I am going to do my best to answer questions, but I hope she won’t tell me I’m telling her something she already knows. As I stated already, the supplementary health program right now excludes a segment of the population that needs help from the government. Those are the low income working families who need help and work in jobs that don’t have employer insurance or whatever. It is, I believe, our government’s responsibility to provide assistance for that. I hear from others, cover them anyway, bring extra money, do it by universal health care, just spend the money.

The point is this is not a part of Canada health care. This is not a legislated health care. In the rest of the country it is something that you have to pay out of your own pocket. We are suggesting that we make this program available to everybody, everyone has

access, no one will be without. But your condition of access will not be determined by your age or your medical condition or anything. It will be dependent on your ability to pay. I do not know of anything else that’s more fair than to look at one’s ability to pay to get extra help.

The Member objects to the fact that this is going to be available to all non-aboriginals. That’s why it’s fair. Before that it was not available to all non-aboriginals. There were a whole bunch of non-aboriginals who need it the most who were excluded from it. I believe that is a fair thing to do.