SNOBELEN: In dogged pursuit of better health care for Ontario

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Over three decades ago, a smart-alecky young politician evoked a room full of eyerolls when he asked his colleagues to consider setting the bar for access to health care for humans at the same level enjoyed by Ontario’s Cocker Spaniels.

Bad joke. But I have it on good authority the young fellow wasn’t joking.

Not so for Ontario Premier Doug Ford. He was certainly kidding when he quipped, after touring a new Veterinary Hospital in King City, that it would be a good place for the province’s overflow patients to get diagnostic services.

Not a particularly clever joke, but Ford’s words gave Ontarians an advantage over other Canadians. They now have clarity on the true enemies of health care.

Shocked by Ford’s tame joke, Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles immediately made the connection to Ford’s secret agenda to privatize health care. Stiles must have had her tin hat screwed on firmly and her decoder ring set at seven. She said, “It’s all part of a giant inside deal.”

Not to be outdone, Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie jumped into the fray (remember, this is in response to a joke) and quickly jumped to Ford’s secret agenda. She said, “After years of deliberately underfunding our health-care system in order to justify his agenda to sell it off and privatize.” Well, there you have it.

We now have clarity. The enemies of health care in Ontario have been exposed. They are Crombie and Stiles.

Ontario’s health-care system isn’t lacking for cash. Like every province in Canada, the health-care budget in Ontario has been growing faster than inflation for a generation. This year, Ontario will spend just shy of $90 billion on health. So much for Crombie’s “underfunding.”

The problem isn’t money, it’s the gap between spending and access to care.

Three decades ago, a Cocker Spaniel had a much better shot at getting a relatively quick MRI, CAT scan or ultrasound than a human. Today, despite challenges in veterinarian medicine, that service gap has widened exponentially.

This isn’t a secret. Every day, middle-class Ontarians are doing what was once the health-care choice of the rich — leaving Canada for routine diagnostics. They would rather dig in their pockets to get an MRI in Buffalo than wait indefinitely to get service in Canada.

Which brings us back to that irreverent young politico’s question: Why can’t Canadian humans get the same access to health care that dogs and horses enjoy?

The answer is obvious. Canada’s health care has had all the improvements it can stand. It needs to change.

But every change, no matter how modest, is met by a chorus from the Chicken Little brigade. The sky is always falling and Canada is about to (shudder) stumble into American-style health care. Be very, very afraid.

Over two million Ontarians don’t have a family doctor. Waiting lists for basic health care, including diagnostics, continue to grow to dangerous lengths across Canada. A fundamental expectation of Canadians — access to quality health care — is crumbling.

The situation requires leadership. Specifically, it requires the kind of courageous leadership that will challenge the status quo, consider alternatives and embrace change.

But, instead of serious leadership, we get the Chicken Little brigade led by Stiles, Crombie and a host of Canadian politicians who would rather babble about secret agendas than tackle serious challenges.

Not to worry. The Cocker Spaniels are doing just fine.