be favorable".

It is due in no small measure to our insistence on rock solid fiscal discipline. We have reduced taxes, paid down debt and balanced the books.

But our Liberal agenda recognizes that this healthy balance sheet will only remain healthy if we continue to invest in our society: in learning, in health, in children and in the environment.

And just look at what we have done: the National Child Benefit; a secure Canada Pension Plan; Aboriginal Head Start; SchoolNet; the Millennium Scholarships; investments in universities; new money for health care; investments in early childhood development; a new Agricultural Policy framework; the Clarity Act. The Atlantic Canada Innovation Fund.

But the true test of enduring public confidence is not the difference we have made, but the difference we will still make – that we must make.

Because, my friends, we have a lot more work to do.

There are still too many poor families and poor kids. Who need a good start in life. And who look to government for help.

Investment in people is both good economic policy and good social policy. Our future depends on providing the best possible opportunities for our children. As a society, we must strive to ensure that every Canadian child, no matter where they live, has the best possible start in life and the chance to achieve their full potential. So they can contribute fully to Canadian society.

This is why we have committed in the last Throne Speech to further increase the National Child Benefit for low-income families, building on our reinvestments in recent years.

Our Throne Speech, two months ago, put an emphasis on health, children, infrastructure, environment, and innovation.

Cities like Saint John play an important role in our nation’s economic development. That is why the federal government is also acting on an urban strategy.

We are well on the way towards a budget which will deliver on these priorities in a way that provides long term accountability, sustainability and continued balanced budgets.

Let me turn now to an issue of great importance to the future. The House of Commons is now debating the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol.

In the interests of future generations, it falls to this generation of Canadians to confront the issue. And it is a challenge that Canadians are prepared to take.

We have ten years to meet our obligations under the treaty. We can make progress together. We will ratify Kyoto and implement our obligations with a made-in-Canada plan.

There are many good ideas: from industry, and from provincial governments. That will take us a long way. Technology will take us further.

Working together, seizing opportunities, putting aside the rhetoric. I am confident that Canadians can rise to the challenge.

We will meet our targets – responsibly – in the best interests of the economy, the environment and future generations.

My friends, let me address now an issue which is of fundamental importance to Canadians. Health care.

Today, Roy Romanow released the report of the Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care. A very important milestone on the way to reform and long term sustainability of public medicare in Canada.

I want here tonight to congratulate Mr. Romanow on a job very well done. Not simply because he was on time and on budget. But because of the quality of his work, the breadth of his consultations, and the thoughtfulness of his recommendations.

Of course, I cannot yet comment in detail on his recommendations. We have just received the report. We must study it carefully. Read it in the context of other reports. Work with the Provinces. Listen to stakeholders. And, I guess, I have to talk to the Minister of Finance as well!

But I can say that the Romanow Report sets out a comprehensive blueprint for public medicare for the 21^st Century. And I like much of what I see so far. It builds on the September 2000 health agreement of all First Ministers.

New investments have to focus on change. And results. Like assuring Canadians access to quality health care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

That is what is meant by primary care reform. Like targeted home care for patients who have just been released from hospital.

Like more and better diagnostic equipment. Like improved services for Canadians in rural and remote areas. Like addressing the cost of drugs. Like more accountability and transparency.

I can make one promise here tonight. The Romanow Report will not gather dust on a shelf. We will move quickly.

Mr. Romanow’s report as well as the Senate Committee Report, and various provincial reports, will help governments develop a national approach for addressing Canada’s health care needs.

Our government will do its part. We will devote our energies to work with the provinces over the next few weeks to develop a federal-provincial approach. Every Premier – no matter whether we disagree on other issues – has assured me of full co-operation in achieving a plan for health care reform. And they can be assured in return of my full co-operation.

This is not a matter for partisan politics. It is no place to score political points.

Everyone knows that money alone will not solve our health care problems.

Everyone also agrees that a concrete action plan to modernize medicare and bring about significant long term change will require money.

If there is a plan to produce significant long term change, and if all governments agree on the plan, I can assure Canadians tonight, the necessary federal dollars will be there as well.

There will be a First Ministers Meeting in late January to agree on a comprehensive plan to modernize medicare. The meeting must be successful. It will be successful. Canadians won’t allow their leaders to do anything less. The political price for any leader who blocks a successful meeting on health will be very high indeed.

And I can assure Canadians that after a successful meeting, we will be there with the federal share of the money to finance that long term plan.

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