Wait times for surgery in Canada at all-time high
The most enfuriating part of the Ontario election outcome is that there was not enough discussion about health care.
Dalton likes to fancy himself being the Education Premier, but what will four more years of an aging population do to our failing health care system?
Dalton likes to fancy himself being the Education Premier, but what will four more years of an aging population do to our failing health care system?
posted by Spitfire at 1:01 PM
6 Comments:
Funny that CBC presents the news today as an afront to tomorrow's Throne speech. I guess the info was available to the sheeple of Ontario before last week's vote...but all eyes were on so-called 'education.'
Health is a provincial issue.
Perhaps both of you have forgotten one of your Great Leader's Great Promises (tm) - the health care wait time guarantee?
I know, I know, he has said virtually nothing about it since getting elected partly because of it, but shouldn't you at least remember your own promises?
You do know that the federal government funds a major chunk of healthcare through transfers, right? You do know that there is a federal department, right?
You would no doubt be the first to lay this at the doorstep of any government OTHER THAN your own infallible one, right?
Take off the blinders and join the world.
Brave Anonymous,
Your sarcasm and insults do not add anything intelligent to this discussion.
Unless you consider pointing out that the entire basis of your editorializing was completely wrong.
You see, when you engage in argument, it is often preferable to have some knowledge of the subject matter, particularly when, as in this instance, the actual facts are in absolute disagreement with what you argue.
You lay the wait times issue at the feet of evil Liberals in Ontario, decry the evil leftie CBC for hinting that there might be a federal failure here as well, indicating that in any event health is a completely provincial responsibility, while your little pals in the PMO in fact made they very thing you raise - a wait time guarantee - a key component of their election platform.
So, I guess it is not relevant....
Ah, Anon, but as even Jason Cherniak pointed out, the wait times guarantee is dependent upon provincial consent. Hard to get provincial unanimity when three of the premiers are doing shitty impressions of Mitch Hepburn, hein? Ultimately, Dalton's complaints become jurisdictional (this, taxes, etc), and seeing as Health Care is a provincial thing, he should at least be doing his part. I don't think I'd care so much about the idea of funding except that he specifically levied a premium in that regard ... remember? The one he promised he wouldn't levy?
I'm not saying that the feds have no responsibility here - far from it - but ultimately, what I gather you're suggesting is that the feds are responsible for two reasons:
1) The wait times guarantee and,
2) They control transfer payments.
Beyond what I've noted above, I should point out that the feds could fund whatever the hell they wanted - 100% for all I care - but that still leaves Dalton on the hook. Why? Beyond the Constitutional thing, the bottom line is that they DO happen to be the ones administering it.
Would any federal government take it to be a responsible national strategy to simply hand off to the provinces blank cheques bent to the premiers' demands? Well, then maybe you should resurrect Pierre Trudeau. I think the feds've been lacking in an evident comprehensive strategy in this regard, but holy sweet goddamn! What in the name of the Green Hills of Earth do you think the optics would be of Harper rightly flipping Dalton the bird over his petulant demands and then turning around and going, "Okay, but here's a huge cheque for billions for ... uh ... 'health care'"?
You and I both know it'd be used as a slush fund, just like EVERY government has used purposive revenues for other things.
Grow up.
Dolton McGuinty is the education Union's Premier while also trying to be the health care Union's Premier etc.
People in Ontario want to pay more tax, so Dolton will have enough money to buy off both those unions and more.
If teachers can early retire as instant millionaires like they do now - then Ontario is happy.
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