Going by the latest figures released, Canada's health care spending is growing faster than the economy, outpacing inflation and population growth. Representing 10.7 per cent of the gross domestic product, health care spending has reached $171.9 billion or $5,170 per person, the highest share ever recorded in Canada.

When it comes to province-wise per-person spending, the figures for Alberta and Manitoba stand at $5,730 and $5,555 respectively. The provinces that spend the lowest are Quebec at $4,653 and British Columbia at $5,093.

According to a group created by the federal, provincial and territorial governments to monitor industry trends - the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) - the spending is forecast to be $10.3 billion more than the estimated expenditure for 2007, or a 3.4 per cent increase after adjusting for inflation and population growth.

Glenda Yeates, CIHI's president and chief executive officer said: "In the context of recent changes in the economy, it is important to keep monitoring these trends in order to better understand how our dollars are being spent and how we compare with other countries."

No doubt, with the ongoing problems in the economy, there is a requirement for health care spending to be scrutinized, particularly as it gobbles up a substantial chunk of provincial budgets, in its three main areas - hospitals, drugs and physicians.

Francine Anne Roy from CIHI said that the good news is that the growth has been steady for almost 10 years now, enabling governments to plan and adjust accordingly. Roy added: "What will be interesting for us is to see what will be the impact of any change in the economy ... on decision-making around the health-care system."