Rejecting
the Conservative Prescription for Healthcare
By
Ujjal Dosanjh, Minister of Health
The
extreme right wing vision of a checkerboard Canada with a privatized
health care system embodied in the recently released Manning/Harris
report is in stark contrast to the cherished Canadian values of
compassion, generosity and equality of citizenship that are enshrined in
our universal public health care system.
Mike Harris and Preston Manning have done Canadians a service by
giving frank and candid expression to the hidden health care agenda of
Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party.
The
crux of the Harris/Manning health care plan is the abolition of the Canada
Health Act and the eradication of the federal government’s role in
financing health care. Abolishing
the Canada Health Act would mean nothing less than the abandonment
of national principles for health care in Canada.
It would mean the end of Medicare - a system that ensures that all
Canadians – no matter where
they live in the country and no matter their income - have coverage for
physician and hospital services on uniform terms and conditions. It would
mean the end of a system where access to care is based on need and not
ability to pay.
Manning
and Harris would fill the void left by the abolition of the Canada
Health Act with more private delivery and payment.
The belief that privatization is a magic recipe that will meet the
challenges facing our health care system is a hardy right wing perennial.
But it is absurd. There is ample evidence that private payment for health
care increases administrative costs; promotes inequities; prevents
individuals from getting needed care, and increases overall health care
costs. And despite the authors contention to the contrary, Canada’s
health care system compares favourably to other OECD countries in terms of
access and health outcomes.
While
Manning and Harris claim to be non-partisan, they are pillars of the
Conservative Party of today and they clearly have conservative soul mates.
Premier Ralph Klein recently referred to the Canada Health Act as
“dusty old rule book” that he would violate if need be to implement
his so-called “Third Way” on heath care.
Eviscerating the Canada Health Act was the centrepiece of
the health care policy of the Canadian Alliance Party, the party which
Stephen Harper led and in which Preston Manning and most of Harper’s
current Shadow Cabinet sat. In fact, while Harper poses now as a moderate,
with rehearsed lines about respecting the Canada Health Act, when
he ran for the leadership of the Canadian Alliance in 2002 his position
was “that our health care will continue to deteriorate unless Ottawa
overhauls the Canada Health Act to allow the provinces to
experiment with market reforms and private health care delivery
options.”
Three
pillars of Mr. Harper’s party – Mr. Klein, Mr. Harris and Mr. Manning
– have all revealed on Mr. Harper’s behalf what he has articulated
before but now tries to hide from the Canadian people because he knows how
they will react.
The
Canada Health Act is not a barrier to provincial health
reform or innovation. It
reflects our shared values, our commitment to universal health care based
on need. The privatization of
health care recommended by Manning and Harris and supported by Klein and
Harper, will put us on the road to the American system, where
nearly half of all personal bankruptcies are the result of medical
expenses. Canadians turned
their backs on such a system decades ago and they do not want the clock
turned back now.
Canadians
want Medicare to be strengthened and the Canada Health Act is the
Charter of Medicare. Prime
Minister Martin and our government are unshakeably committed to the
Canada Health Act and to sustaining universal public health care in
Canada. We are investing an additional $41 billion over the next 10-years
as part of last September’s First Minister’s Action Plan on
Healthcare. We are working
with the provinces and territories to achieve reform and to reduce medical
wait times within the framework of public health care
We
are committed to defending the principles of medicare that are enshrined
in the Canada Health Act. We
will ensure – as I have stated publicly
– that it is enforced across the country without exception –
from coast to coast to coast.
Ujjal
Dosanjh
Minister of Health
