As Roy Romanow eloquently reminded us last week, the future of our belovedmedicare system hangs precariously in the balance, at risk of beingpermanently damaged by the petty territorial squabbling of federal andprovincial politicians.

If only there was a leader on the political stage capable of mobilizing thecountry in a truly national crusade to save medicare — something along thelines of, say, the national crusade against the deficit a decade ago.

Alas, there appears to be no leader like that in sight.

Odd, isn’t it, considering that the man who led the anti-deficit crusade nowoccupies 24 Sussex Drive, which would seem to be an ideal staging ground fora new national crusade.

It’s almost 10 years since Paul Martin, then finance minister, mobilized thecountry to achieve a goal that had little intrinsic appeal — bringing thenational accounts into balance.

As crusades go, it wasn’t an obvious winner. A low deficit-to-GDP ratioisn’t generally the stuff that stirs deep in the bosoms of citizens, exceptperhaps in those at the C.D. Howe Institute.

But Martin took on the task with fervour and tenacity, rallying the countrywith his cry to meet his deficit-reduction targets “come hell or highwater.”

And it worked.

Despite territorial rivalries, Canada united behind the goal of deficitreduction. Cutbacks and austerity became the law of the land. Deficits soonbecame scarcer than affordable housing.

Martin, deficit-slayer-in-chief, went on to attain near-legendary status inthe land.

I should note that I wasn’t a fan of Martin’s anti-deficit extremism.As many of us argued at the time, a balanced budget could have beenachieved — although a little more slowly — without the deep spending cutsthat have so harmed our social programs, particularly medicare.

But what was impressive back then was Martin’s role in generating a sense ofnational purpose around the deficit issue.

It’s exactly that kind of national purpose that’s desperately needed now tosave medicare.

Yet the vital task of rallying the country has largely fallen to Romanow,who headed the 2002 national commission on health care. He’s a passionateand articulate advocate, but he lacks a real role these days on the nationalstage.

Saving medicare is not an impossible task. The resources are there.

Since eliminating the deficit in the late 1990s, Ottawa has generated hugesurpluses. But most of that money has gone to tax cuts and debt reduction,not to rebuilding medicare.

As Romanow noted, since 1996, federal and provincial governments have cuttaxes by $250 billion. That could have shortened a lot of waiting lists.

Furthermore, the public is hungry to see public health care restored. ManyCanadians regard medicare as not just essential for their health but ascentral to their notion of Canada as an egalitarian and inclusive society.

So, compared with the rather cheerless anti-deficit crusade, which involvedimposing hardship on people, a crusade to save medicare would be a slam-dunkwith the public.

Indeed, Martin saved himself from likely electoral defeat in last June’sfederal election when, at the end of the campaign, he mounted a vigorousdefence of medicare. Yet since the election, his fervour seems to haveebbed.

How to explain Martin’s greater zealousness for the dreary anti-deficitcause?

One clue might be the role of business, which had long pushed for socialspending cuts in the name of deficit reduction.

Martin delivered those spending cuts.

A grateful business elite never forgot, eventually contributing some $10million to his campaign to wrest the prime ministership from Jean Chrétien.

Business isn’t committed to fixing medicare, however. Indeed, segments ofthe business community are happy to see the wounded medicare beast continueto limp along until it finally slumps to the ground, leaving choice parts tobe hacked off for privatization.

Meanwhile, business-funded think tanks churn out papers advocating ways todestroy the public, universal nature of the system.

A recent offering from C.D. Howe urges a scheme that would penalize theunhealthy. Apparently, right-wingers, having successfully turned societyagainst the poor in recent years, have now discovered a promising new targetfor public hostility — the sick. You can almost feel the “tax rage” building against those loitering around emergency departments for weeks on end,lolling about the wards in their wheelchairs and walkers.

The indifference or even hostility of the business community to a nationalcrusade to restore medicare might explain why we see little of the old,fiery Paul Martin in this battle.

When it comes to delivering what business wants, Martin vows results “comehell or high water.”

For everything else, there’s federal-provincial negotiations.

Linda McQuaig

Journalist and best-selling author Linda McQuaig has developed a reputation for challenging the establishment. As a reporter for The Globe and Mail, she won a National Newspaper Award in 1989...