Quite simply, the coalition does not want to risk a weak public showing of opposition. An opinion poll carried out by the Friends of Medicare has not been especially encouraging. One bright spot is that the two-member New Democrat caucus has won the order paper lottery to present the first private member's bill this session. The NDs, who have taken a principled stand against the privatization of Medicare, will introduce a tough bill to phase out private clinics altogether. It will require very strong public opposition or a decisive intervention by Ottawa to prevent the Klein Government from prevailing.
Federal intervention seems unlikely.