April 4, 2000
The future of Medicare - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER -- The future of medicare is a funny thing. How can old socialist values of a one-tier medical system, survive the burgeoning global villiage and globalization in economics and everything human?
Last Friday, Rafe Mair interviewed the legendary Canadian stage and screen actress Shirley Douglas. Miss Douglas, besides being the former Mrs. Donald Sutherland and the mother to Kiefer Sutherland, is also the daughter of Tommy Douglas. The father of modern Medicare.
In the early sixties, there were calls for the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, the CCF to merge with the Canadian Labour Congress. The CCF, a party with roots in grassroots Canadians was considered closer to communism than any other party in Canadian politcs. Thus they forged a relationship with labour and thus became the NDP. The leader they chose in 1961 was a fiesty and determined Tommy Douglas. Douglas, as a Premier of Saskatchewan brought modern Medicare to his province, a model that was instituted across the country through his example.
Medicare in his form looks noble. As Jim Sinclair said at the recent NDP convention, “When my kids get sick, I call my doctor not my banker,” meaning that Medicare would be a right, rather than a privilage. Douglas is regarded as the person that did that for all Canadians.
Shirley Douglas, along with folks like June Callwood, have been advocating for the improvement and upkeep of modern Medicare across this country. Transfer payments to the provinces, ear marked for medicare costs have dwindled under this current Liberal administration, thus this lobby group is lobbying for the resumption of payments so as to improve the model across the country.
Douglas denounced the near-implementation of a two-tier system in Alberta and Ontario. (Both provinces, I might add under Tory premiers.) A two-tier system represents something similar to the American model, where those with money get care. Sure, we can agree that it may work, but morally, it’s kinda wrong. Now you don’t have to be a bureaucrat to figure out that a totally perfect medical system would cost us dearly. Two-tiers would help us keep our fiscal house in order, but it does compromise Medicare. A one-tier system, seems perfect, but in this province alone yields strong problems. It seems unmanageable and costly, but then again that’s the NDP’s fault. Isn’t it?
Medicine in Mr. Douglas’ time was different than that of today. MRI’s were not common in the 40’s, much like something ripped from a Jules Verne novel. Although Medicare is a noble thing, and something worth having for any just society, it just seems unmanageable. Don’t we have a two-tier system in place already? At least one and a half? Workers Compensation Board claimants go straight to the front of the line, simply because their WCB claimants.
Whether you think medicare should be saved or not, the medical system has to be improved. Whether it’s easing the excessive use of Western medicine and resorting to Chinese medicine like accupunture and stuff of the sort, medicine in Canada should be defined, so governments can know what the hell they’re paying for and what we the consumers, are consuming. Only then will we know how much we’ll have to pour into medicine, and only then will we be able to stand back and laugh at the humor of it all coming together.
Questions and comments may be sent to: editor@thecommentary.ca
An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE .