Our healthcare will never improve until we take a firm stand on immigrants. Too many are getting in through back doors. Yes, true refugees should be welcome but others should wait until canadian healcare gets back to aiding born canadians like seniors who have sac rificed to make it viable for many years.
We can't move elsewhere and expect health care. Why should they expect this?
Michael Patrick McKinney - 13 years ago
Our public, single-tier health care system in this country can surely survive. What is needed to respond to its challenges are big ideas and convinction from party leaders, such as mandates towards fully electronic billing, pooled purchasing of supplies and equipment and a pension plan for all doctors. If Harper can find nearly 30 billion for F-35s, I'm sure another ruling party can find ways to improve and sustain the single-tier system to deliver the medical care every one of us deserves.
Charles Sampson - 13 years ago
Private health care requires the public health care in order to exist. Public health care subsidizes the private health care sector. If private health care is better, let's privatize the entire system and end the public health care sector. It's not rocket science. The private sector health care providers are being dishonest as they don't want it all privatized because they know the system is not sustainable; it is only sustainable with the public health care subsidizing the private health care sector.
Jock - 13 years ago
In truth, our health care would be well funded if every Canadian paid their fair share of taxes. When my wife and I got married, we were literally offered the chance to pay for services under the table for just about everything, which I find alarming, considering I have had family members who have been on waiting lists for medical treatment. Would people actually pay their taxes rather than doing the under the table thing if taxes were a bit lower? I wonder how much more money we would have for health care if we actually resisted this temptation? Just a thought.
Kathryn Roston - 13 years ago
Evan, I am REALLY disappointed that you did not have it clarified without ambiguity for your audience that THERE WAS NO VOTE ON THE BUDGET!!! The NDP tried to say so but you, as moderator could have really done the public a favour re-iterating that fact.
Shame on you,
K. Roston
Art - 13 years ago
The healthcare better stays public. Canadians pay high taxes and we are often told that is because of the affordable public healthcare. If we privatize the healthcare, it is going to be more expensive, and I want my tax money back and lower taxes if I have to pay for healthcare myself when it becomes privatized.
john flys - 13 years ago
Private healthcare is political jargon for corporate for PROFIT healthcare USA style.
Just another Conservative/Liberal rip off of the CANADIAN tax payer.
THE Harperites with Liberal backing have so far spent $18 BILLION for the Afghan WAR, likely will spend another $18 BILLION for the LIBYAN war,
$70 BILLION, possibly as much as $120 BILLION, for made in USA FIGHTER planes, $200 BILLION to subsidize the Canadian financial institutions etc., etc.
BUT WE CAN NOT AFFORD THE CURRENT HEALTHCARE SYSTEM?
Denis Garand - 13 years ago
As someone who has worked with health systems around the world I think the questions is misleading. The issue is not public versus private it is how to delivery cost effective health care. I see more advances in countries as Bangladesh on this issue. We don't need more money we need better organization and focus on prevention.
Fred - 13 years ago
I'd love to vote "yes" but, unfortunately, with the increasing age of people and the increasing (expensive) technologies to keep old people (like me) alive, there is no way the public purse can afford to pay for everything (even if 'equity' suggests it should.
Our healthcare will never improve until we take a firm stand on immigrants. Too many are getting in through back doors. Yes, true refugees should be welcome but others should wait until canadian healcare gets back to aiding born canadians like seniors who have sac rificed to make it viable for many years.
We can't move elsewhere and expect health care. Why should they expect this?
Our public, single-tier health care system in this country can surely survive. What is needed to respond to its challenges are big ideas and convinction from party leaders, such as mandates towards fully electronic billing, pooled purchasing of supplies and equipment and a pension plan for all doctors. If Harper can find nearly 30 billion for F-35s, I'm sure another ruling party can find ways to improve and sustain the single-tier system to deliver the medical care every one of us deserves.
Private health care requires the public health care in order to exist. Public health care subsidizes the private health care sector. If private health care is better, let's privatize the entire system and end the public health care sector. It's not rocket science. The private sector health care providers are being dishonest as they don't want it all privatized because they know the system is not sustainable; it is only sustainable with the public health care subsidizing the private health care sector.
In truth, our health care would be well funded if every Canadian paid their fair share of taxes. When my wife and I got married, we were literally offered the chance to pay for services under the table for just about everything, which I find alarming, considering I have had family members who have been on waiting lists for medical treatment. Would people actually pay their taxes rather than doing the under the table thing if taxes were a bit lower? I wonder how much more money we would have for health care if we actually resisted this temptation? Just a thought.
Evan, I am REALLY disappointed that you did not have it clarified without ambiguity for your audience that THERE WAS NO VOTE ON THE BUDGET!!! The NDP tried to say so but you, as moderator could have really done the public a favour re-iterating that fact.
Shame on you,
K. Roston
The healthcare better stays public. Canadians pay high taxes and we are often told that is because of the affordable public healthcare. If we privatize the healthcare, it is going to be more expensive, and I want my tax money back and lower taxes if I have to pay for healthcare myself when it becomes privatized.
Private healthcare is political jargon for corporate for PROFIT healthcare USA style.
Just another Conservative/Liberal rip off of the CANADIAN tax payer.
THE Harperites with Liberal backing have so far spent $18 BILLION for the Afghan WAR, likely will spend another $18 BILLION for the LIBYAN war,
$70 BILLION, possibly as much as $120 BILLION, for made in USA FIGHTER planes, $200 BILLION to subsidize the Canadian financial institutions etc., etc.
BUT WE CAN NOT AFFORD THE CURRENT HEALTHCARE SYSTEM?
As someone who has worked with health systems around the world I think the questions is misleading. The issue is not public versus private it is how to delivery cost effective health care. I see more advances in countries as Bangladesh on this issue. We don't need more money we need better organization and focus on prevention.
I'd love to vote "yes" but, unfortunately, with the increasing age of people and the increasing (expensive) technologies to keep old people (like me) alive, there is no way the public purse can afford to pay for everything (even if 'equity' suggests it should.