By Henry Srebrnik, [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
The story of a Charlottetown man who waited over three hours
in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital emergency room, and then was told to go
to Summerside to be treated, again underscores the terrible problems all
Canadians face today in dealing with our public health care system.
All federal political parties pledged to inject more funding into health
care during the June election campaign. After all, as former health
commissioner Roy Romanow recently remarked, Canada's very national
identity depends on a decent medical system.
He stated that "not only are we dealing with health care, but concepts
of nationhood and citizenship."
The new federal Health Minister, Ujjal Dosanjh, has declared public
heath care to be "the core of who we are as Canadians" and the central
social program for Canada. "Canadians cherish that program. It is an
institution in Canada."
Prime Minister Paul Martin will meet with provincial and territorial
leaders Sept. 13-15 to work on a plan to fulfill key election promises
on health care. Two western premiers, Gordon Campbell of British
Columbia and Ralph Klein of Alberta, want Ottawa to "walk the walk" and
provide more money to the provinces--a federal contribution of 25 per
cent of the share of medicare costs, up from the 16 per cent the federal
government now gives them. This would require an additional $4 billion
in transfer payments each year.
Premier Pat Binns, too, will argue for increased federal funding for
health care at the September summit, in order to make the system
sustainable. He also said he also wants to discuss how much money Ottawa
sends to the have-not provinces in equalization, since much of PEI's
equalization money is spent on health care.
At their own meeting of the Council of the Federation, held in July, the
premiers also called for a shared national pharmacare program that would
help people hit with catastrophic drug costs. It is estimated that the
cost of such a program would range between $7 billion and $11 billion.
"But we see this as a two-part package," said Binns. "We're still
looking for Ottawa to move up to 25 per cent of expenditures on health
programs."
In their gathering with the prime minister, the premiers will no doubt
put pressure on Martin to come through. The prime minister has promised
to negotiate with the premiers for as long as it takes to get a deal, to
which he has committed $9 billion over five years to reduce waiting
lists. But that's just a drop in the bucket for a system that costs
close to $100 billion a year already.
And the Liberals also want strings attached to the money doled out to
the provinces, demanding that they stop the growth of private clinics
that deliver medical services. As well, Ottawa wants a new dispute
resolution mechanism designed to resolve difficulties between the two
levels of government over potential violations of the Canada Health Act.
Only two other countries ban the private delivery of health care for
services already covered by government: Cuba and North Korea. They too
prefer top-down monopolistic health care.
Why has it come to this in Canada? Because, as University of Toronto law
professor Colleen Flood recently wrote, "health care, after all, is the
one great leveler." Health is absolutely essential to everyone's
well-being, so, we all profess to believe, no one should be advantaged
over someone else who might be less able to pay for medical services.
And so in its wisdom, parliament in 1984 passed the Canada Health Act,
which prohibits privately funded delivery of most medical services and
makes the taxpayer foot almost the entire bill.
But if we really accept this logic, why not extend this mind-set, which
insists on a one-size-fits-all government monopoly, to other essential
spheres of life? Imagine these scenarios:
Parliament, decreeing food to be an absolute necessity, passes the
"Canada Grocery Act." All supermarkets become not-for-profit
government-run operations. Given the reluctance of taxpayers to fund
"luxury" items, the only meat sold will be hamburger. Those wishing to
buy steak, out of their own pockets, will have to travel to the United
States.
Given the importance of travel, in particular for access to jobs,
parliament then passes the "Canada Transportation Act." All public
transit will henceforth be paid for out of the public purse. And all car
dealerships will be run by a Ministry of Transportation, with only
Chevrolets for sale. Again, those wishing to buy Cadillacs or other more
expensive makes will have to do so south of the border.
Nor should intellectual activity be overlooked. Under a new "Canada
Higher Education Act," all post-secondary institutions will become
tuition-free zones. And in order to create a level playing field for
readers, Ottawa mandates, under the "Canada Book Act," that no book be
sold for more than $25, in government-run bookstores. Some titles may
simply not be available at that price, so people wanting more expensive
volumes will have to visit a border bookstore.
Already thousands of Canadians tired of waiting for surgery or other
medical treatments travel to the United states for their operations.
Soon every U.S. border town will also see tremendous growth in grocery
stores, car dealerships and bookshops.
Now, let's get back to our discussion about the "Canada Health
Act"...And while we're at it, since health care has become almost
iconic, why not take this argument to its reductio ad absurdum, and
elect a doctor as prime minister?
