A Confucius quote begins, “If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant…”. This could never be more true than the language contained in Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott’s press conference introducing the new Ontario health-care system.
There are many examples of government-speak in the announcement and I will not site every example; however, there are a few that stand out in appearance versus probable reality.
“This is something we have thought about long and hard,” said Minister Elliott. This Government has been in power less than one year, actually only some eight months. How does that period of time allow for “…long and hard…”?
Minister Elliot goes on to say “What we really need to do is focus our health-care system on the patient….make sure the patients’ needs are considered and thought of first…”
Now let’s see, the recent solution to services for autistic children was to focus on the backlog, not on needs. It spreads essentially the same resources over more patients. The Government can rightly claim the backlog is reduced, (they would never lie), but they fail to mention that now basically no autistic child can receive the quality of care they need and deserve.
The words “considered” and “thought of” are artfully employed in Minister Elliott’s statement. This is called polishing the t_ _ d. They give the reader a positive impression but are completely benign. There is no concrete action, no provision for actually addressing the patients’ needs. A good sound bite, but no commitment.
The plan calls for a single block of funding for 30 to 50 health teams responsible for about 300,000 people. Can you read, hello GTA, good luck rural Ontario!
The health-care system in Ontario is far from perfect; however, the announcement by Minister Elliott preceding the tabling of the People’s Health Care Act in the legislature on Tuesday February 26, 2019 offers absolutely no tangible improvement.
There is so much more that can, and should, be drawn into question about this knee-jerk action of the Ontario Government; however, at this juncture I will simply close with the lyrics of Jerry Reed, “Lord Mr. Ford, what have you done…?”.
Other views are welcome.