By arthur Weinreb
Monday, October 2, 2006
Last week an announcement was made that the province of Ontario is allowing a private company to run the emergency room at Cambridge Memorial Hospital. The Cambridge ER had difficulty in staffing its emergency room which will now be run by Dr. James Ducharme, the vice president of Med Emerg, a private Ontario company.
Premier Dalton McGuinty was widely quoted as saying, "as an Ontarian, if I've got to choose between a privately-funded doctor and no doctor, then I'd take the privately-funded doctor". What was not widely quoted was what the premier said following his comment about choosing a private doctor. He added that as the leader of the government he hoped that the privately run emergency department will only be a stop-gap measure. Of course we all know that stop-gap measures that are introduced by governments, such as the temporary tax on income that was introduced during World War I and the deficit-reducing surtax have a way of becoming permanent. But that is really beside the point; he acknowledged the disconnect between what Ontarians want and need and the ideology of his government.
Dalton McGuinty's legacy will be that of deserving Guinness Book of Records fame in regards to the number of election promises that he made and subsequently broke. and his health care promises are no exception. The Liberals' 2003 election platform called for making two-tiered health care illegal and they promised to stop privatizing MRI and CT clinics and open more public clinics. It should come as no surprise that the guy who imposed a health tax upon Ontarians after promising that they wouldn't pay one penny more in taxes broke this promise.
Now what is happening at Cambridge Memorial has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Ontarians having to pay out of their pockets for medical services that are currently covered by the province. Nor does it have anything to do with the ability to obtain better access to health care services by having the ability to pay. Those who go to the emergency department of Cambridge Memorial will still be able to use their health care cards. The only difference that patients will be able to recognize is that the ER will now have a bunch of doctors in it.
McGuinty's statements have illustrated the differences between the political beliefs of the government and what the ordinary Ontarian really wants. When someone is sick or injured all that they really want is to be able to receive the proper treatment and have that treatment covered by the province that imposed a significant health tax upon them. McGuinty, in a refreshing burst of honesty, admitted that the private sector should provide essential medical services unless he is the one who needs it, in which case it doesn't matter whether the doctor is paid by the province or a public company.
We all remember when it was revealed that NDP leader Jack Layton, one of the staunchest defenders of a totally public system, had a hernia operation at Shouldice Hospital, a privately run institution north of Toronto. Layton said that he didn't know that it was a private facility but the reality is that he really didn't care – as long as the operation was a success and he lived another day to ponder holding meaningful discussions with the Taliban. and Ontarians don't really care. These ideological elites have one rule for themselves and one for everybody else. Privately provided health care services should be banned, banned, banned, unless they need them in which case they are perfectly acceptable.
In his refreshing moment of honesty, Dalton McGuinty acknowledged the difference between his government's views on the health care system and what "ordinary Ontarians" want. Most Ontarians just want to be able to receive the necessary medical treatment that they need and have to have it funded by the government. Those who rush their seriously ill child to an emergency room really don't care whether the doctor is being paid by the public or private sector. and when even Dalton McGuinty acknowledges this fact, you know that it's true.
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