MAY, 1979 THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER MEDICARE PROTECTION... Our most precious possession is our good health. But the hard-won right of Canadians to protect our good health through universally-accessible medical care is in serious danger. Eleven years ago, after seeing the success of the Saskatchewan NDP government's medical insurance program, _ the federal government introduced na- tional hospital and medical care insur- ance. All Canadians have shared its benefits. The federal government pays half the cost of the scheme — $5 billion a year — to the provinces with no strings attached. However the medical insurance scheme is being eroded in many provinces because large numbers of doctors are “opting-out” — billing their patients directly at rates up to 30% higher than the amount covered by provincial medical insurance plans. Consequently, many patients are faced with medical bills that * they can’t pay, even though they have paid premiums to have medical insurance coverage. In Ontario, 18% of doctors have opted- out of the medical insurance plan, and in some smaller communities it is difficult to find a doctor in the plan. Alberta has 30% of its doctors charging fees higher than those set out in the plan. Over 130 Manitoba doctors have left the plan. In addition, some provinces are considering the use of “deterrent” fees, charges to the patient in addition to. the amount paid by insurance. Even the federal government has recog- nized the threat to universally-accessible medical care. Health Minister Monique Begin said “The federal government will not see eroded the benefits which Canadians derive and enjoy under the national medicare programs.” She said the situation is “surely very fragile right now.” Later however, Prime Minister Trudeau refused to commit the government to cutting off federal payments to offending provinces. The threat to medicare hurts © all Canadians, particularly those on low or fixed incomes and in areas where most doctors have stopped participating in the plan. It raises the spectre of a serious illness causing financial ruin. “Opting- out” by large numbers of physicians is a devastating blow to the right of every Canadian to have access to health care without paying a surcharge over and above the fees covered by government medical insurance. Equal access to health care is a cornerstone of the New Democratic Party’s policies. The NDP would commit itself to upholding standards in the medicare legislation at the federal level that will enforce universal access within provincial medicare programs across the country. Better monitoring and adminis- tration of health care policy at the federal level is essential. In addition the NDP would support federal health care funding changes that would provide more money for low-cost alternative health care facilities such as non-profit community clinics or the training of. para-medical employees. These changes could relieve some of the pressures in the cost of health care. Finally the NDP would extend medicare to dental needs, optical care, glasses and essential drugs and surgical appliances. We cannot afford to have an unhealthy nation. ... AND A SOUND ENERGY POLICY © An adequate energy supply at a reaso- nable price is essential to Canada’s eco- nomic well-being. Canada is one of the few countries fortunate enough to be able to be energy self-sufficient but we are not taking advantage of that opportunity. Since oil and gas make up two-thirds of Canada’s energy consumption, price rises in these commodities are serious. A gallon of regular gasoline increased from 55.4¢ in 1973 to 92.2¢ in 1978. Fuel oil more than doubled from 26¢ to 57.3¢. Natural gas rose from $1.04 to $2.53 per mcf. The aver- age wellhead price of Canadian-produced oil has risen from $3.80/bbI to $12.75/bbl. Since the beginning of the government's anti-inflation program in 1975, while wages have been strictly controlled, the price of crude oil has increased 59%. Since 1974, the federal government has tracked the world price of oil dictated by OPEC. Federal-provincial agreements have allowed seven increases in the well- head price of oil in that period. With a further increase of $2 per barrel scheduled by next January the government is pursu- ing its goal of reaching the international price. On this policy the Tories are in agreement only they would discard the two-price system even sooner. In 1975, a federal-provincial agreement allowed the price of natural gas to rise as well, and each oil price increase has been followed by a corresponding increase in natural gas prices. - While the Canadian consumer is paying the bills, the foreign-owned oil industry is collecting the benefits. Net profits in the industry almost tripled from $560 million in 1971 to $1,536 million in 1976. Profits of the “Big Five” multinationals alone totalled $3.9 billion from 1974 to 1978. Canada’s energy policies have sacri- ficed a significant competitive advantage that Canada could have enjoyed over the United States, Japan and European Eco- nomic Community countries. Our domes- tic production could have insulated Cana- dian consumers from OPEC price increases. , Instead we have paid in increased unemployment and inflation. A 1975 study which measured the impact of the initial 1973-74 oil and gas increases concluded that Ontario generated 22,000 fewer jobs in 1974 and 38,000 fewer jobs in 1975 asa result of the increases. In addition, one- third of the province’s 1974 inflation was due directly to oil and gas price changes. Real incomes were reduced by the failure of wages to catch up quickly with energy based cost-of-living increases. Although the oil industry makes huge profits from Canadian resources, it is reluctant to invest in Canada’s energy future. From 1971 to 1976, the net profits of the industry jumped 170%, foreign capital expenditure increased 568% while Cana- dian capital expenditure increased by only 104%. There is a lack of government con- trol over windfall revenues from rising pri- ces. Some of these profits must begin to finance energy alternatives and subsidize low income earners hit hardest by increased energy prices. To stop windfall profit-making in the energy field, the NDP would consolidate Petrocan as a Crown agency large enough to compete with the major corporations. As well as expanding into refining initially by purchasing the idle Petrocan would be the sole importer of crude oil and fuel oil. Security of supply would be ensured because_ Petrocan could sign direct government-to-government contracts, eliminating the role of the multinational ‘corporations. Gas and oil prices would then reflect Canadian production costs, include a reasonable rate of return and allow for further exploration and develop- ment. The money set aside for developing new energy sources would be put into a federally-administered Energy Security fund to finance promising ways to develop replacement energy sources. The NDP would make sure Canada became energy self-sufficient by complet- ing coast-to-coast oil and gas transmis- sion systems while phasing out our oil and gas exports. . The National Energy Board must be res- tructured to have greater authority to con- duct independent investigations of indus- try costs and resource potential. — To make sure we get the most from our energy sources, the NDP would give greater support to public transportation systems and encourage the expanded use of energy-efficient machinery by impos- ing taxes Proportional to energy con- sumption. We would also step up the search for alternative sources of energy.