Mama’s Big Day Out

I think it was a year ago when I first heard our premier, Gordon Campbell, announce to the province at large that it was time to Have a Conversation on Health. Ostensibly, he wishes to solicit the opinions of the people whose health is at stake so that he can better direct the crafting of a health care system which serves their needs.

Ha! I’m practising my fancy conversation skills! Because tomorrow I get to participate in a Regional Public Forum and actually join the Conversation on Health. I was randomly selected, says the letter. But this is blatantly untrue. Several months ago I saw one of the many, many commercials advertising – er, public service announcementing – the public forums so I went to the website and put my name and address down. I didn’t know: maybe everyone in the province was clamouring for a chance to attend an Important Democratic Process and I would NEVER get in. Or maybe it was just me – on leave from work and really missing those all-day, free-muffins-and-coffee-plus-all-the-hotel-pens-you-can-steal government meetings. I am guessing the latter as I am not what you call a lucky winner type. I won $500 at pull-tabs in a bar once and have won nothing since. Some might point out that $500 is nothing like going to an all-day government meeting but as the person who is usually in charge of running these meetings there is a certain $500 value in the fact that I can attend this one, eat all the muffins I want because I don’t have to worry whether or not there will be enough and besides, I already paid for them with my tax dollars AND when they can’t figure out how to hook up the laptop to the projector, it’s not my problem!

After I accepted the kind invitation by email I received a package of reading materials to review before the Conversation date. Included in the nice folder is a set of 11 “conversation starters” to read over. 11 topics have been identified as “important health topics” and 11 short papers have been prepared to provide background on these topics. I am going to share them with you in case you have any pressing opinions and then I can Bring More to the Table ™.

Pressures on the health care system
Health care delivery
The Canada Health Act
Primary Health Care
Seniors and Aging
Chronic disease prevention and management
Health human resources
End-of-life care
Emergency departments
Mental health and addictions
Problematic substance use

I am looking forward to my Big Day Out in sort of a sick, troubled way. I like the idea of having intelligent discussions around health care because I do have opinions about all of those topics. I like the idea of participating in democracy. I like the idea of being in a room full of strangers (oh please let them all be strangers) and pounding the tables with our fists. I really like the idea of muffins. But I have a suspicion that the discussions will veer towards the non-productive argument-type (unless there’s an excellent moderator in attendance). Further, I know that the democracy that this appears to be is really just an appeasement. Hmm? Hey, thanks for voting for me again! Oh yes, I was listening. You have some very real concerns. We’re just going to do it this way anyway. And the room full of strangers thing is great for the first hour and then there are 7 more. Hours, that is. The introvert in me (how meta!) who has spent the last 9 months talking to an average of one (1) adult and one (1) infant per day shivers just a little at the thought.

The only thing, in short, that pleases me unequivocably about tomorrow’s plans is the certainty of the muffins and coffee.

And hopefully a bumper sticker or something.