By: Pat Daley
While Canadians worry about what would happen if they had a hospital emergency or need long-term care, the feds and provinces stage a play fight. It may help them advance health care privatization or enhance their careers. It does nothing for health care.
Dan Benedict, co-chair of the Ontario Health Coalition, says "It's like during the Cold War, the KGB and the CIA- each one served as an excuse for the other." There's a two-tier battle being waged over two-tier health care. One front is an ideological one, the other is jurisdictional. In the meantime, Canadians from coast to coast worry about the day they might have to go to an emergency room Or they're losing sleep over family and friends who need care at home.
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There's an ideological drive to undercut the assumptions behind the Canada Health Act while claiming to live by it |
The provincial premiers are demanding a meeting with the Prime Minister. More than one of them - in Ontario, Alberta, and Newfoundland - say federal spending cuts will force them to look at privatized health care. At the same time, federal Health Minister Allan Rock says he wants to meet with his provincial and territorial counterparts to work out long-term solutions to the problems facing the health care system.
"I would love to ask Allan Rock why he is not coming out finally with a rebuilding of the health care system in a positive sense," says Benedict. He feels there is a leadership vacuum when it comes to improving health care.
Negative leadership abounds, however. "Negative leadership aims at reducing the health care system and making it less able to do what it's supposed to do, eventually privatizing it," says Benedict.
"It's fairly clear there's an ideological drive to undercut the assumptions behind the Canada Health Act while claiming to live by it."
- Judith Maxwell says lack of leadership is built into the constitutional division of power. The president of Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN) says the federal government has only two roles: making sure the system conforms to the Canada Health Act, and
- handing over money through the Canada Health and Social Transfer.
"The lack of leadership is a reflection of the constitutional division of power," she says. "The provinces are on the line to deliver all these services." What they really want, she says, is unconditional funding, no strings attached.
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Most Canadians cannot fathom why a constitutional division of power would result in a two-hour wait in emergency |
Maxwell notes that while the provinces have no mechanism for moving forward to reform the health care system, they also would be "quite displeased" if a federal proposal were to be made public without their involvement.
The problem is compounded by the lack of sharing research, pilot project findings, and other useful information within the country, she says.
Meanwhile, the problems are all too real. So are the solutions. And most Canadians cannot fathom why a constitutional division of power would result in a two-hour wait in emergency.
There have been years of talk and study. Just last month, a new Coalition for Primary Health Care representing doctors, nurses, midwives, dieticians, health centres, and seniors called on the Ontario government to implement the recommendations for primary care reform made by that province's Health Services Restructuring Committee.
Judith Maxwell says the report from the National Forum on Health three years ago provided good information and recommendations. The problem she sees is that the provinces were not involved. If they do meet with Allan Rock, she says, "I think citizens would be quite unhappy to hear that they are just going to study the problem for another two years."
Were the federal government simply to hand over money to the provinces and territories, she says, "the question is would the money be used in a way that makes sense nationally and would it conform to the kind of promise we have made to Canadians that they will have roughly the same services at roughly the same cost."
Pat Daley is a freelance writer and editor in Athlone in Simcoe County, Ontario.
Get More/Do More
You can find out more about what's happening to health care, some ideas for fixing the system, and how to get involved by checking out these links:
Canadian Policy Research Networks www.cprn.org
Caledon Institute www.caledoninst.org
Ontario Health Coalition www.web.net/ohc
Canadian Health Coalition www.healthcoalition.ca
Save Medicare (Alberta) www.savemedicare.org
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