June 14, 1998
Health care critical8 in 10 Canadians think cutbacks have gone too far
Eight in 10 Canadians say cuts to health care have gone too far -- and they want the Chretien Liberals to hand over more money for medicare in next year's budget, an Ottawa Sun/Roper Canada poll reveals. The survey shows only 2% of Canadians prefer reduced spending, while 15% want current cash levels maintained.
"These figures indicate a crisis," said Michael Behiels, a history professor and political analyst at the University of Ottawa. "Cutbacks to health have been mismanaged and people want to get the ship upright and back on course again." Hospital bed closures, more user fees, health care staff cuts and longer waits for medical procedures have all set off alarm bells for concerned Canadians, said Mark Sudnick, vice-president of Roper Canada. "There's a sense of jeopardy and Canadians want to maintain -- and improve -- the system," he said. "There's a high degree of concern and anxiety." MP Maurizio Bevilacqua (Vaughn-King-Aurora), chairman of the Liberal finance committee, hears the call for more federal cash loud and clear, but insists it's too early to promise more in next year's budget. He launched public consultations on the next budget last week. "The message to invest in health care is a strong one coming from Canadians," he said of the poll results. "There's no doubt in my mind that health care will be one of the dominant issues (in budget discussions)." Admittedly, the federal government has chopped block transfers for health, post-secondary education and social assistance from $15 billion to $12.5 billion in the last fiscal year. But each province has the duty of deciding how dollars are spent, Bevilacqua said. In Ontario, for example, lost revenue from tax cuts has left fewer dollars for reinvestment in health care, he said. But Ontario's spending has climbed rather than fallen -- despite a shortage of funds from the feds, said Jeremy Adams, press secretary for provincial Health Minister Elizabeth Witmer. He said transfer cuts reflect a failure to show leadership in the arena of medicare, forcing the provincial government to revamp the system to ensure sustained quality. The Ontario government has found an unlikely bedfellow in MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis (Winnipeg North Centre), the NDP's health critic, who slammed the federal government for holding back cash, then shifting the blame for the crisis. "They tried to pretend it wasn't a result of federal policy, but they can't get away with it anymore," she said. "This sends a very clear signal that they have to begin restoring the funding to repair the system. The patchwork response won't work to ensure the survival of medicare. Only proper cash transfers will." MP and Reform health critic Dr. Grant Hill (Macleod, Alta.) said the poll's figures accurately reflect a health care system under stress -- but he is confident sufficient funding could undo the damage. "We've got to change the role of government and politicians as gatekeepers, who are making people line up to get rationed services," he said. Hill suggested giving patients bills for each medical service to remind consumers about high costs. It would deter abuse of the system and make physicians more accountable, even though "bills" would still be paid through the federal and provincial governments, he said. Hill pointed to an aging population, increasingly expensive technology and deficit financing by the federal government as causes for major upset in the state of health care. "Dollars are going towards interest on the debt instead of social spending," he charged. Hill compared the current health care system as stretching a muscle and eventually pulling it. "But it's fixable," he said. "These figures show that Canadians won't let the system go down the tubes." Sharon Glover, senior vice-president for the Toronto-based Canadian Chamber of Commerce, suggested attacking the national debt and freeing Canadians from escalating interest payments as the best way to better fund social programs like health care. "This poll shows that the cuts in transfers are to blame -- and the blame is squarely at the federal government," Glover said. "The high interest on the debt is affecting the government's ability to spend." While the average jobless rate continues to fall across the nation, Canadians are still worried about work and are calling for more federal spending on job training programs. Seven in 10 people say the federal government should boost spending to help train the unemployed, and 61% want more dollars doled out to aid university and college students. Also on the wish list for the next federal budget, 49% of Canadians want to up spending on small business loans, 47% want more investment on loans to foster development of science and technology and 41% want more spent on seniors' programs. Only 37% want more money spent on promoting trade with other countries, 33% say more should go to programs for farmers and 30% believe there should be higher investment in programs for the fishing industry. When it comes to national defence, only 30% of Canadians want to up spending, while 22% say spending should be reduced and 41% say spending should stay the same. Even fewer Canadians want more money spent on arts and culture. Among those polled, 21% want increased spending, 21% say they want it reduced and 52% want it to stay at current levels. Another 21% are urging the federal government to lay out more cash on programs for aboriginal people, compared to 26% who want the Liberals to spend less. When it comes to aid for poor countries, just 11% want to spend more, 30% suggest spending less and 55% want spending to stay the same. Professor Behiels sees the lack of zeal to help poor foreign nations cope as reflecting an "isolationist" attitude. "We tend to focus on our home and community and have little time to focus on anywhere else," he said. TOP CONCERNS OF CANADIANS: HEALTH CARE, CRIME & THE ECONOMY Those polled were asked to read a list of concerns and choose two or three they were personally concerned about. The quality of public health care: 45 Crime and lawlessness: 41 Unemployment: 39 The economy: 25 Money enough to live right and pay the bills: 23 Quality of public education: 16 Environmental pollution: 15 National unity: 8
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