Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
She has the right to hold a grudge, but declines to take any cheap shots.
Dr. Jane Philpott is over having Prime Minister Justin Trudeau toss her out of the Liberal caucus along with cabinet colleague Jody Wilson-Raybould for taking a principled stand against the PMO in the SNC Lavalin scandal five years ago.
The former federal health minister has more important issues now. The health care system is broken and she is on a crusade to start the healing.
Philpott’s prescription pad is her new book entitled “Health for All,” a concept that sounds almost too good to be possible in curing Canada’s overcrowded, severely-rationed, selectively-delivered health care.
The heart of her primary care plan would roll out something like this: A new arrival to an area would punch in their postal code and up would pop an assigned ‘primary care home’ with a team of doctors, nurse practitioners and support clinicians geographically obligated to accept them as a patient.
This dare-to-dream vision exists in other countries and is doable here, Philpott insists, a concept she compares to the right of a student to access a public school teacher in Canada.
But Philpott isn’t oozing confidence that Trudeau has the right stuff to go beyond his breathless rhetoric to actually fix what hinders patient care in Canada. And her skepticism applies to all party leaders.
“I’m not hearing the kind of commitment to get it done at the federal level from any party or even at the provincial level, with two or three exceptions,” she admits.
Philpott talks health care from multiple levels of professional and personal experience. She has administered health care in the wretched conditions of Central Africa, worked as family doctor in Stouffville, Ont. and immersed herself in a COVID-wracked long-term care centre at the height of the pandemic.
She’s experienced the unspeakable horror of having her daughter Emily die in her arms from a virulent meningococcemia infection while being rushed in vain to a hospital in Niger in 1991.
And she has gone beyond being a family doctor to pioneering teams as a health care concept while nudging more students toward family care as dean of Health Services at Queen’s University.
We sat down in her office overlooking the Kingston waterfront this week to discuss the intractable problem of guaranteeing Canadians a front-door into health care, the better to avoid clogging up emergency wards by default or having patient health deteriorate for want of a family doctor.
We discussed how lucky I was to have a family doctor who detected a small outbreak of cancerous melanoma two years ago. Once diagnosed, surgical and cancer care was delivered fairly quickly and comprehensively to, fingers crossed here, beat it once and for all.
“What breaks my heart and what motivates me to get this message out is because for every person like you, there are people showing up in emergency with stage four cancer that would’ve been detected if they’d had a family doctor,” she said.
But, like everything else, better primary care is dependent on political will and directed dollars to deliver improved results. And that’s where Philpott's prescription could run into a reluctant pharmacist.
She suggests federal legislation forcing provinces to provide primary care for all while placing conditional strings on fiscal transfers to ensure it becomes a reality. And she argues more family doctors are obviously needed to reduce an onerous workload driving medical students away from general practice.
There are no juicy insights from her four-year life inside Trudeau’s government.
She does note, interestingly, how Trudeau’s staff urged her to drop the gloves and take partisan punches at the opposition parties instead of actually trying to answer questions in House of Commons. Sunny ways, it seems, were eclipsed by shadows very early in Trudeau’s reign.
File photo of Jane Philpott making an announcement about her political future ahead of the 2019 federal election in Markham, Ont., on May 27, 2019 (Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
“I don’t think things turned out the way they were initially described,” she said. “The hyper partisanship is so built-in, it just became insurmountable.”
As for a federal government fostering toxic relations with premiers to repair health care in an area of provincial jurisdiction, well, “things are not looking good.”
“If we keep following our current trajectory we’re heading to an even worse and more divisive place. We’re going to need new kinds of leaders.”
So perhaps, you wonder, could there be a Philpott political comeback once Trudeau is gone from the scene? “I would never say never,” she said, smiling.
“I don’t miss the toxicity of it all, but I’m frustrated by what I see and it matters so much to our country and the people that depend on it being well run,” she said, adding, “Part of me would like to help influence changes on how we do business in Ottawa.”
It’s not in the book, but perhaps it only makes sense that the best fix for ailing health care is having this doctor back in the House.
That’s the bottom line.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Family of toddler found dead at small-town Ont. daycare no closer to answers after year of investigation
A year has passed since two-year-old Vienna Irwin was found on the property of a home-based daycare in small-town Ontario, but her family says they are no closer to answers of what happened that day.
Fatal plane crash reported near Squamish, B.C.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has confirmed it is working with local Mounties and the BC Coroners Service after a plane crash near Squamish, B.C. Friday night.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
Community mourns victims of fatal boat crash near Kingston, Ont.
The three people killed in last weekend's tragic collision between a speedboat and a fishing boat north of Kingston are being remembered Friday.
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
Chiefs' Harrison Butker has no regrets about expressing his beliefs in speech
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker has no regrets about expressing his beliefs in a recent commencement speech and he said he has received support as well as “a shocking level of hate” from others.
American Airlines drops law firm that said a 9-year-old girl should have seen camera on toilet seat
American Airlines has replaced the law firm that told a judge a nine-year-old girl was negligent in not noticing there was a camera phone taped to the seat in an airplane lavatory.
Three dead after vehicle plunged down a 100-foot embankment in Shediac, N.B.
Three people have died after a vehicle veered off the road in Shediac N.B., Friday morning.
Local Spotlight
Pomp, circumstance, and Crocs: Barrie, Ont. couple's unforgettable day at Buckingham Palace
When one is extended an invitation to the Royal Garden Party in London, England, there's undoubtedly no shortage of pomp and circumstance. Barrie, Ont. natives Megan Kirk Chang and her husband Brandon experienced just that as they entered the prestigious event hosted at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
Tim Meadows pledges not to shave until the Oilers win the cup, who are the team's other famous fans?
An unlikely celebrity emerged from social media to cheer on the Edmonton Oilers as they face the Dallas Stars tonight in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
'Near and dear to all filmmakers': Return of Regina's discount theatre bodes well for fans, movie makers alike
The proprietors of Regina's sole discount theatre are aware they're carrying on a significant legacy.
'Best experience ever': B.C. baker on making it to the finals of Netflix's 'Is it Cake?'
When Jujhar Mann said he wanted to be a pastry chef on a grade school career project, he didn't imagine that pursuing his dream would land him on a popular Netflix baking competition.
Winnipeg flair on the menu at neighbourhood Houston restaurant
A city known for its history, ties to outer space and southern barbecue, is also home to a Winnipeg chef dishing out dozens of perogies.
Montreal photographer captures dramatic Canada goose vs. fox fight on video
A Montreal photographer captured the moment a Canada goose defended itself from a fox at the Botanical Garden.
Beyond books: Halifax libraries lends instruments, sports equipment, memory kits and more
Public libraries in Atlantic Canada are now lending a broader range of items.
'A special bird': The unbreakable bond between purple martins and humans
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
7-year-old Pokémon prodigy heading to Hawaii for world championship tournament
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.