A person being referred south for non–life-threatening treatment could also be required to prove residency before being sent. These are just a couple of examples of small measures that could be taken to ensure our health care system is not being taken advantage of. We should not be carrying more patients than necessary.
Finally, I would hope the majority of the 4,000 extra health care cards we have belong to persons who have transferred to other jurisdictions, and there is nothing more sinister going on than poor paperwork. With that being said, I strongly believe we need to take steps to ensure costs are contained and non-resident abusers of our health care systems are identified and prosecuted.