Mr Martin, put the money back

Should community and other groups have a say in negotiations that set physician fee schedules and other matters? The most sensitive 'other matter' is what's too often called "the allocation of healthcare resources." What this means, of course, is the right to tell physicians where they can -- and can't -- practice. Governments are already doing a bang up job seeking to extend their control over the lives of physicians without any help from other interested parties. Ontario's ill-conceived Bill 8, which, among other things, ties 'accountability' to 'performance,' is a case in point. The OMA protested vigorously at hearings in late February and one hopes the more draconian portions of the bill will be revisited, revised or rejected.

Now everybody wants to get in on the act. Ontario's municipal authorities want to have a say in how many doctors are allotted to rural communities and have joined rural MDs in pressing that the case be taken up in fee negotiations. While it's easy to sympathize with physicians and the communities, both of whom have long suffered from staffing shortages, the answer hardly seems to be to invite pressure groups into the bargaining process.

The CBC news this morning reported breast cancer patients in Quebec were launching a $50 million class action suit against hospitals for delays of longer than eight weeks in obtaining chemo. An interview with a desperate suburban mayor followed, saying that his local hospital was down from 12 ER doctors to four -- with no real hope of replacing them. The province is already short over 1,400 physicians.

Stories like these appear every day in every province. The nation's healthcare system is acutely sick and needs national healing. This requires real leadership, and that can only come from one man -- Paul Martin. He's the one responsible, more than any other, for decimating federal spending on healthcare. It's time

he gave the money back. -- David Elkins