Editorial

Our neighbours to the south have been embroiled in a big debate about health care, almost since President Obama was elected.

Canadian Newcomer Magazine is listed in some American media directories, and we receive many submissions from the American right wing press about the evils of public health care. I can’t say how many times they have pointed at long waiting lines in Canada as proof that our system doesn’t work. But they are wrong. The Canadian health care system is not only effective, but compassionate. Waiting times may be longer here, but when you really need help, you receive it quickly, and without costing an arm and a leg.

It may be true that many of our best doctors have gone to the US, where they can make more money, but we still have plenty of good doctors, many of whom stayed in Canada because they believe in a health care system that doesn’t destroy people financially if they run into hard times and can’t afford to pay for their own health insurance.

In 2004, when CBC ran a show called The Greatest Canadian, they asked Canadians to vote. Over 1.2 million votes were cast and the winner wasn’t a hockey player, or a founding father of confederation. It was a former Saskatchewan Premier and NDP leader, Tommy Douglas – who is best known to Canadians as the man responsible for national medicare. Our health care system is one of the main reasons many Canadians are proud to be Canadian.

Dale Sproule,
Editor