Dear Harper,
Apr. 21st, 2006 09:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tyresiasI never liked you. You want to put same-sex marriage back to a vote, to charge women to get abortions and you think Canada needs a bigger army to go fight more wars. You're desire to reduce GST to 6% next month might cut ties for good. The last thing I needed was to test 6 tax codes for a new rate. I hold you responsible for my headache Stevie and may your God help you if it turns into a migraine.
Signed,
A disgruntled system techy in need a sponsorship deal with Advil
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Alberta backs away from 'Third Way' health reforms!!!
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/04/20/thirdway060420.html
The Alberta government, which announced with much fanfare earlier this year that it was about to turn health care in Canada on its ear, has announced it will not proceed with its so-called "Third Way" health reforms. The Alberta Conservative caucus announced Thursday after a meeting in Calgary that it has decided not to allow doctors to practice in both the public and private health systems. Also, plans for a private insurance system and allowing patients to pay for some medically insured procedures in order to get quicker service have been shelved, at least for now.
Health Minister Iris Evans said the government heard from Albertans that they either don't want the reforms now, or they don't understand what the government wants to do. Evans said the government will introduce legislation on health reforms during the current session of the legislature, but that bill will then go out for more consultation, rather than be put to a vote. "We are not prepared to proceed with private insurance at this time," Evans told reporters outside the meeting room.
Evans denies there were concerns about federal transfer cuts. The Harper government has said it was worried that some parts of the Third Way might violate the Canada Health Act and that the only tool Ottawa has at its disposal to stop that from happening is financial penalties.
The provincial Liberals and the NDP say the reversal is a huge defeat for the government and a victory for Albertans. Harvey Voogd of the lobby group Friends of Medicare, says he's happy with the decision, but that doesn't mean public health care advocates should get complacent. "You know health care privatization is like a zombie in Alberta," he told CBC News. "You think it's dead and it keeps coming back to life." Thursday's decision also means the bill will not pass the legislature until after Premier Ralph Klein leaves office later this year.
Signed,
A disgruntled system techy in need a sponsorship deal with Advil
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Alberta backs away from 'Third Way' health reforms!!!
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/04/20/thirdway060420.html
The Alberta government, which announced with much fanfare earlier this year that it was about to turn health care in Canada on its ear, has announced it will not proceed with its so-called "Third Way" health reforms. The Alberta Conservative caucus announced Thursday after a meeting in Calgary that it has decided not to allow doctors to practice in both the public and private health systems. Also, plans for a private insurance system and allowing patients to pay for some medically insured procedures in order to get quicker service have been shelved, at least for now.
Health Minister Iris Evans said the government heard from Albertans that they either don't want the reforms now, or they don't understand what the government wants to do. Evans said the government will introduce legislation on health reforms during the current session of the legislature, but that bill will then go out for more consultation, rather than be put to a vote. "We are not prepared to proceed with private insurance at this time," Evans told reporters outside the meeting room.
Evans denies there were concerns about federal transfer cuts. The Harper government has said it was worried that some parts of the Third Way might violate the Canada Health Act and that the only tool Ottawa has at its disposal to stop that from happening is financial penalties.
The provincial Liberals and the NDP say the reversal is a huge defeat for the government and a victory for Albertans. Harvey Voogd of the lobby group Friends of Medicare, says he's happy with the decision, but that doesn't mean public health care advocates should get complacent. "You know health care privatization is like a zombie in Alberta," he told CBC News. "You think it's dead and it keeps coming back to life." Thursday's decision also means the bill will not pass the legislature until after Premier Ralph Klein leaves office later this year.
