In this commentary, Bill Black of New Start Nova Scotia addresses the challenges facing the Canadian health care system and he highlights the need for change. He notes that opinions about what Meicare is, and indeed support for Medicare itself, has shifted over time.
When Medicare was first introduced in Saskatchewan the doctors went on strike for weeks to oppose the idea, and the doctors were largely supported by the public. In fact, at the next election voters turfed out the government of Tommy Douglas at least partially due to their anger over having Mdicare “foist’ upon them. In recent years that position has entirely reversed, any attempt to address problems in the Canadian system is labeled as “two-tier health care” or “American style health care” when the proposals are nothing of the sort.
In Healthy Conversation, Black argues that the ideas needed to make our system work better cannot be articulated in short sound bites and that a serious conversation about complex issues is required, indeed overdue.
Click here to read the full commentary.
