Alberta premier Ralph Klein went on record stating that he had no preference for private or public healthcare, as long as results were delivered. He said that the most important thing was the health of Canadians.

This type of thinking is a breath of fresh air. Too many in Canada are obsessed with socialist mantras, caring more about the method than the results. To believe that we need healthcare but to commit to only one method of provision is akin to entering a boxing match with one hand tied behind your back. If the goal of good health is supreme, then whatever method gets there fastest, best and cheapest is the right method. To state that all methods are not acceptable is to state that the actual goal is not good health at all, but something else, in this case statism, and good health can be and has been allowed to fall by the wayside if it is not connected to the true goal.

A little intellectual honesty is welcome. Now we need a little more, to recognise that state provision of goods and services is always inefficient and frequently fails completely, whereas free markets provide optimum efficiency (the best for the least cost) and the best guarantee against failure to provide.

The notion of feasible state healthcare is founded on a lie, and like all institutions built on lies it cannot last. Hopefully, Klein’s comments will illuminate the writing on this wall a little better.

Doesn’t matter to me if health care is privately delivered: Klein

Alberta Premier Ralph Klein acknowledged Tuesday that he personally doesn’t have a problem with private delivery of health-care services.

In his strongest endorsement of for-profit health care since hitting the campaign trail for Monday’s provincial election, Klein said he doesn’t think it matters whether Albertans receive treatment from private or public health providers.