Lorne Gunter of the National Post commented yesterday on the Kawacatoose First Nation proposal for a private MRI service,

For defenders of Canada’s government-monopoly health care system, there is only one goal that truly matters. And, no, despite their earnest insistences to the contrary, that goal is not the health of patients. It is the preservation of the public monopoly at all costs, even patients’ lives.

But Gunter’s thinking is short-sighted. Private services would ease wait times in the short-term, but would exacerbate them in the long. She explains the rationale herself in quoting health critic Judy Junor, who says that private facilities poach services from public hospitals.

The larger implications are that many hospitals operate on a global budget, offering some services at a modest profit, and others at a loss. Private clinics choose to offer only the former, usually at the expense of the latter. The end result is that public systems operate on an even narrower margin and risks collapse, thereby providing an even greater hazard to patients’ lives.

The one positive factor of the scenario is that the Aboriginal band proposed offering services to all Canadians, without cue-jumping. They would probably be better positioned to provide culturally appropriate services for their community. But most importantly, they are considering revenue generation beyond casinos.