mikedavid00

I think that it doesn't bother poeple because people don't see him becoming Priminster. Keep telling yourself that. Actually I cringe to think of him in the debates... I also cringed when I saw him speak in the house.. i mean there's bad English, and then there's REALLY, REALLY, BAD ENGLISH. I don't think he's goign to fair well during the debates against harper. I actually feel that you'll see a lot of back and forth between Dion and Ducept. The Quebec issues will get the better of him. Harper will be a one man show until he does the French debates. The debates do legitematly affect the polls so we'll see. And man, it's a really, really good thing that he didn't have to face another elite like Ray or Ignatieff. Ignatieff would have killed him in the debates. The Harvard types like Ignatieff, Ralph Nadar, and Norm Chompski would slaughter any politician in an debate - even Harper so I'm glad those guys didn't win. But Dion? I wouldn't even call that a debate.

Most poeple are willing to work for an employer that will pay 90% of a private health plan or include it all together. Some even may pay the $400 a month as long as the gov't rebates a portion of these payments. However, not a lot of people can cough up an instant $50,000 on travelling and treatments to the US. Only the very wealthy can do this.

Gee, are you telling me that I can't have children because they will use your health care system. Your argument seems to go around some evil newcomers (like newborns) who are ruining your health-care, education and your entire life it seems. How about retirees? They use health-care far more than anyone else and they are not productive at all. They are just a burden, so should we kill them off? I find your whole train of logic very confusing. You don't understand the bigger picture. Healthcare is meant to be paid into your whole life. When you are young, you are at little risk or need of using the system. When you are older, you will most likely use the system more. If you need a surgery and physio therapy, then it's costs in the tens of thousands. Suppose you make $40,000 a year. $334 of the taxes you pay from that money each month goes towards healthcare. When you are young, you are less likely to use the system. When you are older, you are more likely. Suppose you pay $334 a month for 40 years, that would be a total of $160,320 that you have paid into the system. For instance, I have paid about $80,000 into the system so far in my life. I will most likely be using it when I am elderly. The system works under these circumstances. This is why the Euro systems work. What DOESN'T WORK, is when a family arrives from Pakistan, sponsors in their elderly mother who has never paid into the system, and then gets her hip replaced. This clogs up our system and costs us money. Thus, the money we have paid into the system is now paying for a foreign national to get healtchare. Many poeple are also getting accepted as borderline elderly. That means we are letting in people under the point system that are in their 50's and near ritrement. My fiance had relatives from India arrive and are living in our city. I saw pictures and coundn't understand why we would let in aging people in their late 50's to come live here. We allow peoples disabled or special needs children to come here also. This is an extreme burden on our system that you and I both pay for. This is why Canada's system does not work. You have to be born here or pay into it for at least 20 years before you should be able to use it. There are 800,000 people that are on a waiting list to get into our country. You can't pretend that this has no side effects. Here. Why not read how lax our system and what a single political party has done to our country: "I entered Canada without a valid passport or travel document. Can I apply for permanent residence under the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class? Yes. You can apply under the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class. However, you must obtain a valid passport or travel documents before CIC will grant you permanent residence." Why not read through this site and learn a bit about your own country you live in: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomer/fact_health.html

Not true. There is an average of 62 days for a ctitical bypass surgery in Ontario. I just looked it up.

For my sake then, where are those numbers? No one has real numbers. I presented wait time numbers, people outside the country, and people entering the country each year.

I'm generally considered a Conservative in these parts and I'm in favour of same sex marriage. Andrew Coyne is also conservative and supports it too. I have a feeling that conservatives are going to keep requesting a vote on this till they get the answer they want. I dont think anyone cares about SSM. I do because I feel that it will be an immigration loophole, but most people don't care. The real reason he's doing this is because there was no free vote in the house of commons. It's a symbol of democracy. I'm sure SSM will pass and everyone knows it. I hope it doesn't for the reason I outlined.

I don't look up to people to vote, I look to baseline principles. Is there a reason you don't like the conservative party? Is it the GST cuts? The federal accountability act? Paying off our debt by 2015? Lowering income taxes each year? The investments in healthcare? The investments in cities? The income splitting? The $100 given to each family with children? Taking a firm stance on issues? What is it? Why would you choose the NDP party over the concervatives? Do you think they are going to make our country function properly?

So the long and the short of it is that you are against foreigners of any kind. No certainly not! and actually saying 'foreigners' is not politically correct so ya might want to change that. I welcome anyone here on a work permit when an employer proves they cannot find a Canadian to do the work. This is not citizenship, just a workers permit. It will have a max lifespan of 8 years and then they have to go back from where they came from unless they persue a non-dual citizenship and prove that they would be an asset to our country. This is how most countries in the world do it with the exception of Canada and maybe Australia.

Is that what you've heard or is that what research shows? So many people here are giving their opinion of things but no real evidence that this is occuring. Actually I think I'm the only one that presented numbers and a real world argument. We are letting people use a system that did not pay into it, thus it's small and underfunded for the amount of people using it. It's not just the sniffles, it's triple bypass surgeries and other treatments. We are in a crisis situation.

That is how the public system in the US works. Our medical clinics also do the same. Not really. It unfortunately is not possible although it sounds like a good idea on its face. Each private hospital needs a private insurance company backing them. Then these insurance companies need buyers of their plans; typically employers who offer them to employees. Typically your employer will give you the plan to stay competative. It will only cost them $400 a month. Or, they can pay 75% of the plan. This would be a way to retain employees. Or, you could purchase your own plan and hopefully get a tax refund from the gov't because you hold a private plan and are not goinig to use gov't services. This is basically a 2 tier US style system that is proven to work because everything stays as private as possible. I still say that a public system is possible in Canada, but not with 300,000 people a year entering in the country and with 70% of those being family sponsored. I agree. In Ottawa our General hospital board spent $60,000,000 to examine French/English language issues despite there being not one single complaint. This kind of thing would never go on in a private system. I agree. Also the private systems have a vested interest to get more doctors so they fund and promote medical schools and play a big role in Universities. From what I understand there is a problem in Canada with elites keeping medical school enrollment small. Basically if you are the son of a doctor or part of an organization then you get in. If not who knows. For a full resolution, I feel that the big US based companies would have to come into our cities and towns, get the cranes up, and build brand new facilities all over Canada. A chunk of all current patients would move over to the private system thus helping the public system. Doctors would stay for more better working condidions and pay. Private hospitals would help expand our universisities so we turn out more Doctors, and things would get better. Plus it would create more employment here in Canada. Trying to change our current healthcare regiem of elites pocketing our money would be political suicide for any politician so I don't see that happening.

And your point is...... The facts are, polls mean nothing until an election. Of course Ontario and Quebec are going to be supporting Liberals. The polls are not out of wack because they aren't polling areas properly. You can't poll with only 1000 people. Our country is much more difficult to poll probably than anywhere else in the world. The only stain that Harper has an him is the income trusts. But do think that people who just got a 1% GST cut, is allowed to income split, and WILL be getting another 1% GST cut is going to vote AGAINST harper? no no.. This is not the US where two slick politicians battle it out with negative campaign ads and the best one wins due to a hair thin 51/49 vote. Canadian voters don't vote like that. Maybe in Quebec they do but not here. People vote the current party in power unless they haven't royally screwed up. Quebec is the only exception. Now if this was two weeks before final voting for a federal election and there was a sample size of 10,000 canadians, then i would be worried. Canadians are certainly not goign to vote for a dual citizen who preches climate change when there is a woman waiting 3 years on a waiting list to see a foot doctor. Harper will pull out the healthcare card.. i'm almost sure it. There isn't going to be this mass shift over to Dion through-out Canada when Harper has taken a stance on issues and has cut taxes the way he did. Remember most poeple don't follow politics. Dion is liked, but I don't feel that he's taken seriously by many people.. maybe in France.. err.. i mean Quebec but that's it.

I told you this would happen, but this is ALL that will happen. Harper needs to focus on the immigrant vote. French people will vote in their own. Bloc does not have power so isn't effective at representing quebec or funding for canoe museums (remember?).

All clinics are private clinics that bill the gov't. However, this clinic is cash only because they make more money this way. If more people use these clinics, then her wait time will be shorter. Thus, it's a win/win for everyone involved. Yes. You are right that everyone should receive healthcare like they do in the US without waiting. However, it's people like you who prevent this from happening in Canada becuase your using a rich/poor argument. We are in a state of crisis right now that needs to be immediately addressed. There is no solution except to allow American health providers and insurance companies into Canada and let working people or people with savings use them. That will off load the public system so her wait times will be shorter. our country is not 'rich' enough to fix this problem.

Because they do not allow people to needlessly come into their countries. That is factual and provable.

I think that it doesn't bother poeple because people don't see him becoming Priminster. However a radio poll had a split of 50/50 when asked if it bothered them. I do have a problem with him holding a dual citizenship and even MORE of a problem when he feels he doesn't have to answer to the public about this concern. But it doens't bother me because to be honest I don't take him very seriously and I don't think his party does either. He got half a standing ovation yesterday from his own party.

I agree. The want a top down approach to gov't where they are the God's of us. They want to make us dependant on them, thus, socially engineering us to their 'vision' of our country. Sounds... communist? I do because it's bankrupting our healthcare system. But I realize there's no easy solution to this. I agree. That's why I vote PCP. I wish the reform party was around. That's right. Too much socialist ideoligy becomes communism or dictatorship. And we also allow Canadians to DIE on hospital waiting lists. That's how it's like in the third world. It's people constantly trying to screw one another and trying to get something for themselves. Now we're becoming the same rotten type of people. 'Self hating'. Canada has sunken to a level where all party's want is to stay in power and have neglected their roll of gov't and protecting the people. They aren't here for the people anymore.

Well he denied Hezbollah are terrorists and said we should negotiate with them. He also said what the US did was war crimes which upset people at his own party. An old co-worker of mine had a gf that smoked pot for her medical reasons. She would volunteer for Jack Laytons campaign and he said that every once in a while Jack will call his gf on her cell phone and say hello and stuff to ask her for more support. Then he gets his wife first into city politics and then into parliment where both of them are making quite a bit of $$$.

Yah that is a link to nothing. Sorry. The link expired minutes after I posted it. It was a Decima poll released today. Maybe this link will work: http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Canada/200...06/2654110.html Ouch.. Read the bottom: "The poll of 1,025 respondents was conducted from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3"

Statistics Canada. http://www.rhdsc.gc.ca/en/mb/lmiquarter4_06/wpg10.shtml Manitoba 4.2 % Saskatchewan 3.9 % Alberta 3.0 % British Columbia 4.6 % Yes, the west is doing very well. But Province Rate St. John’s, Nfld. 8.0 % Halifax 5.2 % Saint John, N.B. 6.1 % Quebec City 5.7 % Montreal 8.0 % Ottawa-Gatineau 5.1 % Sudbury 7.7 % Toronto 6.7 % Thunder Bay 7.8 %

"It suggested the Liberals had the support of 35 per cent of respondents while the Tories were at 31 per cent, the NDP was at 12 per cent and the Green party was at 10 per cent. " So basically the NDP are at 12% and the green party are at 10%? I question this poll. but oh well.. these poles are entertainment.. You know gee.. i wonder who would back a Liberal with dual citizenship despite the CPC's stellar job... hmm.. Oh yeah.. that's who.

Winnipeg 4.3 % Regina 4.8 % Saskatoon 3.7 % Calgary 3.2 % Edmonton 4.1 % Vancouver 4.1 % Victoria 4.0 % Halifax 5.2% Ottawa-Gatineau 5.1 % All lower than 1975. Those were national numbers. But please refer your source to the above data. I'm interested in reading about this.

He hasn't really cited any evidence of what he believes. And he ignores data on the number of Canadian physicians returning from the US and ignores data on lower physician salaries on Europe. When you go to the US you are on a work permit and must return to the country you came from. During the last 2 years there have been many poeple entering Canada from the US becuase their work permits expired.

That was a private hospital. That was thet point. I'm sure they have a poor public system.

There's a cause and effect reason for everything. Yes, there is a cause and effect for everything. French physicians make about 55,000 per year. Source: http://ezraklein.typepad.com/blog/2005/04/...h_care_fra.html I guess Dion would the answers then. lol. But that article is 10 years old and questionable when it says that doctors in the US make $150,000 a year. Maybe if you are a newbie working in a hosptial. Looking up payrates for a specialist like Dermatology, a Doctor makes about $200,000. NeuroSurgery median salery is $438,000. But many doctors run their own practices which is essentially a self employed business. http://www.studentdoc.com/ophthalmology-salary.html

If this was the case, we'd be losing ever more doctors and nurses. According to the link earlier, the trend has reversed. Some of the reasons given are that the malpractice insurance is keeping some doctors from going south. Please cite your source that says we are losing more doctors than gaining them. I don't beleive we're losing more doctors than what we are turing out. Most people consider this country their home and would prefer to stay here. Some goes for most countries. The wealthy in any society tend to stay where they are becuase life is good there. And yes I do kow about the issue of elites keeping the medical schools small and for the priveleged family members and insiders. I've heard about this corruption. This one guy called up a radio talk show and said that his fiance has to go to Poland to study to become a doctor in order to practice in Canada because there were only 60 seats open at the UofT and the grade cut-off was extrememly high. I'm suggesting that even if this was fixed, the Doctor shortage is not our main issue. We need massive, massive increases in infrastructer, MRI machines, hospitals, staff, etc. A doctor is just one person in the chain of medicare.