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
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.
Pearson gold heist suspect arrested after flying into Toronto from India
Another suspect is in custody in connection with the gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport last year, police say.
Millions of cyberattacks per hour as B.C. government investigates multiple breaches
Careful attention to government statements and legislation is required to get a handle on the level of risk British Columbians’ information is under, as investigators probe multiple breaches under a continued barrage of attacks.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Debate on abortion rights erupts on Parliament Hill, Poilievre vows he won't legislate
A Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre would not legislate on, nor use the notwithstanding clause, on abortion, his office says, as anti-abortion protesters gather on Parliament Hill.
Justin and Hailey Bieber are expecting their first child together
Hailey and Justin Bieber are going to be parents. The couple announced the news on Thursday on Instagram, both sharing a video that showcases Hailey Bieber's growing belly.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
New 'Lord of the Rings' film coming in 2026
The Oscar-winning team behind the nearly US$6 billion blockbuster 'Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' trilogies is reuniting to produce two new films.
Local Spotlight
Wilfrid Laurier football player drafted despite only playing 27 games in his entire life
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
Toronto-area dessert shop featured by Keith Lee forced to move after zoning complaint
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
'Oh Crap!' New exhibit at Canada Science and Technology Museum explores human waste
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
Regina police hope new biometric monitoring system will save lives in detention facility
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors bet on who will win Round 2 of the playoffs. Here's what's at stake
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
'No other life taken': Mother leads ATV helmet drive to honour daughter's legacy
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
P.E.I. lighthouse, N.B. river spotlighted in Canada Post series
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.