Some are empirical in nature, others are more technical or policy-oriented, and many pertain to the values of Canadians. The National Forum on Health has a mandate to promote dialogue among Canadians on issues such as public and private financing, and to provide advice to governments. Discussions about how best to finance health care in Canada may well continue into the future, just as they have for the last 50 years or so. That is why the Forum will examine the issues raised in this paper in greater detail, and will seek the views of Canadians through a variety of consultative processes before formulating advice and recommendations to government. If this paper has succeeded in clarifying the terms of the debate on public and private financing of health services, we have made significant progress.
Informed debate requires informed debaters.