Mr. Clarence Gillis (Cape Breton South):

should like to direct a question to the Minister of National Health and Welfare. Has the provincial government of Nova Scotia as yet signified its intention of becoming a partner in the national hospital insurance plan?

Mr. Gillis:

A lot of people are mixed up but not honestly. I believe the hon. gentleman who just took his seat was honestly mixed up. He obviously did a lot of work on his speech, but I just could not follow his argument. If he is going to run in the next election I would not advise him to use the low Canadian average income as an argument against this resolution. He emphasized several times that over 1,300,000 Canadians work for incomes that keep them under the income tax exemptions.

Mr. Clarence Gillis (Cape Breton South):

Mr. Speaker, I do not wish to take up any more time than is necessary on this resolution, because it is a debate that has been carried on in this house for a long time and has been listened to by most hon. members. My colleague the hon. member for Winnipeg North Centre introduced it, and I agree with everything he said on the matter. There is no need for me to repeat it. However, the hon. member who just took his seat was very honestly mixed up, because I believe he did a lot of home work on his speech.

Mr. Gillis:

That is what I said a moment ago; I said he was honestly mixed up. He is doing the best he can with a bad cause.

I think a lot of government members are mixed up concerning the question of the proposed national hospital insurance, which they feel is the cure for the ills described in the subject matter of this resolution. Hospital insurance will not have anything to do with the situation dealt with in the resolution. If the type of hospital insurance that is talked about is brought in it will merely be hospital insurance, and it will have no effect on the question of the exemption of medical expenses for income tax purposes.

Income Tax Act

There is no one in this house who is foolish enough to think you can get something for nothing in this world, or that you can continue demanding more and collecting less to pay for it. Everyone realizes that.

Mr. Gillis:

The incomes of that group are small and if I sat on the government side of the house I would not use them as an argument.