On September 11, 2000, the federal government signed a health care accord with the ten provinces and three territories. There was both good and bad in the accord:

Here's what was good in the accord:

• The Liberals put back most of the money they themselves had cut. Health care funding is now 0 million less than it was in 1994.

• There is an annual increase in funding through 2004, a key demand of the provinces.

• The Liberals acted on some of the demands the NDP made - only the NDP fought for more health care money after the 2000 federal budget.

• NDP provincial governments in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba spoke strongly in favour of real national standards.

The money in the health accord is a good thing, but a national vision and a national plan were missing:

• The only premiers who got everything they wanted were Mike Harris, Ralph Klein and Lucien Bouchard.

• The Liberals refused to put protections against for-profit, American-style health care on the agenda. Since they allowed Ralph Klein to open for-profit hospitals, there?s nothing stopping Mike Harris from doing the same.

• There is no national homecare plan to help families caring for loved ones.

• There is no national plan to get drug prices under control

• The increase in funding still leaves the federal share of health care well short of the real partnership required to fix the system.