Letters: Experts should be listened to fix health care

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Politicians need to listen to experts

Our health care system is seemingly headed toward the proverbial “cliff.”  Regardless of one’s political leanings, over the years our politicians have come up short when it comes to making the real and lasting changes our health care system needs. Oh yes, they try, but it’s not whether they try it’s they don’t know how to let the health experts do the work. 

Things must be getting bad when even Ken McGeorge seems to be despairing of real reform.  If I were premier, my first move would be to hire Ken to head up a high level task force comprised of health experts with the mandate to “triage” the state of our health care system. Then to design a comprehensive reform plan specifying short, medium and long-term measurable actions. My next move would be to ask the force what they need from government to ensure the implementation of that plan.  And, finally, I would get out of the way to let it happen. 

As one whose doctor is of a retirement age, I fear for the day she announces her retirement.  My wife and I will then join the thousands of New Brunswickers currently on the interminable list of no primary care.  It’s a bad joke when I frequently read statements we should not go to the ER but go to an after hours clinic (what clinic?) or get some tele-care person who will ultimately say go to the hospital and so on. The latter is precisely what happened to me a few months back. 

Good leaders are good leaders when they have the right people in place and then let them do their job with those people knowing they will be accountable. If only health care were run that way. 

 Peter A Belliveau 

Moncton

University’s financial woes not due to salaries, pension

A quote in the article, “The scars left after pension scrap” , attributed to Mr. Jim Leech, former CEO of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, must be put in proper context.

Leech allegedly said: “Laurentian University filed for bankruptcy. Why? Pension obligations.” This is not true. Laurentian University’s declaration of bankruptcy was not a fatality, due to the fact their employees had a defined benefit pension plan. This is simply not borne out by the facts.

The special report of the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario regarding the Laurentian University situation is clear. What led to the difficult financial situation at Laurentian University was gross mismanagement on the part of the University’s board of governors, through overspending on capital projects as well as the overcompensation of senior administrators and special advisors. The Auditor General specifically states in the report “Faculty Salaries and Academic Programs Were Not the Cause of Laurentian’s Financial Deterioration” (chapter 7, p. 40). Nor does the report mention the university’s pension plan as a contributing factor to its negative financial situation.

Jean Sauvageau

Past President, Federation of New Brunswick Faculty Associations