FORSETH: 'Take a number and wait to die' is not a healthcare strategy

The desire of lefties to coercively control others never goes away. That's why Pierre Poilievre's political philosophy of "freedom" and the hundred ways the federal government can deliver more of it, is so appealing. We must not forget "Let Freedom Reign" — the historical speech that resonated worldwide.Canadian lefties are heartless and cruel. That is the evidence for how they will have Canadians die, in order to defend the current healthcare funding deal.Another report has again reminded us of how many Canadians die each year just waiting for healthcare. They are on waiting lists that are dangerously long, and it is killing many.Data shows patients are dying on healthcare waitlists. For the past five years, SecondStreet.org has conducted research into the cruel reality that many Canadian patients die before receiving the healthcare they deserve.For the period from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023, at least 17,032 patients died in Canada while waiting for surgery or a diagnostic scan. This figure does not include most of Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Manitoba. Extrapolated from this figure and applied across other health regions, an estimated 31,397 patients needlessly died last year.The debate has raged among leftists about no two-tier healthcare. We have all heard the mantras about the evils of "American style" healthcare coming to Canada. Although it is an erroneous argument, system defenders always use it when challenged over access problems and dangerously long wait lists.The Supreme Court of Canada said it would not hear a Vancouver orthopaedic surgeon's appeal challenging B.C.'s limits on private healthcare, ending Dr. Brian Day's 14-year legal fight.NDP Health Minister Adrian Dix celebrated the dismissal as a "vindication" of the public healthcare system. It was a cruel and heartless response.The historical parallel was the Soviet behaviour when thousands of Russians refused agricultural collectivization. They were isolated and allowed to die, and the government murdered some for not going along with the imposed financial system. The BC NDP displayed the same deadly socialistic response of valuing the system before people. The NDP government message was if Canadians don't like it, they can die.While the NDP government was responding to the court case, more than 80,000 British Columbians were waiting for their surgeries in the public system, and some had been waiting for more than two years.Dr. Day and many advocates for change had challenged the payment system, saying persistent long waits prove the single-pay public system is cruel and a denial of rights. The court case loss was the worst day for Canadian justice.The court was considering whether B.C.'s limits on private insurance and extra billing violated the principles of universal and reasonable access to healthcare enshrined in the federal Canada Health Act when waits are so long in the public system.The crux of this case was that we have unreasonable wait times, along with hurtful restrictions on privatization for relief. The entire premise underlying the Canada Health Act is that people should be able to access healthcare services based on need rather than ability to pay. The problem is that far too many Canadians do not get healthcare, and they die waiting.Although Canadians hold healthcare as a core value, there is no right to healthcare in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, Dr. Day argued that it is established within the rights to life, liberty, and security of persons. The Court's dismissal denied patients the same consumer rights enjoyed in nearly every other service, and afforded to some patients in Quebec by the Supreme Court. By refusing to hear this case, the Supreme Court said that rights do not extend to the rest of the country.Nevertheless, the factual reports with irrefutable data explain the harsh cruelty of the Canadian healthcare payment system. Canadians know this, and it is time to take action at the ballot box.According to the Leger poll, two-thirds of Canadians worry they cannot access quality medical care when needed. Data has documented a steady deterioration in timely access to care, with Canadians now facing the most extended wait times in recorded history.Moreover, the current situation is not due to a lack of funding. Among 30 high-income countries with universal healthcare, Canada ranked highest for healthcare spending as a share of the economy after adjusting for population age.Yet Canada has little to show for its spending. Canada ranked 28th out of 30 for the availability of physicians. Despite massive spending, we also have relatively fewer resources to diagnose patients and prioritize care.In the last thirty years, government spending on healthcare has risen from $1,714 per person in 1992-93 to $5,607 per person in 2022-23. Had spending merely kept pace with inflation, it would have been $3,127 per person. Spending has increased at nearly double the inflation rate over the past three decades. Overall, Canada is among the highest spenders on healthcare among the OECD member countries.Canada ranked at the bottom of comparable countries for timely access to specialists and non-emergency surgery. Only 62% in Canada received non-emergency surgery within four months, compared to 99% in Germany.The reason for Canada’s poor performance despite its high spending has been repeatedly documented. However, there is hope. By learning from the successes of other countries, such as Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Australia, we can avoid the Canadian folly and significantly improve our healthcare system.Other countries include the private sector as a partner in the universal healthcare framework and use it as a pressure valve to alleviate the burden on the public system. They also incentivize responsible use by requiring patients to share the cost of treatment directly, but with generous subsidies based on the ability to pay.They also fund hospitals based on activity to incentivize treatment. This ensures that money follows the patient to where they are treated, contrasting with Canada's outdated "global budget" model.The NDP defenders of the status quo cannot hide anymore. Coercive control is a killer. Canada's healthcare system is a shambles, and Canadians have lost confidence in its ability to deliver care when needed most.An imbalance exists between spending and performance and poor value for our healthcare dollars. In addition to the pressures of healthcare worker burnout and surgery backlogs, it is evident that our healthcare challenge is great. Canadians are needlessly dying.Instead of politicians boasting about pumping more money into the system, we must have fundamental reform. We must have a payment system that prioritizes the patient's welfare, ensuring they receive care when needed rather than protecting bureaucracies.Let us be compassionate and intelligent and use the best tools available, whether public or private, to deliver on the promise of universal care, which Canadians cherish deeply..This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.

FORSETH: 'Take a number and wait to die' is not a healthcare strategy

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