As the medicare year continues, it is becoming evident that some of the most fervent education efforts needed are not with the Canadian public; rather they are with our elected officials.

Case in point: a remark made by Ontario Finance Minister - and PC leadership candidate - Jim Flaherty this week in Ottawa. At a news conference to try and draw attention to federal under-funding of health care, Mr. Flaherty slagged native Canadians by asserting that Ottawa only delivers health care services to aboriginals while the provinces deliver "real services to real people."

Of course, native leaders, the media and others quickly pounced on this unfortunate and demeaning dismissal of native Canadians. Now in fairness, Mr. Flaherty tried to clarify his position later in the day and with a statement issuing an apology.

But the larger issue here isn't his stupid comment; rather it was his farcical assertion that the federal government only delivers health care services to aboriginal Canadians. Someone in the policy wonk division of the Jim Flaherty campaign better get a hold of the Kirby Senate Committee reports on health care, or the acclaimed Canadian Taxpayers Federation paper (The Patient, The Condition, The Treatment) on health care or at a bare minimum, a copy of the Constitution Act.
It wouldn't surprise us in the least if many other provincial Ministers (in various provinces) shared Mr. Flaherty's erroneous and ludicrous point of view. Of course, when one considers the fact that only four out of ten provincial health ministers (Gary Mar-Alberta, Remy Trudel - Quebec, Dave Chomiak-Manitoba, and Colin Hansen - B.C) have even had the courtesy to acknowledge receipt of the acclaimed CTF health care report (sent out last September), this sad picture becomes somewhat clearer.

And just so folks don't think that Mr. Flaherty is being singled out for undue criticism, his cabinet colleague - and fellow PC leadership combatant - Ontario Health Minister Tony Clement is among the guilty group of non-respondents to the CTF health care paper. The other provinces not responding include Saskatchewan, PEI, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and New Brunswick.

For the record, section 92 (7) of the Constitution does assign jurisdiction for hospitals to the provinces. But Ottawa does more than simply babysit natives, as Mr. Flaherty seemed to imply. Ottawa also delivers health care to the RCMP, armed forces personnel and to the prison population. Health Canada approves pharmaceuticals, medical devices and runs federal disease prevention labs. The feds also fund medical research, health promotion activities and through other agencies such as Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, also ensure the safety of the national food supply.

The point here is that health care is a shared jurisdiction and provincial officials - while their funding grievances are legitimate - should move beyond the tiresome more money pleas. Provincial leaders should follow the CTF recommendations and press for a modernization of the Canada Health Act, with six new principles.

Universality must be properly defined and include components of portability, comprehensiveness and public administration. Public administration must be replaced with public governance, a truer reflection of where the health care system is now and where it is going. New principles of quality, sustainability, accountability and choice must also be added.

In addition, implementing structural reforms including pre-funding of health care expenditures (as advocated in Quebec and Alberta) and allowing the entry of new providers, be they in facility construction or service delivery. 2002 is the medicare year, but before we go any further, our politicians better do their homework.