what are you waiting for?

This past Saturday my two boys and I decided to take the bus up to Hastings where we took care of some errands and dropped in at a bicycle and pedestrian safety fair that was being held at the Community Policing Center. On the way home we walked back to Renfrew to catch the bus but unfortunately I was so busy reading a pamphlet that I'd got at the fair that we missed it pass by. With a bit more than a little persuasion I managed to convince the boys that it would actually be quicker, and better for us to walk home than wait the 15 minutes for the next bus.

But that's me in a nutshell. I will always walk to the next bus stop and even the stop after, rather than wait and its a trait that I hope my kids will take from me.

Last week Finance Minister Carole Taylor warned British Columbians of the impending doom that health care spending will bring to the provincial budget if something is not done. She predicted that by the year 2017 health care will gobble up 70 cents of each dollar that our BC government spends. I don't know about you but this disturbs the hell out of me.

But take a look around you. Are you really surprised that 50% of adult Canadians are over weight and that some 63% of us are not active enough to get any real health benefits from the few activities we do? The fact is that when it comes to health care most of us believe that it is our fundamental right to universal and unrestricted services. We are worried sick about the possibility of a two-tiered system and any increases in our premiums. The question then is, why are so few of us willing to do anything to actually help sustain the system? A perfect example is the fact that less than 3% of eligible adults in this country donate blood. I find this astonishing.

There can be no denying the fact that universal health care is a distinctly Canadian institution that is worth preserving. But if the system is to survive, a lot more of us are going to have to start walking a bit more rather than waiting that 15 minutes for the next bus to come.