I'm Confused...Who Runs The Country?

Canada Ruling May Herald More Private Health Care

I'm a little confused. For the past number of years there has been great debate about the future of our health care. Premier Klein has been pushing for some private health services and has met opposition from the Friends of Medicare, the Federal Government, the Opposition parties, and others. What a lot of people don't know is that there are many private medical facilities all over Canada already in business.

But now, in one fell swoop, a Supreme Court Judge has basically "...overruled a Quebec law that banned use of private health insurance to pay for procedures normally covered by Medicare, a decision that could pave the way to wider use of private medical facilities."(Reuters Canada) This is sure to upset the apple cart. What really confuses me is that after all the debate, all the protests, all the talk, one judge can do in one rulling what the Governments of this country couldn't do...allow private medical procedures outside of Medicare. This is something that really bothers me. Who is running this country? The courts or the Government? I don't think it should be the courts. On something this big of an issue, it should go to a vote or referendum. Perhaps we should have a National Referendum Day or something. I don't think something like this should be decided by one person. I would like the Federal Government to bring in the "notwithstanding clause" and have the people vote on the change. For the record I do not have a problem with private health along side Medicare Health...with some conditions. If it can help with some of the problem areas to bring down waiting lists then I have no problem with it. In a referendum I may be in the minority on this but I would stand by the decision of the people.

Another thing that I noticed about this ruling is the quietness of the media until the ruling was just about to happen. Are you going to tell me that the media didn't know about this until Wednesday? That is when I first heard of it in the paper and internet news. The next day, Thursday, the rulling came down. This ruling could be a great thing or a very bad thing. I'm sure there will be much debate in the coming weeks.

What are your thoughts on this ruling? What about how the decision to basically change the way health care is delivered in this country being decided by one person? Comments anyone?