Most politicians support the government's monopoly on health care, and will tell you that people should not have any right to spend their own money for health care. But a new national opinion poll by Montreal-based Leger Marketing shows that politicians are out of touch with Canadians on this issue.

Leger found that 52 per cent of Canadians are in favour of allowing "those who wish to pay for health care in the private sector to have speedier access to this type of care while still maintaining the current free and universal health care system." Forty-two per cent were opposed and 5 per cent had no opinion.

Supporters of the state monopoly on health care - most of whom are bankrolled by powerful unions - are able to scream the loudest, while the majority is without a voice.

Alberta's spending on the government's health care monopoly works out to almost $3,000 for every man, woman and child in the province. But many among the silent majority realize that our health care system is not meeting our basic needs. They have seen elderly loved ones sent home in taxis to die because of a lack of hospital beds. They have waited in pain for 18 months for a hip replacement, knowing full well that in most European countries the wait is just a few weeks. They know about the horror stories of people waiting for cancer treatment while their tumour grows and their government denies them the right to pay to treat themselves.

Recognizing the futility of our current health system forces us to look abroad to find alternatives. The Friends of Medicare and other supporters of the status quo like to focus on the American system, which includes private, voluntary insurance.

But there are 29 countries in the world with better health systems than Canada's, according the most recent study by the World Health Organization. Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom have universal access to health care. All of these countries have shorter wait times, better access to technology and better health outcomes than Canada. All of them spend less on health care than we do. These countries allow a parallel private system to co-exist alongside the public system. A public system is available to everyone regardless of income, yet citizens also enjoy the freedom to spend their own money on the health care - and health care insurance - of their own choice. The status quo crowd pretends our only choices are our current failing system or the American one. The fact is we can learn from many countries how to build a better system at a lower cost.

The time has come for politicians to do some serious soul-searching on health care. As they dither and grand stand, our lack of access to quality health care becomes less of a taxpayer issue, and more of a civil liberties issue. If you feel you should have the right to spend your own money on more, better or faster health care, tell your MLA and your MP. If they don't hear from you, the only voice they hear will be in support of the status quo.