| It has often been said that "a gaffe is when a politician tells the truth." I think this may be what just happened today, when NDP leader Jack Layton gave us what is, with respect to health care, a rare moment of truth in federal politics.
Recall that Jack Layton liked to wave the bogeyman of private health care, as he did as recently as last Thursday: New Democrat Leader Jack Layton held up a provincial health card and a credit card as he dismissed Harper's plan as an invitation to user-pay health services. But today Jack Layton did not seem so hostile to private clinics: Campaigning in Vancouver's Chinatown Sunday, NDP Leader Jack Layton said private clinics are a "fundamental aspect" of the health-care system founded by former Saskatchewan premier Tommy Douglas and not much can be done about them. But if "what happens with people in the privacy of their own relationship financially [is] up to them", then they can pay for private health care with their credit card. And they can even buy private health insurance to pay for this health care. It looks like Jack Layton has become, perhaps accidentally, the first federal politician to support the Supreme Court's Chaoulli ruling. | Il a souvent été dit que "une gaffe, c'est lorsqu'un politicien dit la vérité." Je pense que c'est peut-être ce qui vient d'arriver aujourd'hui, alors que le chef du NPD Jack Layton nous a donné ce qui, au sujet de la santé, est un rare moment de vérité en politique fédérale.
Rappelez-vous que Jack Layton aimait bien brandir l'épouvantail des soins de santé privés, comme il l'a fait aussi récemment que jeudi dernier: Le chef Néo-Démocrate Jack Layton a brandi une carte d'assurance-maladie provinciale et une carte de crédit alors qu'il a rejeté le plan de Harper comme une invitation à l'adoption de soins de santé où l'utilisateur paie. Mais aujourd'hui Jack Layton ne semblait pas si hostile aux cliniques privées: Faisant campagne dans le quartier chinois de Vancouver, dimanche, M. Layton a soutenu que les cliniques privées constituent un "aspect fondamental" du système de soins de santé fondé par l'ex-premier ministre socialiste de Saskatchewan Tommy Douglas, et qu'on ne peut pas y faire grand-chose. Mais si "ce qui se passe avec les gens quant à leurs relations financières privées, cela les regarde", alors ils peuvent payer pour des soins de santé privés avec leur carte de crédit. Et ils peuvent même acheter de l'assurance-maladie privée pour payer ces soins de santé. Il semble que Jack Layton soit devenu, peut-être accidentellement, le premier politicien fédéral à appuyer le jugement Chaoulli de la Cour suprême. |
I think he's guilty of inelegance here, nothing more.
he's acknowledging that private clinics--as in individual and group medical practices staffed by GPs--are a part of our system. They ostensibly are businesses, but their fee schedule and administration are regulated by the "public system."
He's also rejecting private "for profit" clinics that seek to charge patients out of pocket for services.
Écrit par: Jawnbc à décembre 5, 2005 01:20 AMI believe you're wrong. He can't reject and accept private clinics at the same time. He clearly accepts the fact they exists and that according to the chart of human rights, he can do nothing about it.
I believe that the politicians have no choice on this issue. Well, actually they do, but to remain popular to most canadians, they don't. They absolutely have to support public funded healthcare, but at the same time, they simply cannot deny de fact that you, as a consumer, can choose to pay to get ahead of the line, on a parallel system. Which is, by the way, exactly what my father-in-law did to get a catscan within a week instead of within a year. How much are you willing to pay to end pain faster? I would pay a whole lot of money.
Now, that being said, of course, the best thing in the world would be that our public healthcare be able to process patients faster... but is it possible wihtout skyrocketing the costs? Probably not. And I don't think canadians are willing to lower they way of life in exchange. They prefer to take a chance, and if they get sick, they'll mortgage their house.
brem
Écrit par: brem à décembre 5, 2005 10:06 AM