The front page of today’s National Post takes a look at the most recent OECD “Canada Economic Survey 2010” in an above-the-fold piece titled Canada Receives Health Care Scare.
“The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said provincial balance sheets — especially in Ontario and Quebec — are in dire shape, and cost pressures are bound to mount with the aging population. Health-care spending accounts for roughly half of provincial budgets.
“Meeting the demographic and fiscal challenges requires bringing down trend growth in public health spending significantly, lest other public spending is squeezed and/or taxes rise,” the OECD said.”
The Post’s Paul Vieria turned to MLI’s Brian Lee Crowley for comment on Chapter 3 of the OECD report, Overcoming challenges in health-care reform. Crowley noted, “I think when the next round of reforms needed to keep Canada in good fiscal health are necessary, health care can’t be avoided. And the prescription that the OECD has offered is surely the direction Canada will have to go in.”
Posted by George Young
