Jerry J. Fortin

The system is quite rigid and not very flexible at all. On the other hand it is universal, federally regulated to provide equality of services in all provinces, but the system is actually run from a provincial administration. Provinces can add or detract from the services they provide just so long as federal guidelines and minimum standards are in effect. The feds cover some of the cost with federal taxes through provincial transfers, yet the lions share of funding is the responsibility of the province. In theory it is agile enough to move in and out of coverage, but in practice there is no such movement in any kind of frequent basis at all. Health care is Canada's "third rail" touch it and die.

I think Australia issues a fine of up to 50$ plus court costs.

We have lots up here in the frozen chosen. Want to buy some?

Yeah, well it will all come to a head soon enough. Arctic resources are about the only way out of our current problems, but only if we actually wake up and smell the coffee. Inside of the next twenty years India and China will be calling the economic ball, not the Europeans or the Americans, and Canada has the potential, unrealized at the moment, to position itself to rise to the occasion.

I prefer to be a little more optimistic about the problem I guess. I would like to think that given the chance that citizens would add their weight to the political leverage issue and actually assist in the enhancement of our democracy. It might be beneficial for our society and I am willing to take that risk in order to find out.

That works for me and Alberta too!

I must agree. The problem before us is the defense of the north. We have a use it or be willing to lose it debate going on and I think that many citizens are willing to lose the battle instead of fighting. It seems to be a dollars verse sense thing to me. Common sense dictates that we defend what is ours to the best of our ability, and dollars mitigate that into spending on social programs or defense?

I am willing to admit that is in fact the problem. However I think that democratic tools and constitutions can be made to solve the problems.

A two pointer!!!

Staying at home allows the governments and politicians to do as they please. Voting forces them to accept the will of the people. You could of course spoil a ballot or perhaps incorporate into a ballot a protest vote of none of the above, that would send a rather harsh message to the government don't you think?

One little problem with this approach. That is the idea of a surplus while being buried in debt. I will suggest that the debt is the real issue, resloving that will provide lots of additional funding without any increases in tax levies at all. Of course I am against income taxes period, but that is another story altogether.

Smoke and mirrors is all politicians offer in the way of solutions these days.

Perhaps..... Yet I think that IF you had fixed election dates, July 1st would be my choice, then mandatory voting could be proceeded with a real Canada Day. Consider that for a minute folks. You are forced to vote on the nations birthday and it would be a stat holiday to form a new government and celebrate our sovereignty all at once. The idea is to promote both the people and the nation at the same time. We should be striving for unity instead of division.

Generate sufficient revenue streams to fund the programs..................duh!

I can't agree with that. Harper is going around the laws of the land. Yes he is deceitful in the manner in which he is doing it, but the fact that he can also means that others can as well. So what you have is a way around a problem due to the lack of legal framework in place to prevent it. Allowing governments and leaders to act in the absence of legislation is exactly what provides fro the unlimited powers of government. You are foolish to believe that the absence of law is not the problem here because if a law was in place what they are doing could not be done and the problem would not be an issue of mere political consequence but a matter of actual legal consequences.

All I can really say is that it will be expensive, no matter what option we choose. If I were the leader of this nation I would hand the problem over to DND and have them design and implement the means of defending the north. Just send me the bill and we will figure out how to pay for it.

I don't blame the west at all! I blame misguided zealots whose religious beliefs are dangerous and in fact criminal by nature. I don't advocate rolling over, I advocate fighting for peace. If you can read and understand this language , than go and study my words with more care. I never said that I was willing to die, I said that true believers would rather die than kill. There is a very distinct difference here that needs to be understood, and that is that terrorism is not merely Islamic based, look at the IRA or the KKK. Those are terrorist organizations by any definition. I just don't want bigoted racist focused opinions to carry the day. One side of that equation is just as bad as the other. How many wars are fought by demonizing the opposing sides? We need to start viewing problems under the concept of the rule of law. To that end we need an international convention of the willing to abide by the rule of law and cease and desist diplomatic relations with those that do not. In addition, nations that refuse to get on the band wagon need to be shunned. We can't talk to them trade with them or even allow them to travel into our nations. Cut them off, and when they try to come out without joining the team they get wasted, plain and simple.

Look folks, we have become a nation of citizens claiming entitlements. E.i. or welfare it makes no difference. Health care or schools, name a program and we claim entitlement to it. The nation cannot sustain this kind of society without incurring debt, and at some point that debt servicing will force the abandonment of programs and services. If we keep taking the short sighted approaches to problem resolution we are doomed to failure and the collapse of the society we have built out of our desires will be the result. It isn't politics that drive the solutions it is economics. Its simple arithmetic, no root cause analysis is required to solve the problem, just revenue streams. The nation needs more money to do what we are demanding it should do. Taxation is the paradigm we face. That is our sole source of revenue streams. It is time to come to the realization that taxes are regressive and actually detract from the economic viability of a nation. Capitalism is the key because it creates wealth, yet this does not provide a solution for the nation. The nation needs to create wealth and generate sufficient revenue streams to provide the funding that is needed to allow the programs and services that we have sought and implemented to function in the manner that we have already decided. So we can either abandon the concept of entitlements or institute by design a system of wealth creation sufficient for the needs of the nation.

Detection? Is that what this is all about? No crime committed because it was not known to have happened?

Isn't that part of the problem? A lack of sufficient legal framework to prevent an end run attempt by anyone from evading the rule of law?

The people fund the system whether that model is provincially based or federally based, the citizen is the end user and sole funder of the system. All the smoke and mirrors in the world cannot hide the truth. The issue is not funding, we have already determined who funds what. The issue is cost control, get a grip on reality people.

FOOL! We fight against the concept of terrorism. We fight for the right to live in peace. We do not fight "Rag headed" anything. It is not a specific group of people but instead a specific inhuman concept. Those individuals who will kill to achieve what they want, they are the enemy. We will always be at war with attitudes like yours! The time has come to realize that even the smallest of thoughts that are spoken to people have consequences. The entire religious cultism and the resulting fanatics are the root cause of our problems. All religions are guilty because they all create groups of people that seek or have sought to kill in the name of their God. Yet all religions claim their God is peaceful! Organized religion that seeks to utilize politics instead of individual believe and worship is what we have created. We have caused these problems ourselves, and we cannot expect God to resolve them for us one way or another. It is time that people started taking individual responsibility for their actions. It is time people started acting responsibly. It is time for reason to overcome emotion and misguided religious beliefs. I say to all that any religion that supports violence or condones violence is merely a criminal cult, and not a religion at all. True believers would rather be killed than kill.

Ultimately the costs of health care are going up. That is the real issue, dealing with this reality is the real problem. It is not how it is funded but instead how the money which only comes from end users is spent.

It would seem to me that this thread is headed off on a tangent. Murder is a crime, period. Call it a crime of passion if you will, call it a religious crime if you will, call it anything you want but in this nation it is still murder. That is what the charge is, murder. No question about the law, and no question about the alleged perpetrator. This is an open and shut case. Delving into the religious aspects and political immigration aspects does little to add to the case, and amounts to nothing in determining guilt. Hold the damned trial and convict the guilty party and be done with it. This is how you screw up a society by mitigating the facts and confusing the issues. There is only one issue here, it isn't that complicated at all.

So you folks are suggesting submarines as the solution?