Let me tell you a story. In the late '90's, there were massive cuts to our healthcare system here in Calgary. Hospitals were shut down and people were dying due to inadequate care (don't kid yourself, they still are). I was livid at our provincial government, calling talk show stations, writing letters to the editor, etc. In the next provincial election, I did not vote for Klein and the conservatives as I could not condone this. (Unlike the liberals, I will not vote for a party that has proved themselves lacking)
It wasn't until a few years later, that we were told why. The federal government had cut transfer payments to the provinces by 25 billion dollars. Billions and billions and billions and billions of dollars. Now, I am not defending the Klein government or the Harris government's policies however they were left in dire straits. Healthcare costs were (and are) soaring, healthcare was having problems already, and in a time of growing health demands, the federal government decided they didn't want to pay for it. What were provinces to do? 25 billion dollars!
My numbers may be off here somewhat but at one time the federal government accounted for 50% or so of healthcare costs and now provide somewhere around 10% of healthcare costs. It is no wonder that healthcare has suffered and no wonder the provinces had to do something. Where is the federal accountability on this. It is not the provinces that failed us but the federal government who caused thousands of deaths of Canadians.
So, when I hear the lefties spouting about how the provincial conservative governments ruined our nation's healthcare system, etc etc with their cutbacks, I see red. Put the blame where it belongs - on the Liberals. Remember, 25 billion dollars. How many billions on their scams and boondoggles could have been used to save lives in Canada?
Friday, January 06, 2006
Provincial Governments Get Bad Rap
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We all railed against our provincial governments and rightly so. They signed on to the federal bribe in 1967-69 for the short term gain of"money in their pockets" knowing that the intention of the feds was to slowly dry up the money. They have done the same thing now by signing on with Paul Martin's recent increase in health care handouts to the provinces. But this is not even a fix for next week, let alone a generation. But your right, the gassoline on the destructive health care fire was the decrease in transfer funds at a critical time.
And your right about people dying. For thirty years Canadians enjoyed a growing life expectancy and then in the mid to late /90's life expectancies slipped backwards for three consecutive years. The social "engineers" told Canadians that there was no relationship between available money in the health care system and life expectancy. So why are they paranoid about a two tier health care system?
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