Veteran Globe and Mail political columnist Jeffrey Simpson was awarded the 2013 Donner Prize on Thursday night for his ninth book, Chronic Condition: Why Canada’s Health Care System Needs to be Dragged into the 21st Century.

“This book deals with the most pressing public-policy issue facing Canadians,” the jury stated, adding that “Chronic Condition should inspire a national debate on the future of Canadians’ most cherished social program.”

The book was previously nominated by the Writers’ Trust of Canada as one of five finalists for the $25,000 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.

An interview with Simpson on the book appears above.