Commentary
If you have never read William Watson’s book “Globalization and the Meaning of Canadian Life,” you should.
Yes, it’s 26 years old now, but its revelations regarding the number of things that Canadians believe about themselves that simply aren’t true still stand up.
The most prevalent and persistent of those myths has been that we have a superior health-care system because of the extent to which it minimizes—demonizes, even—private payment for and delivery of health care.
A poll released last month by Navigator points to our torment. Consistent with recent trends, it showed that increasing numbers of us are losing faith in our system, as we are in most of our public institutions. Seventy three percent of us believe the systems (health care is a provincial responsibility) are in need of reform. Just two years ago, that number was 59 percent….