In this rapidly changing 24/7 world it is shocking that our health care system still operates under archaic laws.

Recently, British Columbia health minister, George Abbott ordered the Vancouver-based St. Paul's Hospital to stop fully utilizing its magnetic resonance imaging or MRI machines. St. Paul's had been enabling private for-profit companies to rent its MRI facilities when they were not being used by the public system. Private firms would then charge patients approximately $755 per test.

Minister Abbott launched an investigation into the MRI practices at St. Paul's to determine if the Canada Health Act, and possibly the BC Medicare Protection Act and Hospital Insurance Act had been violated. Abbott stated, "Queue-jumping is contrary to the Canada Health Act and certainly the allegations involved queue-jumping - Obviously, it's unacceptable, inappropriate and of enormous concern to us."

This MRI practice has been so successful for St. Paul's, it has generated enough extra revenue to hire a full-time radiology technician to do an extra 4,000 public MRIs this year. Further, the private MRIs also helped others because the private option reduced wait list times for public MRI tests. The BC health minister should be jumping for joy, not launching an investigation.

Besides, the government doesn't seem to mind "queue-jumping" when patients are referred by organizations such as the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia or Worker's Compensation.

This is the wrong response Mr. Minister. Instead of restricting access to MRIs you should be working to change the BC Medicare Protect Act, the Hospital Insurance Act and pressing the federal government to change the Canada Health Act to allow for more access to MRIs. After all, if the politicians don't change the laws it is highly likely patients, through the courts, will.

Last June, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that legal restriction of private health care services and insurance violate the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. The high court upheld the constitutional challenge brought by Dr. Jacques Chaoulli to laws forbidding Quebec residents from purchasing a full range of private medical services and private medical insurance.

Earlier this month the Canadian Constitutional Foundation, on behalf of Calgary resident Bill Murray, announced a constitutional challenge to Alberta's health care laws, which are almost identical to the Quebec law stuck down by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Chaoulli case.

One way or another, health laws in Canada are going to change as Canadians are demanding the system open to greater choice. It is time our politicians - federal and provincial - stopped defending archaic laws and starting paying attention to the health of Canadians.