Society should be very concerned about the intention of Westbank First Nation to open a private commercial hospital. The implications of such a move could be dramatic and should spur vigorous public discussion. My entry into the discussion should not be taken as criticism of Westbank First Nation. As a virtually private economic entity under federal legislation, the Band is legally entitled to invest in viable economic projects in the pursuit of profit. I merely (and humbly) wish to suggest that this particular economic project has broader, and possibly bad, implications for society at large. Is it the proper role for a private entity in Canada to pursue profit in the health care arena, given that Canada has already chosen

Nisga’a First Nation, in British Columbia, has instituted private ownership of land and property and taxation within their territory. This is significant, because it means that this First Nation community is moving away from the sort of command government – run economy that characterized the former Soviet Union. The former Soviet Union is now the “former” Soviet Union in large part because of the abrogation by that Nation of mixed economic models that have been so successful in the West. Now a First Nations group is evidencing a desire to move away from that same flawed economic model before it too vanishes into the dustbin of history. Mixed monetary economies such as Canada, Sweden, and the United States rely on