ABSTRACT
The commercial ethos in health care and health research has raised questions not just about the mission of hospitals, but also more generally about the place of health care in a nation's economic portfolio. As a consequence, Canadian health care has historically been viewed as more inclusive than US health care; its hospital infrastructure has status similar to that of a public good, and the single-payer system provides a measure of insulation from market forces. Additionally, as with many countries, health spending growth in the past decade has exceeded the rate of economic growth, with health spending projected to reach $200 billion in 2011. These factors are bound up with a contemporary re-evaluation of the meaning and latent potentialities embedded in health care. Similarly, the Conference Board of Canada (CBoC) notes that health care "is at the heart of Canada's national innovation system, both as a contributor of inputs and as an attractor or demander of its outputs".
