Majority government should review health care program

The government of Canada will reconvene on Thursday. It will be a majority government and for the first time in seven years, the governing party will be able to lead and make hard decisions about the future of our country. Some of those decisions will appear unpopular to the general public, but will be in the best interests of Canadians. The GST would never have happened without a majority government. Neither would a national Medicare have been adopted. Majorities gave government the power to be innovative.
While the Conservatives campaigned on a plan to reduce corporate taxes by 2% in the election, it would be in the best interests of Canadians to maintain that tax until a balanced budget is achieved. We can all remember the drastic changes that occurred when the Paul Martin in the Chretien government cut funding and support for programs across Canada that ended up balancing the budget and paying down Canada’s debt.
It is true that Canada’s economy has grown and we can sustain more debt, but as debt grows it reduces the ability of governments to respond to changing global economies.
The Green Party and Liberal party under the leadership of Stephen Dion have over the last decade promoted the requirement that Canada should reduce its dependency on fossil fuels. Factories, automobiles, trucks will have to produce cleaner emissions. A majority government has the freedom to to put in place programs to reduce Canada’s carbon emissions.
Green technology is a growth industry, and funding more research programs in Canada’s colleges and universities will create new jobs and opportunities for Canadians and Canadian companies worldwide. A “Green Canada” was not in the Conservative platform, but the majority government affords the party to do things out of the ordinary.
As Canada ages, our medical system continues to face more funding issues. Whether Liberal, New Democrat, or Conservative, all the parties have committed to spending more of the budget on transfers to provincial health care budgets.
Just transferring funds from one level of government to a second layer of government will not solve the shortage of money in the system. Canada has 13 different Medicare programs. Each province has its own priorities for health care. Every province funds medical care and support of patients differently.
It may be time for a major review of Medicare in Canada. Just adding more money year after year will eventually bankrupt both the federal government and the provincial governments. We all agree that Health Care is a Canadian Right.
The issue facing Canada is how can that right be maintained with costs growing so fast. Are their opportunities or programs that can be used to create healthier Canadians that are not being used today. The government should have a new “ Health White Paper” to assist both national and provincial governments to create savings and develop new programs to sustain Medicare in Canada.
There are lots of options available for this new government. There are great opportunities for national debates and changes in thinking. Lets hope that this parliament takes the majority and does review national programs.

–Jim Cumming,
Publisher