How can we always tell when Ontario premier Doug Ford is lying to us? It is when he announces a program for the third time. He has found out that we did not believe him the first time. It is like his recent plan to privatize hospital surgeries. He thinks surgeons can do these minor surgeries, in private facilities, in their spare time.
Just where Ford thinks these surgical specialists will come from is not clear. And anyone who has ever undertaken a surgical residency forgot about any time being spare a long time ago.
There is also the question of who is doing the triage between hospital and private facilities? Will they label everybody coming through this convoluted system? Maybe you should play it safe and bring along all of your credit cards.
But what Mr. Ford is really missing in all of this is that medical people are still free and mobile citizens. He cannot force a surgeon to work anywhere. He cannot guarantee that there will be a surgical team to support the surgeon. It sounds to me that the private sector has all the advantages. When the private sector offers the best in the business the top pay for their services, they are not forced to duplicate the offer to the other 300 specialists of that persuasion in the province.
What Mr. Ford is obviously angling for is the Brit’s Harley Street model. That means the rich get the best and the rest of us get what’s left.
And it is happening. As recently as a few months ago, I was sitting in a luxurious town house in Ottawa chatting with an attractive young woman. She was a surgical nurse. Just, not anymore. She was housesitting the final touches on this townhouse that her partner had built. I think it was listed at $1.3 million, in a fast-moving market. She scoffed at Ford’s one per cent to stay in nursing. She mentioned some job offers that she was considering—none, I am sure, for less than double what nursing would offer.
Canadians have every right to be proud of Medicare as we have had in this country since 1967. We would be really stupid to let an ignorant conservative, such as Mr. Ford, destroy it.
-30-
Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry
Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to: