EDMONTON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today responded to the health care announcement of the Alberta Government.

"Provinces have both a right and a responsibility to initiate reforms to our health care system," stated CTF-Alberta director John Carpay.

Section 92 of Canada's Constitution states that provinces have exclusive jurisdiction over the "establishment, maintenance and management of hospitals" other than marine hospitals. Section 91 of Canada's Constitution gives the federal government exclusive jurisdiction over marine hospitals.

"The Canada Health Act needs to be amended to allow provinces more flexibility to innovate new and better health care policies," continued Carpay. "That way, provinces can learn from each other's successes and failures, so patients benefit from improved care."

According to the World Health Organization, Canada's health care system ranks 30th, behind countries such as Portugal, Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Morocco. Countries with better health care - like France, Germany, the U.K. and the Netherlands - have parallel private health care systems which co-exist alongside the public system.

"Canada should learn from the twenty-nine countries which, according to World Health Organization, have better health care systems," concluded Carpay.