BC premier questions health care privatization

This week’s edition of who is saying what about public health care is compiled by Pat Van Horne.

BC premier skeptical of private health care

“There’s a huge amount of interest in the private sector in getting into health care… They see opportunities to make money there. The challenge is that in our health-care system, those who support privatization of health care always fail to explain to my satisfaction how adding profit margin to the limited number of health workers we have somehow improves services for people. When you’re suddenly competing with the private sector for (the) same doctors and nurses, it doesn’t make sense to me how that’s going to improve the patient experience,” said BC Premier David Eby to The Tyee, January 2, 2024

Alberta premier wipes out references to COVID-19 and vaccinations

“[T]he government’s revisions ‘included the removal of details about vaccine eligibility, immunization locations by age group and the types of vaccines being offered and their efficacy against different strains of COVID-19 and influenza.’ Two lines that encouraged Albertans to book vaccination appointments were also deleted… The article is a bombshell because it finds evidence for what anyone paying attention would expect: that the Smith government doesn’t want to be seen to be promoting vaccination for COVID-19. Smith won the United Conservative Party leadership with the support of people opposed to vaccine mandates and skeptical of the efficacy of vaccines,” said Lisa Young, professor of political science at the University of Calgary in The Tyee, December 29, 2023. Young was quoting from a piece by Globe and Mail reporter Alanna Smith. Young’s newsletter on Alberta politics is What Now?!? 

Wheelchair user considers human rights complaint

“People don’t want to die, they want to be able to live, but they want to be able to get up in the morning and have a good day… You have to be able to give people hope. We live in one of the rich countries of the world and we shouldn’t have people suffering like this,” said Joy Gardner to the Winnipeg Free Press, January 2, 2024

Nurse-led solutions will improve patient safety

“The federal government stepped up to the plate with strong increases to the Canada Health Transfer to address critical health care needs. Nurses have been calling on provinces and territories to use this funding to implement key evidence-based initiatives that would improve working conditions, increase nurse retention, create sustainable recruitment and ultimately put an end to the years-long shortage of nurses across the country. . .But where are our provincial and territorial leaders? Only one province has signed their bilateral agreement. Yet months have passed since this funding was put on the table. Make no mistake – every day our leaders delay action is another day patients are in jeopardy,” said Linda Silas, President of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, to the Toronto Star, December 30, 2023

No deal for Quebec nurses as of Jan. 1

“(The union) representing 80,000 Quebec nurses and other health care workers says its negotiations with the provincial government are still deadlocked heading into the new year. The Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec was one of several public sector unions that carried out strikes in the last two months amid tense talks with the province. The union says there are still significant disagreements at the bargaining table and issues related to workload, overtime and compensation for evening, night and weekend work remain unresolved,” reported Global News, December 30, 2023

Dentists are health care providers first

“Checks and balances are needed to be able to make good use of public dollars, the most effective use of those scarce public resources. . .We must also remember that dentists, like dental hygienists, like denturists, are health-care providers first and then business people second. So in order to meet their responsibilities … I would hope that they would find ways to be able to make it worth their while,” said Carlos Quiñonez, dental public health specialist at Western University in London, ON, to CBC News, December 30, 2023

Cover photo: Province of British Columbia. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.