Thank you very much for your question. We are here at the committee because you invited us, and not to lobby about our research findings. I mentioned that we had worked with the Ontario Hospital Association and that we were very involved with the British Columbia Ministry of Health.
It is true that, in Canada, we are often afraid to make comparisons between the provinces. This is what CIHI does, but that makes everybody very nervous. However, this is what we need to do. Canadians need to know how things would unfold, depending on whether they lived in Ontario, in Montreal, or in Alberta, if they were diagnosed with a certain type of cancer. Provinces are not all that interested in doing these types of comparisons. However, with respect to innovation, we know that the OECD countries are quite prepared to draw comparisons among themselves.
If we want to progress, we really need to know what is happening. You are right in saying that we have 13 different health systems in Canada. As Dr. Besner said, it would take a very long time to change things. We do, however, have to make changes in each health system. For this reason, research is very important, because it enables us to compare the various systems.
I do not know whether or not Canadians living in Ontario are aware of what's going on in primary health care in Quebec, and vice versa. As citizens, our taxes pay half of the health care expenditures in each province. So we really need to know what is happening elsewhere and whether we have the health system we need.