The Visible Politics of the Privatization Debate in Quebec

Abstract

This paper analyzes the debates surrounding the privatization of health services financing in Quebec. The objective is to clarify policy-making processes with regard to this important issue and, more generally, to provide a realistic understanding of health-related policy processes in Canada. The analysis is based on a large and continuous sample of mass media and National Assembly debates on the question during the four-and-a-half years following the Chaoulli ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada. These data are used to test four hypotheses about relationships among the types of political actors involved, their policy preferences, the rhetoric they use and the anticipated policy effects they assert. The results are applied to a discussion of questions about the factors that influence the effectiveness of political communication.