I come with a very special announcement today! I’ve been approached by both Michael Coren and Crossroads Television to take on a regular panel position on The Michael Coren Show.
As of November 15th, you’ll now be able to see me represent brash, politically incorrect right-wing views on a weekly basis every Monday on Michael’s “Start the Week” panel!
That is, give me a reason to like them.
Keith Martin, a British Columbia [Member of Parliament] who is also a medical doctor, is calling for a fundamental shift in Canada’s approach to health care, and his ideas run counter to his own party’s policy on medicare.
[...]
On Monday, amid renewed debate about medicare, Martin released a strongly worded statement in which he outlined how the system must change or Canadian patients will increasingly experience “needless pain and suffering” while they wait for treatment.
“We cannot continue to wrap ourselves in the CHA, hold onto shibboleths and demonize those who are trying to modernize our obsolete health care system,” wrote Martin.
He predicted Canada is “careening into a brick wall” because of rising health-care costs and the results will ultimately be stark: hospital services denied to sick patients; previously insured services no longer covered; longer waiting times; and frustrated medical personnel leaving the profession.
Martin writes that instead of “tinkering” with the system, governments must “modernize” the Canada Health Act to allow patients to “pay for care if they wish, in entirely separate facilities funded solely by the private sector.”
Under such a system, writes Martin, Canadians could go to these centres and pay for the medically necessary treatment out of their own pocket or through private insurance they have purchased.
“By leaving the public system, they will be shortening the queues for those who are waiting. People using private facilities from time to time would also be free to access the public system that their taxes are paying for. Private facilities would act as a release valve and would in effect be subsidizing the public system. Physicians and other medical personnel would work in both systems.”
The arguments that Martin proposes aren’t new. In fact, they’re things that conservatives have been saying for quite a while now. However, it’s refreshing when a member of the Left commits to putting their ideology behind them and focusing on the facts. When it comes to healthcare, the facts are simple: Having top-knotch healthcare that you have to wait months or years for is no better than having healthcare you might not be able to afford.
Forgetting the obvious fact that all individuals with foresight in a purely private system would have health insurance to cover medical care, if the option comes down to remortgaging your house or dying, I think the former seems like a far better idea. I’ve written about my own nightmares in the healthcare system before, where I almost died waiting for [supposedly] the ‘best healthcare in the world’ here in Canada.
No one wants people to be dying in the streets because they can’t afford healthcare. Fortunately, that has never proven to be more than a progressive “line” not an actual reality in any Western country.
I’d like to see Canada go to an entirely private healthcare system, but allowing for private competition is a great step in the right direction.
When I got an interview request last week from Ben-Peter Terpstra of the Australian Conservative, I was thrilled that my right-wing belligerence was welcomed overseas as well. That said, Ari and I have always tried to pander to our Saudi Arabian and Pakistani audiences.
In any case, if you’re interested in reading the interview you can do so here. (Please note that I did not select the photograph used; you know, the one that makes me look rather evil. Actually, I kinda like it…)
Not all Canadians are lefties – indeed I hear that some of Canada’s aboriginals are keeping PETA very busy this year. Besides, America’s neighbour has given us the wonderful Mark Steyn, the laugh-out-loud-funny Closet Conservative, and, today’s subject, Andrew Lawton.
Well, I’m a fan. Lawton is a political analyst and freelance columnist. But in addition to a regular column for the Toronto Examiner, he gave birth to Strictly Right, an award-winning blog. But there’s more. His Strictly Right Radio show on iTunes packs some great punches.
UPDATE: Join the Tea Party Movement of Canada on Facebook!
I’d sure say so! From Sun Media:
OTTAWA – Are Canadians getting fed up with government regulations, rules and taxes? The man behind an attempt to start a Tea Party movement in Canada hopes so.
This past weekend hundreds of thousands of Americans flocked to Washington for a rally about taking back their country. They came to hear speakers such as Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, and although not explicitly a Tea Party event, the crowd drew many from the movement that calls for government to get government off the backs of hard working people.
Andrew Lawton wants to bring that spirit to Canada.
Lawton, a conservative-leaning activist from London, Ont., is one of the organizers behind an online attempt to start a Tea Party movement in Canada.
Starting with a Facebook group, Lawton says there are plans for rallies this fall in Ottawa and Quebec City. Other cities may be added.
There are differences between the two countries Lawton acknowledges but adds the basis of the movement is the same.
“The issues differ but the ideology stays the same. Advocating for smaller government, freedom and letting people live their own lives.”
“One person came up to me recently and said that freedom is an American value,” said Lawton. “That’s not true. It’s an attitude I want to change.”
People on both sides of the political spectrum have expressed skepticism about the idea of a Tea Party Movement in Canada. Those on the Left think that it’s an avenue for fascist, racist, right-wingers to spout their hatred. Even some on the right are too worried about the “optics” of utilizing an American concept to advocate for Canadian values. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, conservatism and liberty are not American concepts; they are basic, fundamental truths that people in any country should embrace.
A prominent Canadian Conservative Party blogger and I had an exchange this afternoon where he was suggesting it be called something else. Why? People know and understand what the Tea Party movements stands for. As Kathy Shaidle said, “I envision the usual Canadian ‘conserv.’ bores/wonks bickering about terminolgy as excuse to avoid action.”
Stay tuned for some big announcements in the coming weeks!!
At this point in my life, I walk with a cane, my memory is intermittent at best, and I’m subject to weekly blood tests among a constant stream of other sorts of medical checkups. The cause? A stroke suffered at the hands of the socialized healthcare in Canadian hospitals.
Had a doctor had time to take my case seriously; or, had I been able to get basic diagnostic testing done in a timely manner; or, had the triage nurse not been on lunch break when I needed her; or, had I been prescribed the simple medication that would have prevented by body from forming blood clots; or, had I been informed of risks and told of things I could do to change what lay ahead, this may never have happened. One things for sure, public healthcare failed me at every turn…and I almost died because of it.
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Exactly one year ago, on August 8th, 2009, I was admitted into Ottawa General Hospital with an ischemic stroke, caused by a cardioembolism (blood clot) in my left anterior cerebral artery. The tiny little clot that changed my life was a by-product of a heart condition called atrial fibrillation (A-Fib, for short) that I had been diagnosed with about a month prior.
To this date, doctors are still dumbfounded about how someone in their 20′s who rarely drinks and has never done drugs acquired A-Fib in the first place, but I accept that flukes happen. I was having a quiet evening with a friend when I felt my heart racing, accompanied by serious chest pains and difficulty breathing. After several hours of attempting to convince myself that nothing was wrong, I called a public health service called Telehealth Ontario (possibly one of the most useless government services in existence) to see if I had a cause for concern. The official recommendation from Telehealth was go to the hospital by ambulance.
Upon arriving to the hospital, I was brought right into the emergency room and received in my care a level of quality that I have no complaints about. After several attempts to bring my heart back to ‘sinus’ rhythm, my doctors succeeded and I was discharged with follow-up. This was where the problems started. I was given an ‘urgent’ referral to a place called the Acute Cardiac Referral Clinic at the affiliated University of Ottawa Heart Institute.
No one was able to give me an accurate estimate on how long I’d be waiting. That being said, I wasn’t too worried, because I accepted the explanation of the doctor that, “this was probably just a one-off. You’re young, you’ll be fine.” I was going to be fine, no need to worry! For my own sake, I didn’t do much Googling of the affliction that I had been diagnosed with because I knew that I’d likely find some bizarre case of someone dying from it in some African village 50 years ago. The last thing I wanted was to be one of those patients who starts off a medical consultation with “I read on the internet somewhere that…” or anything similar.
I was a little disturbed that a heart issue with no identifiable randomly appeared, but I wasn’t worried. However, only four days later, I noticed the same symptoms as I was on my way to work. By the time I got to my office on Parliament Hill, I sunk into a couch, clutched my chest and called security to bring down an oxygen tank. I ended up having an ambulance bring me to the hospital yet again, less than a week after my most recent visit.
Once again, I received reasonable care according to my imminent needs, but was given little confidence that I’d be looked after in the long-term. Over a five-week period, I ended up in the emergency room four times with the same symptoms, each time being told that it was either a ‘fluke’ or ‘coincidence.’ One doctor’s brilliant advice was that it was ‘weird.’ Despite this issue only getting worse, my urgent referral to the Acute Cardiac Referral Clinic wasn’t available any quicker. I was able to get in during the first week of August. I wasn’t permitted to see a cardiologist, merely a technician who wasn’t permitted to tell me anything until a cardiologist had a chance to look at the tests “whenever he gets to it.”
Amusingly, on the last of these four visits, the doctor said to me, “If you were older we’d be worried about you having a stroke. But that’s not going to happen.” Less than a week later, I proved him wrong.
This part is truly a comedy of errors. Feeling my heart condition start acting up, I decided that I would go to the hospital just to make sure. It was the sunny afternoon of Saturday August 8th. Upon arrival to the Ottawa General Hospital (I should have been requesting frequent flier miles,) I proceeded to the emergency room and went to the reception desk. The rather miserable looking woman asked, “Are you here to see a doctor or a patient?” I was feeling a little dizzy at this point, and I didn’t notice that I had been dragging my right leg. I told her that I wanted to see a doctor, and she informed me that I needed to see a triage nurse first. The catch? The triage nurse was on lunch and wouldn’t be back for another 45-50 minutes. The clot had already made its way to my brain by this time. Every passing minute was leading to less and less strength on my right side. Unfortunately, my brain was too messed up to know that anything was happening.
The triage nurse arrived shortly before 2:00pm and motioned me in. By this point, I was barely able to use my right arm and was dragging my right leg from the waiting area to her chair. Every other time I had been sitting there, they had done routine questions that would rule out whether or not I was having a stroke. She didn’t ask those this time, I must have been fine then! I was then downgraded from emergent to the hospital’s clinic, inappropriately called the Urgent Care unit. When I got there and an electrocardiogram (ECG) was done, I was quickly brought into the emergency room, and from there I was quickly brought into the emergency room and treated for a stroke. To put things into perspective, with ischemic strokes there is a 4.5-hour window in which a miracle drug can be administered to break up the clot. I received this with 13 minutes to spare.
One mistake at one hospital is unfortunate. Two mistakes at two hospitals is a little fishy. However, a series of screw-ups and neglect that leads to a preventable tragedy raises enough cause to question the efficiency of the system itself. I’m not the only one who’s experienced this. This saga through the public healthcare system changed my life forever. I thank God it didn’t take my life away altogether.
Nate Hendley from the Libertas Post interviewed me a couple of weeks ago for his website. I really enjoyed chatting with him about Ann Coulter, Tea Parties, my public healthcare nightmare, and lots of other stuff, so I would encourage you all to check it out here!
What’s your opinion of Harper? Is he doing a good job or are you angry at the Conservatives now?
I’m not angry at the Conservatives. I’ve never been one of those people that wanted to throw the Conservative Party under the bus. I am a member of that party. I will vote for that party in the next election, most likely, unless something really major comes up. From an analytical standpoint, I think Harper does need to do a lot between now and the next election to get back some of the base—our listeners, people who read our blog. There are some genuine conservatives out there, who have been conservatives their whole life who have issues with Harper as a leader. They feel he has been going too much to the centre. I think there are reasons for making compromises in government. I’m not blind, however. I do think he has some work to do to hold onto the base.