Chris Savard

Chris Savard writes a bi-weekly column for the Seaway News.
The following is his column for the June 1, 2007 paper.

Cornwall - June 1, 2007

Last week while touring a healthcare facility in Hamilton, Progressive Conservative Party Leader John Tory outlined the four main principles that will guide a PC Government to improving Ontario's healthcare system. They are:

Improve access to timely, universal healthcare services:
I think my family is pretty typical. My dad and my in-laws are in their late 50’s and early 60’s. Shawna and I have three children and a total of nine nieces and nephews. There is not a month that goes by, that one member of our extended family is not having some interaction with the healthcare system.

So my family, like yours, understands the importance of access to a publicly funded, universal medicare system. In Ontario, you don’t have to mortgage your house if you need an operation and you don’t have to cash in your life savings if your child is sick. When John Tory becomes Premier, the only card Ontario residents will need to get the very best care available is their OHIP card – not their credit card. Long wait times are evidence of a system in need of more attention, more innovation and a greater focus on results achieved for money spent.

Eliminate wasteful spending and provide significant annual healthcare funding increases: By the fourth year of our mandate, our total annual funding will be $8.5 billion more than current spending by the Liberals. While our government will increase healthcare spending, we will do it without relying on Mr. McGuinty’s so called “health tax, that penalizes low-income families much more than higher-income families. We will eliminate the tax but continue to invest in healthcare, making use of growing budget surpluses projected by the McGuinty Government itself, and by eliminating wasteful Liberal spending.

Constant search for ways to improve healthcare:
When John Tory and I think about our healthcare system, we don’t think of it with the perspective of a politician. We think of it as a father, a son, a husband and patients ourselves. We don’t think about dollars and equipment, but of patients and providers.

We can manage our system better, to eliminate waste and drive more dollars to patient care. One of the ways to make those improvements, is to look for new partners with a proven record of expertise. To us, there are no contradictions between improving our publicly funded, universal access healthcare system and, at the same time, seeking out the energy, resources, ideas and capital of innovators and risk takers.

If you have been waiting months for an MRI, do you really care if you receive this service via a public or private MRI machine, as long as you can pay for it with your OHIP card?

Respect for patients and respect for healthcare providers:
The component is respect for patients including the principles mentioned earlier, like universal and timely access to case, as well as adequate funding. It means ensuring that patients and their families are fully informed about their own treatment options. It also ensures that patients have a say in healthcare reforms in their local community.

Ontario’s healthcare providers also deserve Government’s respect. That will mean a real, solid commitment to planning, so we have enough doctors and nurses in future years. It means having enough respect for nurses to provide for full-time positions for those who seek them within a reasonable period. It means having enough respect for doctors to create a working environment, in which they will want to stay in Ontario and to which others will want to return.

Our healthcare system is a complex challenge. Improving it, making it live up to its promise, will not be easy. However, with steadfast determination and perseverance, together, we can and we will make Ontario’s healthcare system the envy of Canada and the world!