OTTAWA (Reuters) - The main opposition Conservative Party, regularly accused of planning to scrap Canada's creaking publicly-funded healthcare system, promised on Friday to cut wait times for treatment if elected, but stressed it would not create a parallel private network.
The Conservatives -- bidding to end 12 years of Liberal rule in the January election -- have had great trouble persuading Canadians that they want to improve rather than kill off the national medicare system.
Medicare gives Canadians the right to free medical treatment. Although it swallows close to C$90 billion a year in public funds, waiting times are growing and there are increasingly serious shortages of family doctors and nurses. |