The final report from Roy Romanow’s Commission on the Future of Health Care had only been out for a few minutes before a predictable chorus of criticism could be heard from conservative politicians and pundits.

"Pie in the sky," said Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper. "A non-starter," complained Alberta Premier Ralph Klein. "Wishful thinking," screamed the National Post.

But despite these attacks, the vast majority of Canadians have seen the Romanow report for what it really is – a pragmatic prescription for healing our health care system.

Ordinary Canadians like Mr. Romanow’s report because it does three extremely important things.

First, it lays to rest the myth that our public health care system is unaffordable.

For years now, people like Ralph Klein have been telling us that health costs are spiraling of control and that the system is broken beyond repair. But Mr. Romanow has shown us that the sky is not falling. In fact, based on 18 months of exhaustive research and public consultation, he concludes that fundamental of Medicare are still sound.

The message here is an important one for policy makers: yes, there is a need for reform. But don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.

The second important thing that Mr. Romanow has done is debunk the myth that the only way to save Medicare is to privatize it. Referring to schemes to expand the role of the private sector in health care, Romanow passionately defended public sector options.

"Many of the so-called new solutions being proposed are not really new at all," he said. "We’ve been there before. They are old solutions that didn’t work then and were discarded for that reason."

The third, and probably most important thing that Mr. Romanow has done with his report, is provide Canadians with a blueprint for reform that is coherent, workable and, yes, affordable.

Contrary to what many of his critics have been saying, Mr. Romanow’s plan is not simply about increased spending. In fact, Romanow himself says that if all that comes of his report is a boost to the health budget, then he will have failed.

Instead, what really makes the Romanow report an important document is its recommendations for major reforms to the way health services are organized, delivered and funded. His proposals in areas such as primary care,

home care and prescription drugs are particularly impressive.

Would we have liked to see other recommendations? Sure. It would have been nice if Romanow had come out forcefully against the privatization of non-medical health services such as hospital laundry and dietary services. Experience here in Alberta has shown that these schemes can have serious negative effects on patient care.

It would also have been nice if Romanow had proposed more aggressive enforcement measures to stop provinces like Alberta from bulldozing ahead with ill-advised privatization plans.

But on balance, Romanow hits most of the right notes. In fact, it’s probably not an exaggeration to say that his report represents the best opportunity we may ever get to revitalize Medicare and preserve it for our grandchildren.

The big chanllenge now is to take the plan that Mr. Romanow has crafted and put it into practice. Supporters of Medicare should not assume that this will happen as a matter of course.

Provincial governments in Alberta, Ontario, B.C. and Quebec will be putting pressure on the federal government to back down on implementation. Anti-Romanow pressure will also come from powerful media outlets, the business community and think tanks like the Fraser Institute.

The only way to ensure that Romanow’s recommendations see the light of day is for ordinary Canadians to get involved in the debate. We need to get off the couch and pick up the phone. We need to call our politicians and tell them in the most forceful way to get behind Romanow.

If Canadians don’t rally around this report, the Liberals may lose their nerve – and they may continue turning a blind eye as people like Ralph Klein dismantle Medicare.

We simply cannot afford to let our leaders squander this historic opportunity.