On artificial shortages

It's bad enough that the Wall government's neglect of health care has pushed the Saskatoon Health Region to cut down on its number of diagnostic imaging tests:

With the Saskatoon Health Region's diagnostic imaging department over budget by $3 million, the health region is looking to reduce the number of tests performed. Between now and the end of the fiscal year in March, the region has proposed 1,700 fewer CT scans, 660 fewer bone scans and 770 fewer ultrasounds. SEIU-West released the information at the news conference.

But it's particularly worth noting that the areas being cut overlap directly with demand from Regina which is being used as an excuse to privatize the same services:

The Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region signed a contract this summer with Omni Surgery Centre to provide dental surgeries and knee arthroscopies to patients within the public system. The region is also seeking a third-party supplier to offer some CT scans.

Needless to say, there's no plausible case to be made that there's a lack of capacity to perform the tests in the public sector if the Saskatoon Health Region is being forced to cut back on its operations. And the combination of cutting back on scans in one health region while claiming a need to fill demand through private providers in the one next door looks to be the most obvious sign yet that the Wall government's focus is solely on privatizing rather than any concern about the availability of health care services.