Tag Archives: British Columbia

News

How is government-run health care working out in Canada?

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Political Map of Canada
Political Map of Canada

This Vancouver Sun story was linked at Unambigously Ambidextrous and the Heritage Foundation. (H/T DJ)

Excerpt:

Dr. Brian Brodie, president of the BC Medical Association, called the proposed surgical cuts “a nightmare.”

“Why would you begin your cost-cutting measures on medically necessary surgery? I just can’t think of a worse place,” Brodie said.

According to the leaked document, Vancouver Coastal — which oversees the budget for Vancouver General and St. Paul’s hospitals, among other health-care facilities — is looking to close nearly a quarter of its operating rooms starting in September and to cut 6,250 surgeries, including 24 per cent of cases scheduled from September to March and 10 per cent of all medically necessary elective procedures this fiscal year.

Now consider this story about elderly patients and euthaaisia, from the Washington Examiner. (H/T ECM)

Excerpt:

“I recommend that you seriously consider a “do not resuscitate” order, said the seemingly nice man in the white coat. “He has diminishing quality of life. And, if he has an infection or illness, we can provide comfort care for him.”

[…]An emergency room doctor made similar comments. She suggested that I did not need to feed him now that he was unable to feed himself–in essence suggesting euthanasia for a man who simply had an infection treatable with antibiotics.

[…]Despite the persistent infection, Dad was discharged because his temperature fell one-tenth of one point below the Medicare guideline for hospitalization. I begged the doctor to let him stay, citing his Blue Cross Blue Shield coverage. The doctor insisted that Medicare ruled and that my father was safer outside of the hospital where he would be less likely to contract a secondary infection.

I did what most people do; I trusted the authoritative person in the white coat. It was a fatal mistake. The lingering infection led to complications that killed him a few weeks later.

Rationing of care to the elderly is already taking place in government-run programs like Medicare. I don’t think we should expand government control any further.

This is the problem with making health care “free”. Everybody wants to use it. So demand is HIGH. But the government doesn’t have unlimited money, so supply is LOW. That’s why there is a SHORTAGE. And that’s why waiting lists, rationing, euthanasia and service cuts are needed.

News

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty faces protests over socialized medicine failures

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How well does socialized medicine work? Just ask Dalton McGuinty, the Premier (governor) of the wealthy province of Ontario. According to Yahoo News, he’s facing protests over his proposed cuts in medical service. It’s government-run health care at its finest, complete with Canada’s own version of tea parties!

(I know some of you Canadians are proud your nationalized health care, but please allow me to critique it and don’t be too upset with me).

Excerpt:

TORONTO – With a massive protest over hospital cuts planned today, Premier Dalton McGuinty says he’s not trying to dismantle local health care services.

Thousands of demonstrators are expected to descend on the front lawn of the Ontario legislature to denounce changes at six Niagara hospitals that they say are also happening in other communities.

Critics say a regional health-care agency in the Niagara-Hamilton area is planning to close ERs in smaller communities and move services elsewhere.

…The Ontario Health Coalition says about 50 busloads from communities across Ontario will take part in the protest, starting at 11:30 a.m.

They are expected to be joined at the legislature by seniors and patients to demand that McGuinty to save hospital services.

Buses were expected to arrive from such communities as Belleville, Trenton, Windsor, Leamington, Wallaceburg, Sarnia, Strathroy, Cambridge, Hamilton, St. Catharines, Welland, Port Colborne and Fort Erie.

Niagara-Hamilton is the region south and southwest of Toronto, which votes overwhelmingly Liberal and NDP (Socialist). It’s a union area where steel and auto manufacturing is the major industry. This is the area just northwest of Buffalo, New York.

The Conservative Party leadership race in Ontario

Right now, Ontario has kicked out their ineffective and moderate provincial leader John Tory, and they are in the process of choosing a new leader. One of our free speech heroes, Randy Hillier is in the running. The other two candidates are too far to the left, i.e. – “red tories”. Joanne from Blue Like You is also leaning towards Hudak.

Conservative MP Jason Kenney has already endorsemed Hudak:

TORONTO – Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is backing Tim Hudak in the Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership race – a move that could make things awkward at the federal cabinet table.

…Having the backing of an influential federal minister is a major coup for Hudak, 41, the perceived front-runner in the race to succeed John Tory.

…”He’s the bright, young, energetic, common-sense conservative that will appeal to Ontarians,” he said.

Here is an excerpt from another article about the candidates:

The Niagara-area member, who is married to Harris’s former chief of staff Deb Hutton, also has about half of the 24-member caucus in his corner.

Norm Miller – son of former premier Frank Miller – Julia Munro, Garfield Dunlop and Lisa MacLeod have all endorsed Hudak.

…Hillier, a self-described libertarian who wants to scrap the Ontario Human Rights Commission, will likely make a splash in the race, but observers say he has virtually no support among caucus members.

…Hillier has cast himself as the leader who will steer the party and the province back to true conservatism, including smaller government, fewer regulations and a more participatory democracy.

MPP Lisa Macleod and MPP Randy Hillier are free-speech champions in Ontario. Free speech is also an issue in British Columbia.

News

Conservatives in British Columbia defend free speech

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Political Map of Canada
Political Map of Canada

Canadian columnist Mark Steyn has some welcome news on the sorry state of free speech north of the border. (H/T Free Canuckistan) Specifically, the good news is from the western province of British Columbia, (contains Vancouver), home to one of the 3 worst Human Rights Commissions operating in Canada.

Steyn writes:

BC is a bit like Quebec in that it has a two-party system in which neither choice is conservative: in la belle province, it’s a choice between the separatists and the Quebec Liberals; on the left coast, it’s a choice between the socialists and the BC Liberals. So the right-of-centre vote in BC goes, faute de mieux, to Gordon Campbell’s party.

So, there really is no way that the provincial conservatives can win at the provincial level, and conservative voters ending up voting for the Liberals, just to keep the socialists out of power.

But suddenly, the provincial conservatives decided that the status quo was not good enough for British Columbians:

Or at any rate that’s the way it was until the upstart BC Tories decided to challenge Premier Campbell from the right in next month’s provincial election. Robert Jago spoke to their leader, Wilf Hanni, about the “Human Rights” Tribunal and got the following response:

A BC Conservative Government will reform the BC Human Rights Tribunal:

* So that any complainant will be responsible for the legal fees associated with his or her human rights complaint.
* To make complainants responsible for paying the defendant’s legal fees should the complainant lose their Human Rights Tribunal case.
* To disallow individuals and organizations from making Human Rights Tribunal complaints when Human Rights Tribunals in other Canadian jurisdictions are already investigating the same issue.
* To disallow cases dealing with freedom of speech under Section 2 of the Charter.
* To allow appeals, to a court of law, for any decision made by the Tribunal.
* So that the Tribunal cannot render penalties outside the boundaries of Canadian Laws.

We realize that it is neither fair nor equitable that complainants currently receive free legal representation no matter how frivolous the complaint, while defendants must pay their own legal fees.

Stay tuned, because tomorrow at 11 AM I will be posting about how conservatives in another province are defending free speech against left-wing fascism.