Talk to any politician about health care, be they Liberal, Conservative or New Democrat, and they'll likely tell you that health care should always be public and people should not be given the right to pay for their own medicine. A new national opinion poll by Montreal-based Leger Marketing shows that most Canadians disagree.

Leger found that 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 and universal health care system." Forty-two per cent were opposed and 5 per cent 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 the Prairies at 51 per cent.

These numbers indicate that the health debate is not as black and white as politicians would have us believe. Supporters of the state monopoly on health care (most are bankrolled by powerful unions) may be able to scream the loudest, but there is a majority out there who do not have a voice.

Many among the silent majority realize that our health care system is not meeting our basic needs. They have seen elderly loved ones sent home in taxis to die because of a lack of hospital beds. They have waited in pain for 18 months for a hip replacement, knowing full well that in most European countries the wait is just a few weeks. They've heard the horror stories of people waiting for cancer treatment while their tumour grows and their government denies them the right to pay to treat themselves.

There are many among us who realize that every man, woman and child pays $3,000 each year for a health system that no longer works for anyone. Government efforts to solve the problem have been a resounding failure. The 2005 Saskatchewan budget hikes health spending by 7.9 per cent ($192 million) and nobody believes this will do anything to shorten Saskatchewan's wait times, which are the worst in Canada. Health care now swallows 44 per cent of the provincial budget with no end in sight to the increases. 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. Supporters of the status quo like to say that the American system, which is based on private, voluntary insurance, is more expensive and denies health care to too many Americans.

But 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.

The time has come for Saskatchewan politicians to do some serious soul-searching on health care. As they dither and grand stand, our lack of access to quality health care becomes less of taxpayer issue, and more of a civil liberties issue. If you feel you should have the right to pay for your own medicine, tell your MLA and support the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.