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It points, as well, to government briefing documents that propose the outsourcing or “transfer to the broader public service” of inspections, laboratories, licensing and the Ornge med-evac helicopter service; and that identify “effective(ly) partner(ing) with public and private-sector entities” as a “guiding principle.”

Elliott is downplaying the possibility of privatization and unequal delivery. But is your average Ontarian really still scared of those things? Did you catch “as already happens in long-term care,” in the NDP statement?

The biggest problem with warning Ontarians about private health-care delivery is that they’re entirely used to it. They get bloodwork, X-rays and ultrasounds at privately run labs. Their physiotherapists are not in the government’s employ. Many get their prescriptions filled by the George Weston empire, whose pharmacists will also vaccinate you against this year’s influenza.

Photo by Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press/File

And surely we have accepted by now that we already have multiple-tiered health care. Ontarians aged between 24 and 65 are not automatically covered for prescription drugs, which all by itself makes a mockery of the claim to universality. Nor are your teeth considered worthy of routine medical care. Even those of us who have insurance through our jobs enjoy different levels of coverage: Some of us might get a semi-private or private room in hospital; some of us might have to rough it with the plebs (assuming we’re not stuck in a hallway). Those of us who are very lucky might pay for access to one of Toronto’s several “executive clinics.” Those of us who do not have insurance through work will find it impossible to afford on our own.