Threat of health-care cuts not surprising
Re Leaked bill points to private health care: NDP, Feb. 1 The Ford Conservatives won the election on the platform of improving efficiencies in the delivery of public services. Ontario voters even gave them a majority so that Ford can govern unfettered for the next four years. The Conservatives deliberately chose not to flesh out how they would do it, but it should be known by all that Conservatives believe in less government. So, why are we surprised when the Ford government tears down valued public programs?
When pay-for-service health care proliferates and full-day kindergarten is made history, voters have to realize that they brought it upon themselves. The people who would be most affected by decimation of public services — like the Ford Nation crowd in Etobicoke — may wish to revisit their belief that Conservative policies are for the little guy. Our democratic system gives a majority government the right to behave like an autocratic government when it ignores pubic opinion. It is time for us to reflect on how we need to allow an option to check a majority government. Perhaps a petition of 50 per cent of the popular votes won by the majority government should automatically trigger an election. Salmon Lee, Mississauga
If there’s one word that needs to be retired from the English language, it’s “efficiencies.” Every time I hear this word uttered by corporations or politicians, I immediately see a picture of an axe, followed by imminent chaos and destruction.
Frighteningly, it has become the favourite word of the Ontario government, most recently in relation to our health-care system.
Canada’s publicly-funded, single-payer healthcare system is prized above any other government program. It might not be perfect, but any existing problems were created by past governments and can be fixed without opening it up further to private interests.
Any government that ignores this will pay the price in the next election, as did the Ontario Liberals over the part-privatization of Hydro One.
Ontarians need to rise up and tell the Conservative government in no uncertain terms that they won’t tolerate any further privatization or corporatization of our health-care system. And the government should remember that the Canada Health Act prohibits two-tier healthcare and can result in federal funding being withdrawn. Diana Hooper, Willowdale