This spring, as he did a year previous, federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh will penalize British Columbia for violating the Canada Health Act. Alleging that the province was not doing enough to prevent private surgery clinics from charging fees for faster service, Mr. Dosanjh fined B.C. $126,775 in 2004; this year, that sum is expected to be roughly $72,000.
Given the piddling sums involved, the measures taken by Mr. Dosanjh are purely symbolic. But mostly, they symbolize the absurd way in which Ottawa arbitrarily enforces its sacrosanct legislation.
Stumble It!