There have been a number of polls released this week - everything from the rise and fall of the federal Liberals, to Gary Doer selected as Canada's most popular Premier. But there is one poll that did not get the attention that it deserved; according to Montreal-based Leger Marketing, 52 per cent of Canadians are in favour of allowing "those who wish to pay for health care in the private sector to have speedier access to this type of care while still maintaining the current free universal health care option." Forty-two percent were opposed and 5 percent had no opinion.

Among the provinces, Quebecers were most likely to support a private system alongside the public one, with 65 per cent saying yes, followed by British Columbia at 56 percent and here on the Prairies, we chimed in with a solid 51 percent in favour of a parallel system.

These numbers indicate that the health care debate is not as black and white as some politicians would like us to believe. Champions of the state monopoly may be able to shout the loudest, but there are a majority of citizens out there that don't have a voice.

Regrettably, in our own back yard, Canada's most popular Premier is doing all he can to perpetuate long wait lists and ensure that private health care dies in Manitoba.

With the MLA from Tuxedo leading the charge, the Opposition Conservatives had the NDP government scrambling for answers when the Tories revealed that a proposal from the Maples Surgical Centre (MSC) to drastically reduce wait times in the public health system was not only rejected by the government, but Minister Sale's office did not even respond to the proposal.

The MSC proposed to do ambulatory surgical procedures at cost which would includes (but not limited to) nursing fees, administration, patient meals, but does not include surgeon's fees and anesthetists. With only 24 hours notification, the MSC could begin surgical procedures immediately and is capable of performing procedures such as hip and knee replacements and breast biopsies.

With a list of procedural capabilities as long as hospital waiting lists themselves, the MSC can handle nearly 600 cases a month. Over the period of one year, 7,200 Manitobans could be removed from the waiting lists. To put this into perspective, the MSC's proposal could remove the entire population of Flin Flon from the health cues in one year. Because the NDP is so blinded by their ideology, they refuse to acknowledge the MSC's proposal and help Manitobans who are in pain.

There are many among us who realize that every man, woman and child pays thousands each year for a health system that no longer works for anyone. Government efforts to solve the problem have been a resounding failure as health care now swallows up nearly 43 cents of every tax dollar collected. Unless we see meaningful structural reform, the ever-growing health budget will take away our ability to maintain highways and schools.

Recognizing the futility of our current health system forces us to look abroad to find alternatives. There are 29 countries in the world with better health systems than Canada's, according the most recent study by the World Health Organization. Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom have universal access to health care. All of these countries have shorter wait times, better access to technology and better health outcomes than Canada. All of them spend less on health care than we do. The status quo crowd pretends our only choices are our current failing system or the American one. The fact is we can learn from many countries how to build a better system at a lower cost.

One would think that Canada's most popular Premier would be capable of discerning between a sound solution and blind ideology - clearly that is not the case with the Doer government. It is a pathetic spectacle when this government's inability to see beyond the status quo relegates Manitobans on long waiting lists, what is perhaps most alarming is that we let them get away with it.