LETTER

“Fiscal responsibility” gave us under-funded health services 

Our federal government which “prudently” capped provincial health care transfers and delayed vaccinology research has suddenly found billions to deal with the Covid-19 outbreak and is finding billions more to bail out big oil and gas.

When the Finance Minister requires it, the Bank of Canada will always ensure immediate government access to any amount of funding. The real question is not about money but whether needed resources can be purchased in the real world. For example, are there sufficient sanitizers, masks and ventilators available?

The coronavirus outbreak will have devastating results on the economy and on many peoples lives. But let us hope for one positive change - the end of a false, penny-pinching “fiscal responsibility” that has engendered a fragile health care system, ill-equipped to confront a pandemic long predicted by experts.  

Larry Kazdan,

Vancouver