FCPP Publications :: Supreme Court Strikes Down Public Foodcare

Humour and satire with a bit - thank god for section 7 . Line ups changed the system of government in the USSR -why not here-chuckle. QJ

FCPP Publications :: Supreme Court Strikes Down Public Foodcare: "Supreme Court Strikes Down Public Foodcare

Mark Milke, Times Colonist (Victoria), Page: A6, June 20, 2005





In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court has ruled that a law that mandated most food purchases be restricted to government stores violated the Quebec Charter of Rights. In a narrow 4-3 split, the court ruled that the Quebec prohibition on private spending on most grocery items was unconstitutional.
'The evidence in this case shows that delays in the public provision of food are widespread, and that, in some serious cases, consumers die as a result of waiting lists for unique but rarely available items,' wrote Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin. She noted examples of cases in which rare foods, necessary for those with certain intolerances, were unavailable in the public system and as such negatively affected the health of many Canadians. "

National Post Canada Adrift -what to do

Common sense - strategic or tactical government? PR
National Post: "THE BIG SIX
The six elements the Canadian Council of Chief Executives believe are needed to improve Canada's standing in the world are:
GOOD GOVERNANCE Implement public-sector reforms that strengthen transparency and accountability. Public officials should be required to do what is required of corporate officers -- sign off on financial statements to verify that everything contained in the document is true. Moreover, there is a need to end the so-called one-off financial deals with provinces, which have boosted public spending while, at the same time, reduced taxpayer accountability. There also needs to be a review of which level of government is best suited to deliver certain services.
PUBLIC SERVICE & INFRASTRUCTURE Governments should ensure their activities contribute to future economic growth, rather than redistributing wealth for current consumption. Also, they should explore partnerships with the private sector in terms of delivering services -- if the joint venture makes economic sense.
TAXATION & REGULATION There is a need to review the tax regime, given that Canada is among the highest in terms of taxes on business investments. Other countries that compete with Canada are moving to higher consumption taxes (like the GST) and lower corporate and personal tax rates.
PRODUCTIVITY Need to review the country's restrictions on foreign investment, among the most stringent of the industrialized world. Such restrictions reduce competition and the need for domestic companies to innovate. Also, need to eliminate regulatory overlap, such as the need for 13 securities regulators as opposed to one national watchdog.
EXPERTISE Canada needs to increase the pace of commercialization, or the ability to bring technology developed as the result of research to the commercial market. Th"

Osprey Media Group Inc. - Dunnville Chronicle

How to get medical services -buy them ? -Communities are open to new options. QJ

Osprey Media Group Inc. - Dunnville Chronicle: "A 14000 square foot clinic is proposed by the Dunnville hospital board. The Dunnville hospital foundation has already accumulated $750,000 toward the project. "

National Post

National Post: "In an interview, Dr. Schumacher stressed the CMA strongly supports the publicly funded system, but said it also has a responsibility to examine all options -- including privatization -- to strengthen the entire health system for patients.
He said the recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling that allows patients to purchase private insurance so they can get speedier private medical care has increased the need for such a debate.
''Doctors have a role in this debate. They maybe even have a leadership role because we're probably going to be out first in an organized fashion to talk about it.'"

Hamilton

Hamilton: "Kim Craitor, Liberal MPP for Niagara Falls, said it's important for the government to listen to what the people want.
'The government hasn't indicated they're going into privatization,' he said. 'But I think it's still important that the government hears what people believe and what they're concerned with when it comes to hospitals.'
In May, the Ontario government introduced a five-year infrastructure plan that included private financing of public infrastructure, including up to 23 new hospitals. "

Longer waits in private system: Dosanjh

This from the people who have mismanged our health system for too long. Why not see if this is correct by testing the customer choice option. Q-J . Why do we have to be like Albania and Cuba - why the fear?

News | canada.com network

Hamilton

Hamilton: "The funding is tailored for each hospital according to its needs and specialties, and will account for growth in demand for certain procedures and services, Smitherman said.
It will also be flexible to accommodate the government goals of reducing wait times for MRI exams and hip and knee joint replacement surgeries, he added. "

Breaking the taboo

Sympatico / MSN - Partner content

That cry of denial rang especially hollow on the day the court delivered its much more rigorous reasoning. Justice Deschamps left little doubt Martin's claim that Canada will not have a two-tier system is nonsense -- if only because multiple tiers already exist. Most provinces, she said, allow their citizens some access to private care, with important conditions. Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island all allow doctors to set their fees and function outside medicare, but don't permit private insurance to cover any services offered under the public plan. Ontario and Manitoba also outlaw private insurance, but will refund amounts paid by patients to doctors who opt out of the public plan. Nova Scotia allows private insurance for private services.

News | canada.com network

News | canada.com network: "Despite talk of accountability, Ottawa and the provinces haven't even agreed on how to measure waiting lists. They are trying to work out 'benchmarks' but currently there's no way to know whether wait times are being reduced. "

Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Liberals claim effort on health status quo

Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Liberals claim effort on health status quo: "MacKay said all Canadians will seek alternatives to a failing public system.
'If they are in a state of health where they may die or they may be suffering, I think that is consistent with what the Supreme Court has said, that they should have that option,' he said. 'And if that means going to the United States, if it means going to a private health care clinic to avoid death, that's what Canadians are going to do. "

Hamilton

Hamilton: "McGuinty won't speculate on medicare
"

Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Ruling a dose of logic for medicare debate

Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Ruling a dose of logic for medicare debate: "Ruling a dose of logic for medicare debate"

Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Prognosis: two-tier

Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Prognosis: two-tier

Winnipeg Sun Editorial: Court guts medicare myths

Winnipeg Sun Editorial: Court guts medicare myths

National Post Vindication by the Supreme Court of Canada for Canadians

National Post: "''Access to a waiting list is not access to health care,'' Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin and Justices Jack Major and Michel Bastarache wrote in one of the two majority opinions.
''There is unchallenged evidence that in some serious cases patients die as a result of waiting lists for public health care.''
Legal experts said the high court's voluminous, complex 4-3 ruling yesterday opens the courtroom door to a flood of legal challenges to government restrictions in all provinces that outlaw private health care in various ways, and to the immediate purchase and sale of private medical services and insurance in Quebec.
''It fundamentally reshapes the landscape of medicare in Canada by forcing governments either to guarantee timely care, or if they are not prepared to do so, they must allow Canadians to spend their own money to take care of themselves when they are sick,'' said Osgoode Hall law dean Patrick Monahan, who represented an intervener in the case, Senator Michael Kirby, chairman of a Senate committee that studied medicare."

National Post Medicare future at stake

National Post: "OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada will render judgment tomorrow in a case that could have far-reaching implications for the future of medicare.
At the heart of the controversial case -- heard in court one year ago -- is whether it is unconstitutional to outlaw private health care for patients who can pay.
A Montreal doctor and a patient, who waited almost a year for a hip replacement, argued that waiting lists in the publicly funded system have become so long, they violate the Charter of Rights' guarantee to life, liberty and security of the person."

Osprey Media Group Inc. - Brantford Expositor

Thats a lot of Taxes -$10000 a month

Osprey Media Group Inc. - Brantford Expositor: "Hotel deal for downtown scuttled by lack of city funding: developer
Expositor Staff

By Michelle Ruby
Local News - Thursday, June 02, 2005 @ 01:00 "