Evidence of meeting #124 for Health in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was answer.
A video is available from Parliament.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Mark Holland Liberal Ajax, ON
I'm sorry, Mr. Chair; I don't believe there was an equivalency of time there.
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Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sean Casey
That was about a 40-second question and about a four-second answer before you interrupted there, Mrs. Goodridge.
Go ahead. You have another 30 seconds to answer that question.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Mark Holland Liberal Ajax, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
A young doctor doesn't have huge accumulated capital assets. We're not talking salary here; we're talking capital assets.
In the last five years, those people who had the money to have capital assets have made an extraordinary amount of money, and I think it's fair to ask them to pay a bit more.
You know who hasn't made an extraordinary amount of money on capital assets? They are personal support workers, nurses and plumbers, and those folks are looking at the marginal tax rate they pay and asking why they should pay a higher tax rate than somebody else.
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Conservative
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Liberal
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Conservative
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Liberal
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Conservative
Laila Goodridge Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB
Minister, respectfully, I appreciate that you think you can just talk over everybody, because that's what you've been doing so far, but I'm going to say that this is my time.
I've asked very specifically what analysis Health Canada did on the number of doctors who would flee our borders and go practise elsewhere as a direct application of implementing these reckless tax changes.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Mark Holland Liberal Ajax, ON
I've just explained that I see no evidence of that and that the equity that I just stated is very clear. Asking a nurse to pay a higher marginal tax rate than a millionaire—
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Laila Goodridge Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB
Thank you, Minister.
Are you saying that Health Canada—
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Liberal
Mark Holland Liberal Ajax, ON
—isn't fair, and we need a fair tax system, and we need to make investments in our health care system, and we need revenue to do that.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Laila Goodridge Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB
Minister, again, this is my time, not yours.
Are you saying that Health Canada did not do any impact analysis on doctors who would flee because of these tax changes, yes or no?
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Liberal
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Conservative
Laila Goodridge Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB
I didn't ask what you believe. I asked if there was—
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Liberal
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Liberal
Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South, ON
Mr. Chair, interruptions are incredibly difficult for our interpreters, too. We all want to listen, thank you.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Mark Holland Liberal Ajax, ON
Well, the brief answer is that you've concocted a narrative, and you're looking for evidence that doesn't exist for the narrative. If you want to know what menaces our health system, it's cutting dental care, cutting pharmacare, cutting health care.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
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Liberal
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Conservative
Laila Goodridge Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB
Effectively, Canadians get to hear that there was no analysis. This is all based on your beliefs, your hopes and wishes, and unicorns. It's not actually based on any economic analysis, or if there is economic analysis, you won't share that with us. You continue repeating all of the same talking points, yet you will not provide any analysis, so how can we trust you?