Canada's shortage of family doctors is a disgrace

Blame it on Justin Trudeau's litany of failed policies

Family doctors are the front line of Canada’s universal health care system. Before you can see a specialist for any complaint, you need a referral from a general practitioner. I tried to see an orthopedic practitioner a few weeks ago when osteoarthritis in my knees and ankles was limiting my mobility, so I went to the convenient “walk-in” clinic in Collingwood and was seen quite promptly by one of the local doctors from our hospital good enough to spend time after working hours to see patients at the walk-in clinic behind the hospital.

The doctor was professional, effective and referred me to a local orthopaedic surgeon and ordered X-rays. I was able to get my X-rays at the Shipyard medical imaging facility again very quickly. So far so good. X-rays in hand, I went to the receptionist at the sport’s injury clinic where the specialist practices to schedule an appointment and was advised it was likely to be a wait of several months. I was lucky - I got to see a general practitioner quickly and similarly had my X-rays promptly. But there was no chance of seeing the doctor who could suggest treatment options for months. My solution - long lasting ibuprofen and less activity that irritated the inflamed tissue. I am reconciled to the likelihood that my ageing body will continue to limit my activity for the remainder of my time on earth.

But at least I got to see a general practitioner. Most Canadians find that challenging.

The incident prompted me to do a bit more research on Canada’s highly touted “universal health care” system, and I found my own situation paled in comparison to the problems most Canadians face in accessing care. A recent Bloomberg article pointed out that 2.2 million Ontarians do not have a family doctor and that most medical school graduates are uninterested in family practice since it comes with long hours and is burdened with needless paperwork in the bureaucratic health care system Canada likes to promote as among the best in the world. It is far from that.

The Bloomberg article reported that a family doctor on average spends about 19 hours a week doing paperwork calling the administrative burden “overwhelming”. Sounds a bit like every aspect of our government at all levels, not just in health care.

Our Prime Minister can’t miss a photo op and enjoys pretending he is welcome in Western Canada by flipping pancakes at the Calgary Stampede, but has no policies that have a hope in hell of solving Canada’s growing list of problems his policies have caused or worsened. Our ageing population and high levels of immigration put more demands on a health care system that can’t attract enough doctors.

Health care is not our only problem. Our massive energy industry is hamstrung by the Impact Assessment Act and lacks adequate pipeline capacity to exploit our vast oil and natural gas resources. We are facing high inflation which is outstripping wage gains, rapidly increasing government debt, millions on the verge of bankruptcy, housing costs beyond the reach of younger Canadians and our Prime Minister sees the solution as higher taxes including a useless new “carbon tax” which pretends CO2 causes climate change and adds crippling costs to household energy expenses, while our government gives billions to foreign multinationals like Stellantis and Volkswagen to build plants in Canada for batteries for vehicles they are unlikely to ever produce in quantities that will make the plants economical (if they were actually needed to meet demand, billions in government handouts would be unnecessary).

Canada’s economy is in serious trouble and Canada’s struggling health care system is part of the problem. Without private capital augmenting government funding, many Canadians will never get treatment for serious health issues until they are at death’s door, if then. But on the bright side, our kids will use the “right” pronouns and we won’t be deluged with news on Facebook or Google who are abandoning providing news feeds owing to the recent legislation hoping to make them pay for a service they were providing for free. This is Trudeau’s Canada. Vote Liberal if you like it.