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Indeed it is. Before I go on, I have to wonder why the Liberals have at least edited out portions of their latest health care attack ads. The statement at issue is below.
“It’s past time the feds scrapped the Canada Health Act.”
- Stephen Harper, then Vice-President of the National Citizens Coalition, 1997.
Apparently, Steve never said that. It was David Somerville who was the president of the National Citizens’ Coalition in 1997. Yeah, yeah, yeah…goody! And the Harpercons never told bigger doozies, like misquoting the auditor general? Anyway, the point is, Steve was the vice president under Mr. Somerville in 1997. Has anyone ever heard Steve detach himself from Somerville’s quote or even come out verbally to support the Canada Health Act? Methinks not. Besides, the quotes below actually have Ol’ Stevie Spiteful supporting the scrapping of the act.
“We also support the exploration of alternative ways to deliver health care. Moving toward alternatives, including those provided by the private sector, is a natural development of our health care system.”
- Stephen Harper, Toronto Star, October 2002.
“What we clearly need is experimentation with market reforms and private delivery options [in health care].”
- Stephen Harper, then President of the NCC, 2001.
“I know this is a dangerous subject. My advisors say don’t talk about it, but the fact is sometimes provinces have allowed in the past few years, they’ve brought in private services covered by public health insurance… Why do I care and why do we care as a federal government how they’re managed? What we care about is whether people can access them. This is just an ideological agenda.”
- Conservative leader Stephen Harper at the leadership debate, June 15th 2004, conceding that he shouldn’t talk about his positive view of privatization of health care.
By the by, if anyone who was watching the English language debates last week was paying atttention, Stevie indicated he hasn’t changed his mind, pretty much regurgitating the above statement.
Moving right along:
The establishment came down with a constitutional package which they put to a national referendum. The package included distinct society status for Quebec and some other changes, including some that would just horrify you, putting universal Medicare in our constitution, and feminist rights, and a whole bunch of other things.”
- Conservative leader Stephen Harper, then vice-president of the National Citizens Coalition, in a June 1997 Montreal meeting of the Council for National Policy, a right-wing American think tank.
The very idea that universal medicare would be in our constitution horrifies the man, probably more than Obama’s watered down health care reform does to any tea-bagger south of the border.
Yes, of course, experiments with private delivery or private delivery would only mean the American system. Anybody trying to tell you otherwise or try to talk about countries in Europe, for example is just throwing a smokescreen. It would and could only be the American private for profit health insurance sytem complete with discrimination against pre-existing conditions and other restrictions that go along with it. Read more here:
But there is a crucial distinction between Canada and these European countries: they have not signed on to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
When negotiating NAFTA, Canada obtained an exemption (Annex II) aimed at preventing foreign corporations from gaining access to Canada’s health care market.
But once health insurance and health delivery are offered in the private system, the exemption for health care services ceases to apply. Health Maintenance Organization (HMOs), large one-stop shopping corporations providing both health insurance and delivery, will be able to enter the Canadian market and compete with the public sector.
If this scenario becomes a reality, HMOs will drain a large number of doctors, nurses and other professionals from the public system, which will likely create a staffing shortage in public hospitals. They will also provide competing private insurance for services also insured publicly.
Let’s not forget that the goal of these large private corporations is to make money and not to serve the public. As in Great Britain and the United States, people with chronic illness and high-risk patients need not bother applying for private insurance. They will most certainly be turned down on the basis that treatments for their illnesses are not profitable. These tougher cases will remain in the already burdened public sector.
Yes, we’re bound by NAFTA, American health insurance companies will be flogging their products. Brian Mulroney, unfortunately, didn’t take steps to ensure that our health care system was grandfathered enough when he was negotiating NAFTA.
In fact, the results of the law suit of Melvin J Howard (claims chapter 11 rules of NAFTA were violated when he was told he couldn’t build a private for profit hospital in BC), Centurion Group and Howard Family Trust v The Government of Canada could well set a new trend, assuming the ruling or settlement favours Mr. Howard. As far as I know, the case is still before NAFTA arbitrators. If anyone has any news about this law suit, please add in comments.
The criteria to be insurable would be the exact same in the US. HMOs and all their delightful rules and policies. Don’t go to the ‘wrong’ hospital. Had acne as teen-ager? Too bad, that too is a pre-existing condition for many American health insurance companies.
The other thing is Stevie Spiteful endorsed David Gratzer’s book, Code Blue: Reviving Canada’s Health Care System. In fact, Stevie wrote glowing comments about the book on the book jacket.
David Gratzer ‘proposes workable solution’ for ‘government-controlled health care monopoly, Canada needs Gratzer’s new prescription,’ said Prime Minister Stephen Harper about Mr. Gratzer’s recommendations for a form of private medical savings accounts popular in the U.S. in a review of his book Code Blue.
More goodies on the American health care system here.
Think you can pay cash? A trip to the hospital costing in the 10s of thousands of dollars. My husband and I don’t have that lying around. Do you?
Yes, NDPers, I’m aware of the cuts in transfers from the Chretien Liberals. Is that any excuse to allow Steve to get his majority so he can complete the damage?
Saving our universal health care system is everybody’s problem. The polls may indicate that health care is a top preoccupation for Canadians, but yanno, at every town hall I’ve been to, not once have I heard anyone ask any questions or make any comments regarding our health care system.
If Stevie Spiteful gets his majority, forget about attempting to do anything. It will be a climate where dissenters will fill the new mega-prisons. The G20 mass arrests in Toronto taught us that.
Doing something about health care starts with voting for the candidate most likely to beat a Harpercon in your riding.
It also means that doing more than hitting the ‘send’ button on an online petition. It is up to us to take action to make sure health care is around when we need it. To make sure that access is determined by urgency and not by the size of your wallet. Later down the road when the American health corporations have taken over will be too late.
There are country’s that do have excellent health care programs. There are short waiting periods, for surgical procedures. I think, Norway, Sweden, the U.K. and France were mentioned. I haven’t looked that up yet. You would think, Harper would have a study done to see how other country’s manage their health plans.
There are claims, Harper doesn’t care about, the citizens health. He is closing down, the safe injection site for addicts. Seniors are the last, for surgical procedures and often die. Wait times for any surgery, are horrendous. The cost of medical drugs are outrageously prohibitive. Harper does nothing about that either.
We really need a government, to do a study of other country’s health plans. There is no reason, for drugs to be so expensive. I read, there are other country’s who pay far less for medicine, than Canada does. Harper is the worst P.M. for Canada. He is the most, cold and uncaring P.M. that I have ever known. I certainly hope he doesn’t get a majority. Canada will be no more, if he does.
The Liberal government did cut transfer payments while cutting the debt, but increased the funding when the economy was in decent shape. That increased funding is what the Cons are boasting about when they talk about how much more they are spending than the Liberals, while ignoring the fact that they are only doing it because it was mandated by the Liberals. So a pox on the Cons and the NDP for this little bit of lying crap.
ck Reply:
April 19th, 2011 at 10:53 PM
I hear ya and I agree.