Responding to the Liberal Party’s fake smear campaign that a Conservative government would privatize parts of the public health-care system, leader Erin O’Toole said Tuesday that he supports the current system — but wants to see more private sector “innovation” to improve outcomes.
Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, O’Toole said that Trudeau is running a “misleading” campaign to convince voters that he doesn’t support a public and universal system of care.
He also stated that, rather than cut health care, a Conservative government would make “record high transfers to the provinces to ensure every Canadian can benefit from free, high-quality health care.”
O’Toole has promised to boost the annual growth rate of the Canada Health Transfer to at least six per cent from its current rate, which is tied to how much the economy grows in a given year. It would also have a floor of three per cent and incur a $60 billion commitment over 10 years.
He said private, for-profit services would help reduce wait times, save money and alleviate pressure on the public system.
O’Toole’s comments came a day after Liberal candidate, Chrystia Freeland, posted a selectively edited clip of O’Toole speaking about health care on Twitter – a video that was since labelled by the social media company as “manipulated media”.
Instead of apologizing, Trudeau doubled down on the manipulated video, stating that it reflects O’Toole’s attitude toward private health care.
This is a smart play by O’Toole and the Conservative Party of Canada.
The Liberal Party were caught promoting a lie with Chrystia Freeland’s tweet, and by addressing the issue, O’Toole is killing two birds with one stone; ensuring that the embarrassment suffered by the Liberal’s gutter politics doesn’t fade from the public’s attention, and clarifying that the CPC will continue to support a public healthcare system across Canada.
Given that Canada is one of the only countries in the world that does not have a hybrid public-private healthcare sector, it is a smart policy to introduce private innovation, which in turn, could alleviate issues surrounding waiting lists and Canadians seeking surgeries abroad.
(Photo credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)
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