The Opposition Canadian Alliance pressed the Liberals on Friday to show Canadians where the money will come from to implement Roy Romanow's $15-million plan to improve health care.

Alliance MP Chuck Strahl warned that it was not likely the government could do so without tax increases.

The Alliance put the screws to the Liberals during Question Period on Friday by asking the federal government how it will fund the recommendations, when Finance Minister John Manley has earmarked only $14.4-billion for new initiatives of any kind between now and 2006. That is the same period for which Mr. Romanow recommended funding for health care be increased by $15-billion.

"The projected surplus is $14-billion. How can they possibly pay for this wish list without increasing taxes?" Alliance MP Chuck Strahl asked in the Commons.

"My colleague [Mr. Manley] has been fairly clear. Canadians do not want their taxes increased," Health Minister Anne McLellan replied.

While the minister said she recognizes that "obviously the health system needs new money," she said many other ministries are also clamouring for funds.

"We need to ensure we meet the needs of all Canadians," she said.

Ms. McLellan, her voice reduced to a hoarse whisper from commenting extensively on the Romanow report on Thursday, fielded most of the questions from opposition MPs in the House on Friday as well.

The Bloc Québécois spoke against the provision in the recommendations that any new money for the provinces be provided with accountability to the federal government.

They asked Ms. McLellan to convince the Prime Minister to pay the money directly to the provinces with no conditions. The Bloc also expressed concern that Ottawa would drag its feet in handing over the money.

"We do not anticipate any delay in implementing this report," Ms. McLellan said, adding that a federal-provincial meeting of health ministers is scheduled for next Friday, where the two sides will try to hammer out an agreement on the funding strategy for the provinces.

But she rejected the idea that any province be given funding without strings attached.

"Provinces deliver health care, but in fact we are there as partners with them," she said.

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien has commented only briefly on the report and was not present in the Commons on Friday.

On Thursday, after the report came out, Mr. Chrétien made a few brief references to it on his way into an event in New Brunswick.

He told ATV News in an interview that financing would have to be tied to a monitoring program on the effectiveness of health-care changes, but he made no guarantee that the government would back all the recommendations.

"It's not my money, it's your money. ... I know the premiers are very serious. They want to find a solution to that," he said. "And we could find some money. Probably not as much as Mr. Romanow is recommending."

He also promised that Mr. Romanow's report would not gather dust and would be implemented quickly.

Progressive Conservative finance critic Scott Brison said in a statement Friday that it was unfortunate that Mr. Romanow failed to address the issue of a possible role for the private sector in health care. "Whether for political or ideological reasons, Mr. Romanow refused to acknowledge private-sector involvement," Mr. Brison said, "quite possibly to the detriment of Canada's health-care system."

NDP MP Bev Desjarlais asked Ms. McLellan whether the government would back only publicly funded health care.

Ms. McLellan said she did not believe that the Romanow report denounced the use of private health clinics in some instances.

"In fact, I do not believe the commissioner has called for the outlawing of private, for-profit health care," she said. "He obviously expresses concerns about it."

The Health Minister said she has made it "absolutely clear" that a mix of delivery modes — both private and public — is necessary for the system to run properly.

With a report from Kevin Cox