1 The Importance of Public Services to Keep Our Society Strong and Healthy By: Jennifer Yu
2 Sometimes we may take it for granted that we have a publicly funded health care system, a world class education available for all students and a wide range of social services that we have access to. However, it is quite unfortunate that we are constantly being threatened by the government trying to promote privatization of services. Albertans need to recognize that the economic and social well being depends on our desire to work together to meet each other s needs. We should highly value public services because this is created by people and for all people. Public services ensure us that no one is left behind to suffer and that everyone has equal access to the services they need. Canada is such a wealthy country where it is can offer public education free of charge to all Canadian citizens who are under the age of 20 (Government of Alberta Education, 2010b). Public education is one of the most important investments that Albertans can make for every child and the future for all Canadians. In Alberta, children are required to remain in school up to the age of 16 (Government of Alberta Education, 2010b). Public education provides opportunities for personal and community growth and most importantly, public school education is inclusive. Everyone is welcome to participate in a decision making process including teachers, parents, administrators, and students. Encouraging involvement in the school system allows for collaboration together to meet student s education needs. I feel that school meetings are important in helping parents and the schools connect, so that ideas can be generated and consensus can be made for every decision. I personally feel that children should be involved in public education so that every child can celebrate the differences, diversity, and inclusion. As a result, when these children grow up to be adults, they are already exposed to working with different unique individuals and are more accepting to others.
3 In 2008, the Public School Boards Association of Alberta (PSBAA) were concerned about the decision made by the Government of Alberta to increase funding for private schools (PSBAA, 2008). According to PSBAA, the government has an additional eight million dollars to invest in education but unfortunately it has failed to respond to the public needs such as bigger classes and loss of special care aides faced by public schools (PSBAA, 2008). Recently on the news, the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) has released a 2010-2011 Operating Budget which estimates the elimination of 192 certified staff (teachers), 79 school- based support staff, and 6.5 custodial staff (CBE, 2010). Additionally, the CBE will also operate on a $10 million deficit (CBE, 2010). In Edmonton, it is estimated that there will be a reduction of over 100 teaching positions ( Edmonton Public Schools, 2010). The elimination of staff will have a huge impact on the students from kindergarten to grade 12 such as decreased quality of learning and bigger class sizes. Not only are the students affected, parents and school staff are also put in a difficult position. Parents will be worried about their child s future quality of learning and school staff must work with the pressure of managing more students. More school staff is needed to enhance the quality of learning for students instead of laying them off. Statistics Canada (2005) found that compulsory schooling legislation was effective in generating large improvements to social and economic welfare among the lowest educated Canadians. The findings also suggested that Canadians were less likely to be unemployed and below the low-income cutoff since the introduction of compulsory school laws. Therefore, it is essential that schools in Alberta to provide the necessary resources in order to help students strive in their education. Since the majority of the students attend public education, the future of the economy will depend of the quality of education that students receive today. The advancement of future research and technology will also depend on the students today. We
4 simply can not cut back on the necessary programs such as fine arts classes. In 2009, the province wanted to make changes to the fine arts programs by eliminating ensemble classes in band, theatre, dance or choir ( Changes, 2009). These changes can impact students who wish to pursue further studies in fine arts in universities since they may lack the skills and may not be well prepared. It is important that public schools offer programs that accommodate to each student s needs so they each student can learn better according to their learning styles. Perhaps one of the greatest features of Canada is our medicare system which offers free health services to all Canadians regardless of race, religion or financial status. Since health services is funded from general tax revenues, Canadians do not have to worry about taking out extra money out of their pockets to pay for extra health costs. This is good news to the majority of Canadians because not everyone is able to afford extra health expenses. Since cost is not an issue, most Canadians can take the primary health care approach to prevent health problems and to have follow up appointments with our world class health professionals. Canadians seeking an active lifestyle and early detection of illnesses will save the health care system more money. If Canada had a private health care system, I do not think that I would even go for a regular body check up, do lab tests, walk into a diagnostic centre or see any other health care professional just because it would cost me a lot of money to pay for these services. I believe many Canadians would agree with me on this as well. There has been much controversy in regards to America s private health care system and Canada s public health care system for many years. A study published in America Journal of Public Health conducted by Harvard Medical School researchers showed that Canadians have, indeed, much better health than Americans because of easier access to health care ( Canadians healthier, 2006). Americans were seven times less likely to seek proper care due to cost
5 ( Canadians healthier, 2006). This study really shows that our government should not cut back on public health service, but instead, invest our tax money into health care because this will benefit every Canadian. However, our valued health care system is currently being threatened by privatization, user fees, and other extra costs. For example, there are doctors in Alberta who will charge you $100 to write a sick leave note for your employer or there are private clinics who are willing to perform surgeries right away if you are willing to cough out more money. Privatization is not a solution to health care problems but a united public health care system is actually a solution for Albertans and Canadians. This year, Alberta has been faced with enormous cuts to the health care system including reduced quotas for surgery and plans to reduce health care staff (United Nurses of Alberta, n.d). It is absolutely crucial that the Alberta government supports strong public services especially through the recession because demand for public services has increased. Cutting staff will definitely cause even further harm when it affects other public programs, which Albertans rely heavily on. Albertans do not want a repeat of health care cuts similar to what had happened in the 90 s when millions of dollars were cut in health care, including thousands of nurses out of work and doctors leaving the province (Cairney, 1997). This nightmare took significant time for the health care system to recover and Albertans to gain back trust for health care services (Cairney, 1997). It seems that in recent years, there has been a move towards private health care. Private health care is something that only a few Canadians can afford. According to the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA), the government wants seniors to rely on private, assisted living facilities where seniors will have to pay more for these services. This means that the individual and/or
6 family will have to pay for professional nurses and home support services including personal care, homemaking and childcare (Public Interest Alberta, n.d). The approximate cost for a registered nurse is $50 an hour, a licensed practical nurse is $35 an hour while a community support worker is paid at $20 an hour ( Public Interest Alberta, n.d). What will happen to those seniors who don t have the money? Privatization of health care will lead to decreased quality of life, services will become unavailable and waiting times health care services will become longer. There are several people in Alberta who want privatization of health care to help control costs on the public system and also to reduce waiting lists for services such as surgeries. However, privatization of health is not as easy as it sounds. According to the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), private hospitals and clinics need large amounts of money to operate for things like marketing, investor profits and taxes. This leaves only very little money left for quality patient care (AFL, n.d). As for the public health care system, the majority of tax payer money goes to direct patient care. AFL (n.d) also reasoned that there is also a huge possibility that physicians and other health care professionals are going to be attracted by the increased salaries in the private sector. As a result, there will be major shortage of health care professionals in the public sector. This may result in longer wait times in the public sector. Also, privatization of health care services may not be as stable as it seems because it can close down anytime. For example, a private clinic that performs hip, knee and ankle surgeries were on the brink of bankruptcy if it had not been for Alberta Health Services that paid for some of the bank charges and monthly rent of the clinic. If the private clinic was to shut down, the patient waiting list will be longer, service will be interrupted, health care staff will be unemployed and as a result, both patients and staff will need to rely on public services again. This cycle will cause taxpayers to pay even more money since this process is very expensive.
7 This is an example of why we need a public health system where it is reliable, fair and accountable for people. Recently on news, we have heard that Alberta s economy is slowly recovering from recession. However, many families are still stressed over job losses, coming up with ways to support the children and dealing with their own physical and mental health. We need to recognize that there are seniors, children and the working class adults who need professionals such as psychologists, counselors, and many other support workers. Currently, jobs in Alberta Health Services are still only opened to internal AHS staff members. If there were open spots, it is mostly internal candidates that were allowed to apply to the jobs. How are we going to have enough professional support workers if they are only hiring support workers already working for AHS? Are we just going to leave families and children alone to suffer in mental distress? It can not be stressed enough that social services such as safe housing, women s services, employment assistance and peer support services are provided to individuals and families so that appropriate treatment is given. If more funding is put into social services, individuals can seek help earlier and then return back to the workforce quicker. It is important that we understand that the money spent today will eventually benefit Alberta more in the long run. In conclusion, Alberta needs to recognize that without public services, private services will also crumble. Canadians pay so much tax that it only makes sense that we deserve quality public services. Public services help to keep costs affordable for families so that not only rich individuals can have access to health care, education, and social services. There are so many advantages to public services but sometimes we may be attracted to the benefits of privatization. In the long run, there will be all sorts of problems if we privatize services as explored above. As a result, this is why public services are essential to building a strong and healthy society.
8 References Alberta Federation of Labour. (n.d). What s wrong with a little privatization. Retrieved June 29, 2010, from http://www.afl.org/campaigns-issues/health/healthtrack.cfm Cairney, R. (1997). Health care as an election issue: Alberta s Experience. Canadian Medical Association, 156 (10), 138-140. Calgary Board of Education. (2010b). Board of Trustees Approves the 2010-2011 Operating Budget. Retrieved July 1, 2010, from http://www.cbe.ab.ca/media/news/2009-2010nr/061510-01.asp Canadians healthier than Americans, study says. (2006, May 30). CTV News. Retrieved from http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/articlenews/story/ctvnews/20060530/canada_us_healthcare _060530/20060530?hub=TopStories Changes could be coming to fine arts programs. (2009, November 9). CTV News. Retrieved from http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/ctvnews/20091110/cgy_arts_schools_091110/2 0091110/?hub=CalgaryHome Edmonton Public Schools. (2010). Board passes difficult budget. Retrieved July 1, 2010, from http://www.epsb.ca/mediareleases/100616.shtml Government of Alberta Education. (2010a). Budget 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2010, from http://education.alberta.ca/department/budget.aspx Government of Alberta Education. (2010b). Alberta s Commitment. Retrieved from July 1, 2010, from http://education.alberta.ca/parents/educationsys/ourstudents/i.aspx Public Interest Alberta. (n.d). The Promise and the Reality. Retrieved July 1, 2010, from http://www.pialberta.org/content_pdf/promises
9 Public School Boards Association of Alberta. (2008, August 28). Re: The Letters Editor [Letter]. Retrieved from http://www.publicschools.ab.ca/public/association/ed_letter_privschfunding2008aug28.pdf United Nurses of Alberta. (n.d). More Health Cuts? Retrieved July 12, 2010, from http://www.una.ab.ca/news/archive/pdfs/wrong%20way/ww%7cmain.pdf
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