The Romanow Series

June 18, 2008

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The Romanow report: a timeline

June 2000: Saskatchewan Premier Roy Romanow announces Saskatchewan's own commission on health care.

April 2001: Prime Minister Jean Chretien announces that Romanow, now retired as Saskatchewan premier, will head a special national commission aimed at finding ways to modernize Canada's ailing health care system.

November 2002: Romanow delivers his report Building on Values: The Future of Health Care in Canada. Chretien vows to implement the recommendations swiftly.

2004: By this point Ottawa has pledged an additional $68 billion for health care over 10 years. Critics point out that little of this money will actually reduce wait lists.

2005: The Health Council of Canada reports that little has been done to implement Romanow's recommended primary care teams.

2007: Only 5 per cent of health records have been put into computerized form, something Romanow felt would cut down on faulty prescribing and make healthcare more efficient.

June 18, 2008: Statistics Canada says 4 million Canadians are without family physicians.

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More than five years ago, former Saskatchewan premier Roy Romanow released a far-reaching report on health care in Canada. The recommendations from his royal commission were heralded as a blueprint for the 21st century, and then-prime minster Jean Chrétien vowed the $15 million report would "not gather dust on a shelf."

Yet, experts now say little has been done to act on the report. In a series titled Failed Cure, the Star examines the areas of our medicare system addressed by the report.

Part One: Health care's cure has failed

Part Two: Canada's nursing crisis worse than ever

Part Three: Rx: A strong dose of privitization

Part Four: The patient is IN, but in our rural areas the doctor is OUT

Part Five: Backed-up ERs lead to "hallway medicine"

Part Six: Are 'ghettos' a cure for senior care?