Monday, June 27, 2022
No Result
View All Result
  • Media
Support Us
Macdonald-Laurier Institute
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
    • Jobs
  • Experts
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Energy
      • Health Care
      • Justice
      • Social issues
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
    • Provincial COVID Misery Index
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
      • Dragon at the Door
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
    • Past Projects
      • Justice Report Card
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
      • Inside Policy Blog
    • Papers
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • Straight Talk
    • Video
    • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Leading Economic Indicator
    • Labour Market Report
    • MLI in the Media
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
    • Jobs
  • Experts
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Energy
      • Health Care
      • Justice
      • Social issues
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
    • Provincial COVID Misery Index
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
      • Dragon at the Door
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
    • Past Projects
      • Justice Report Card
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
      • Inside Policy Blog
    • Papers
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • Straight Talk
    • Video
    • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Leading Economic Indicator
    • Labour Market Report
    • MLI in the Media
No Result
View All Result
Macdonald-Laurier Institute

Pushing the provinces towards health care reform: Commentary by Brian Lee Crowley and Sean Speer

December 16, 2015
in A Mandate For Change, Commentary, Domestic Policy Program, Health, Latest News, Releases
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A

20151209_INFOGRAPHIC_HEALTH_774x427

Latest entry in “From A Mandate For Change To A Plan To Govern” shows how the federal can carve out a place in health care reform

OTTAWA, Dec. 16, 2015 – The cure for Canada’s ailing health-care system is not hiding at the bottom of a pile of cash. Only by encouraging reform will Canada jump from its position as a health-care laggard to a model for the world.

“Money is not the issue. If spending were the key determinant, Canada would be a world leader”, write Brian Lee Crowley and Sean Speer. “Instead, Canada is an expensive underperformer”.

Sean SpeerAs the federal finance minister prepares to meet his provincial and territorial counterparts next week, health care funding is expected to be high on the agenda. Crowley and Speer advise the government to “focus on the quality of federal actions rather than the quantity of money Ottawa spends or the number of conditions it imposes.” Their new paper is the latest entry in MLI’s series titled “From A Mandate For Change To A Plan To Govern”.

“The recent past shows that federal leadership is best exercised by creating the right incentives for provinces”

The series, which will publish weekly from the Throne Speech to the first budget next spring, is designed to offer practical policy recommendations that help the newly-elected government follow through on its election promises.

To read the full commentary, click here.

Can’t buy a fix

The Governor General has barely risen from delivering the Throne Speech, but already the provinces and territories are clamouring for a blank cheque to spend on health care.

The federal government shouldn’t give it to them, say Crowley and Speer. Canada already spends more than most other comparable countries, yet continually lags behind in quality of care.

Brian Lee CrowleyInstead, the newly-elected Liberals should lead the way on the health-care file by encouraging reform.

How?

Flexibility.

“The recent past shows that federal leadership is best exercised by creating the right incentives for provinces, not by transferring more money or trying to dictate how the system should be run”, write the authors.

Freeing up the provinces

The federal government should loosen the restrictions on how provinces can deliver health-care services, giving them the elasticity to design, regulate and provide health care to their citizens within a universal and portable framework.

“The reality is that true federal leadership on the health care file does not mean Ottawa telling the provinces how to run the system”

This would both cost less and lead to better quality of care – just as it did with the welfare system in the mid-1990s.

The federal government helped reform the welfare system by limiting federal transfer payments and granting the provinces greater flexibility to undertake policy reforms that matched local needs.

“The reality is that true federal leadership on the health care file does not mean Ottawa telling the provinces how to run the system, but helping to create the right incentives for the provinces to do so”, write the authors.

***

Brian Lee Crowley is the Managing Director of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

Sean Speer is a Senior Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. He previously served in different roles for the federal government including as senior economic advisor to the Prime Minister and director of policy to the Minister of Finance.

The Macdonald-Laurier Institute is the only non-partisan, independent national public policy think tank in Ottawa focusing on the full range of issues that fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Join us in 2015 as we celebrate our 5th anniversary.

For more information, please contact Mark Brownlee, communications manager, at 613-482-8327 x105 or email at mark.brownlee@macdonaldlaurier.ca.

Tags: Brian Lee CrowleyFrom A Mandate For Change To A Plan To Governhealth careSean Speer
Previous Post

Murray Sinclair, Policy-Maker of the Year: The path to reconciliation

Next Post

The resource economy and the front lines of reconciliation: Ken Coates in Inside Policy

Related Posts

MLI Senior Fellow Charles Burton added to Russian sanctions list
Releases

MLI Senior Fellow Charles Burton added to Russian sanctions list

June 27, 2022
Ukraine loses Severodonetsk: Christian Leuprecht on CBC News
Europe and Russia

Ukraine loses Severodonetsk: Christian Leuprecht on CBC News

June 27, 2022
Hollywood should get the facts and show respect to Indigenous peoples
Indigenous Affairs Program

Hollywood should get the facts and show respect to Indigenous peoples

June 27, 2022
Next Post
Ken Coats

The resource economy and the front lines of reconciliation: Ken Coates in Inside Policy

Macdonald-Laurier Institute

323 Chapel Street, Suite #300
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 7Z2 Canada

613.482.8327

info@macdonaldlaurier.ca
MLI directory

Follow us on

Newsletter Signup

First Name
Last Name
Email Address

Support Us

Support the Macdonald-Laurier Institute to help ensure that Canada is one of the best governed countries in the world. Click below to learn more or become a sponsor.

Support Us

Inside Policy Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Back Issues
  • Advertising
  • Inside Policy Blog
  • Privacy Policy

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
    • Jobs
  • Experts
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Energy
      • Health Care
      • Justice
      • Social issues
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
    • Provincial COVID Misery Index
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
      • Dragon at the Door
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
    • Past Projects
      • Justice Report Card
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
      • Inside Policy Blog
    • Papers
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • Straight Talk
    • Video
    • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Leading Economic Indicator
    • Labour Market Report
    • MLI in the Media

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

IDEAS CHANGE THE WORLD!Have the latest Canadian thought leadership delivered straight to your inbox.
First Name
Last Name
Email address

No thanks, I’m not interested.