"Real Vision" For Health Care

Guess Maxime Bernier, obviously a deeply devoted Conservative, doesn't much care about the regard with which he will be held in Quebec. He can, doubtless, rely on the loyalty of voters in his riding, who returned him handily in the last election, despite his unfortunate indiscretions that lost him a plum cabinet post.

Mr. Bernier has been openly critical of his province. Which he characterizes as infantile and greedy. Reflecting just how many other Canadians regard Quebecers. Who love to flirt with the prospect of nationalism and the potential for separation from Confederation, and use it as a bludgeon to keep the rest of Canada sufficiently concerned to allow the province its coy blackmail.

He has castigated the City of Quebec for having raised fiscal eyebrows in anticipating that the federal government was prepared to hand over millions of dollars for a new hockey franchise which the city could proudly take ownership of. The wealthy league and its overpaid hockey stars felt too that it was reasonable to accept tax money to establish a franchise they themselves were not prepared to fund.

And here is Mr. Bernier, recommending that the concept of transfer payments - meant to provide a system of equalization among the provincial social and health facilities ensuring that Canadians, no matter where they live in the country - would have access to equal services, be abolished.

Leaving a clear provincial jurisdiction in the provision of such services to the provinces.
And enabling them to undertake to fund those enhanced and innovative medical-hospital services that would result, through tax-funding. The federal government to diminish the level of its taxation of income, leaving the way clear for the provinces to take up the slack.

As far as Mr. Bernier is concerned, the current traditional one-size-fits-all transfer protocol has not resulted in a dependable and current universal health care system. It stifles the ability of provincial governments to seek alternate methods more useful and efficient than the current model.

And he may be right. And Quebec will most surely detest him for yanking the plush carpet of exorbitant transfer payments out from under their toasty feet.