PROVINCES PUSH PRIVATIZATION
Public health care in jeopar dy as Harper government stands idly by
Canada’s public health care
program is facing slow erosion
as provinces across the
country allow creeping privatization
to seep in, and the
Harper government is showing
no willingness to stop it.
The federal government oversees
the Canada Health Act, which is the
national legislation that is supposed to
ensure all Canadians have equal access
to health care services anywhere in the
country. Every year, the federal government
is required by law to bring a report
on violations of the Canada Health Act
to Parliament. But what most people
don’t realize is that the government
relies on the provinces to tell them when
violations occur. There is no impetus or
incentive for provinces to report violations
– in fact, doing so could make
them lose money in the form of transfer
payments. As a result, several provinces
opt not to report anything at all.
As we can see from examples across
the country, there is a move away from
a national federal health program to a
situation where provinces make their
own rules about health care.
British Columbia
The B.C. government continues to be
one of the most aggressive in its push to
open public health care to the market.
British Columbia is home to a large
number of private clinics (estimated
at more than 70), including, arguably,
some of the worst offenders to the
letter and the spirit of the Canada
Health Act.
The Campbell government has recently
introduced the idea of adding “sustainability”
to the list of principles guiding
its so-called medicare protection legislation.
So what does sustainability mean in the context of health care? To the
Campbell government it makes health
care all about the money. As one B.C.
columnist recently pointed out, “sustainability”
could create the legislative
platform for denying patients’ medically
necessary treatments, or closing hospitals,
and of course, privatization.
Alberta
In Alberta we are also seeing an
increase in health care privatization.
Businessman Donald Copeman has
recently announced his plans to open a
clinic there which, like his Vancouverbased
business, will require people
to make a payment before they can
see a doctor.
The Alberta government is also looking
at user fees and de-listing medically necessary
health care services – all breaches
of the Canada Health Act.
Quebec
Quebec is another ground zero for
health care privatization. With a proliferation
of private clinics – particularly
diagnostic clinics, a provincial government that favours health care privatization,
and the refusal of the Quebec government
to provide any kind of report
to the federal government under the
Canada Health Act, public health care
faces serious threats in this province.
The Castonguay report, released in
February 2008 by the Quebec Task
Force on the Funding of the Health
Care System, calls for an increased role
for private insurance, the establishment
of user fees, and a provision to allow
doctors to practise in both the public
and the private systems—all clear
breaches of the Canada Health Act.
Nova Scotia
Recently Nova Scotia Health Minister
Chris d’Entremont announced that the
province will use $1 million of public
funds to pay a private surgical clinic
to perform 500 orthopedic surgeries.
Defending it as a move to reduce wait
times, Minister d’Entremont said the
contract poses no threat to public
health care.
We say otherwise. Using public
money to pay private clinic profits
gives private health providers exactly
what they are looking for – patients
and a revenue stream.
Government is silent
These are just some of the many examples
of how provincial governments
are moving toward and allowing the
privatization of Canada’s national medical
program. Even more alarming is the
fact that since being elected in January
2006, federal Health Minister Tony
Clement and the Harper government
have been completely silent on the issue,
leaving private health care to flourish
with their silent blessing.
Jan Malek is the Publications Officer for the
Council of Canadians.
Printer-friendly version: Provinces Push Privatization in PDF Format (85kB)
Photo: Council of Canadians representatives
Krista Simon and Leo Broderick (both at
right) join other public health care supporters
at a rally in May protesting the Nova
Scotia government’s decision to pay the
private for-profit clinic Scotia Surgery Inc.
to perform surgeries. Credit: Tony Tracy
