Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom have more private sector involvement in their health systems than Canada. And, according to the World Health Organization, all of them have better health systems than we do.

Thus dispels the great myth of Canada's public health care. Canada's health system isn't the best in the world, it never has been and it never will be without dramatic reforms.

The World Health Organization ranked Canada's health system 30th in the world - behind countries such as Cypress, Belgium and Oman. But we don't need the World Health Organization to tell us something is wrong with health care. Most people already know first hand how horrible the wait times are and how patients are treated like cattle.

More than 44 per cent of government spending goes to a health system that nobody with a straight face can say is effective. Saskatchewan's Budget 2002 contained a $129 million increase in health spending, another $185 million was added in 2003, and to go along with a rainbow of tax increases, Budget 2004, added another $160 million.

Someone once said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. If that definition holds true, we should have carted NDP Health Minister John Nilson to the asylum a long time ago. This government has done absolutely nothing of consequence to reform the way health care is delivered in Saskatchewan except pour more money into it.

In Budget 2004 documents, the department of finance crows "Health care: A Saskatchewan Institution" and goes on to brag about spending "a record" $2.7 billion on health this year. What a feat! The government spends more money than ever before to serve fewer people with ever-declining results.

Then comes Liberal Health Minister Pierre Pettigrew's admission that the Canada Health Act does not prohibit private delivery of health services and that he actually encourages provinces to "experiment" with private delivery models so that we can all learn better ways of doing things.

The reaction from the Saskatchewan government, defenders of the "Saskatchewan institution," was fast and furious. Minister Nilson made a prompt phone call to the federal health minister to correct him, saying that Pettigrew's comments were "not helpful."

"What we know and what our American friends tell us is to be extremely careful about how much the private, for-profit providers put into your system because you get into a very difficult, unmanageable situation," opined Nilson to the Regina Leader Post. Nilson continues to be blissfully ignorant of the dozens of effective, non-American health systems operating around the world.

Even our Official Opposition, normally strong advocates for market reforms, back away from telling it like it is. Saskatchewan Party Leader Brad Wall was paraphrased by the Leader Post as saying it needs to be determined if there is a need for greater capacity within the health system before the issue of private delivery within the publicly-funded system is even debated. How's that for mealy-mouthed politician speak

They shouldn't sweat the Pettigrew situation too much. Less than 24 hours later Paul Martin marched him out in front of reporters to withdraw his support for private delivery models. Case closed.

How can we pursue change when not a single politician in Saskatchewan will even discuss alternative delivery methods The time for talk is over. Our health system needs to be fixed, and the only approach we haven't tried is private delivery models. Just do it.