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Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Private health care and Conservatives
The Conservative Party has released a policy blueprint that is viewed as moderate. But on the topic of health care, it is cleary extremist. Extreme left-wing, that is.
Of course, the Tories are more flexible than the Liberals or NDP in allowing provinces to use private providers to deliver health care. But they still seem to maintain the prohibition on patients paying out of their own pockets. As Mario Dumont, leader of the right-wing Action Démocratique du Québec, noted, "I think that North Korea, Cuba and Canada are the only places where you can't pay for health care." On the topic of health care, the Conservative Party of Canada is to the left of the French Socialist Pary or the British Labour Party.
Mario Dumont has a reason of being bitter about the Canada Health Act. In the run up to the last provincial elections, he was saying that he would not constantly be stuck in fights with the federal government like the Parti Québécois had. But he was left stranded when it was pointed out that his plans for private health care would lead him straight to a bitter fight with a Liberal federal government happily wielding the Canada Health Act. It is no surprise that the first of the ADQ's 5 priorities for the federal elections is a loosening of the Canada Health Act to allow a greater role for the private sector.
I don't think that Canadians from other provinces realize how much private health care enjoys popular support in Québec. On most topics, Quebecers are to the left of other Canadians but health care is a striking exception (mainly because English-speaking Canadians are far out in the left field on that issue) A poll conducted by CRIC shows the gap:
Support for allowing private services for those who can afford them has risen dramatically in Quebec. In a single year, it jumped 11% to reach 49%. The same figure for the rest of Canada is 33%, a modest 2% increase over 2001. Thus, while there was only a seven-point difference on the issue between Quebecers and other Canadians a year ago, there is now a 16-point gap.
I think the gap has grown even more in the last two years. A poll conducted by CROP for L'Actualité magazine in the beginning of 2003, found that 58% of Quebecers supported an increased role for the private sector in health care. A poll conducted by Léger Marketing in January 2004 for the Montréal Economic Institute had 66.6% of respondents agreeing that the federal government should leave the provinces "entirely responsible for financing and managing the health care system" while 71.7% said they would agree with "allowing those who wish to pay for healthcare in the private sector to have speedier access to this type of care while still maintaining the current free and universal healthcare system." Claude Castonguay, former Health Minister
and founder of the Quebec Health Insurance Plan, is now busy leading the charge for allowing private for-profit health care.
Posted by Laurent Moss on May 5, 2004 in Canadian Conservative Politics | Permalink
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Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Private health care and Conservatives:
» Private health care and Conservatives from Le blog de Polyscopique
I have some observations on the Shotgun about Conservatives, Quebecers and their opinions on the role of the private sector in health care.J'ai quelques observations sur le Shotgun sur les Conservateurs, les Québécois et leurs opinions su... [Read More]
Tracked on 2004-05-05 8:04:22 PM
» Mario Dumont appelle le Bloc from Le blog de Polyscopique
About a month ago, I wrote a post on the Shotgun remarking that Quebecers were more supportive of the idea of allowing those wishing to pay to get faster access to health care in the private sector. A poll commissioned... [Read More]
Tracked on 2004-06-01 8:16:08 PM
» Une mise à jour des valeurs québécoises from Le blog de Polyscopique
Trudeaupia quotes a study that shines light on the advantages of Québec's education system, in which private schools have a relatively large role. Indeed, Québec - and to a lesser extent other Canadian provinces like British Columbia - do... [Read More]
Tracked on 2004-09-01 12:44:18 PM
Comments
I wonder if The Barbarian Invasions will change some minds about the wonders of 'free' health care in ways that no amount of Fraser Institute reports ever could...
Posted by: Kathy Shaidle | 2004-05-06 7:13:43 AM
It's Healthcare seems radical to you because you're a simple brain-washed leftist.
Posted by: Zarko | 2005-07-16 9:16:07 AM
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