Ottawa gets low marks from doctors’ group on commitment to health care

OTTAWA – A national health-care group is giving the Conservative government low marks on its commitment to health care and urging Ottawa to show more leadership on the issue.

The College of Family Physicians of Canada has released a report card that rates the federal government’s efforts on several fronts.

They include supporting care for the most vulnerable, setting a national health strategy and developing and implementing national programs such as home care and immunization.

The college uses a colour-code scheme to rate the government, with green denoting strong leadership, yellow denoting a need for more work, and red denoting a complete lack of involvement and a need for immediate attention.

The majority of indicators are yellow, several are red but there’s only a solitary green — the government’s national homelessness plan.

College president Marie-Dominique Beaulieu says the idea isn’t to scold the government, but to highlight areas where it should be leading the way.