If I Lie May My Nose Grow
Well King Ralph kind of said that about his intentions around Privatizing Health Care in
"I've got to be honest. You know, I can't tell a lie, because you (reporters) would be on my case. "So I'll explain exactly what we are doing (in terms of proposed health-care reforms)... the process that we are going through and I hope that people will understand that and I hope that the federal Liberals will not use it as political fodder." The comments were greeted with resignation within the federal Conservative party.” I’m disappointed, but I'm not surprised," said a senior Conservative organizer in
Private health grist for election mill?
Klein expects issue to be raised on Eastern tour
James Baxter, The
Oh goodie we will finally find out what the Kings great but still secret plan is for Health Care reform. Cause ever since Bill 11 its been all about privatizing health care. So that’s six years that the volk in the
Such is the case with AON Consultants who got a rigged bid contract to look at privatizing Alberta Health Care, and low and behold if they had not presented the Klein Krew with a recommendation about personal medical accounts.
Should the Harper be worried? You betcha, so should Martin. Cause Health Care has become the single issue the NDP can claim the high ground on and actually make THE ELECTION ISSUE.
Harold Jansen, a political scientist at the
And he would be wrong about it NOT being THE Election issue. It will be, because it is the Liberals Achilles heel, without it they cannot entice soft social democrats, red liberals, with the boogeyman of the Conservatives. And as the polls show its going to be another minority government, or at least could be if the NDP get enough votes. To do that they have to make the Privatization of Health Care the issue. It’s what differentiates them from the Liberals. They gave the Liberals the chance to challenge the Supreme Court ruling by amending the Canada Health Act. And the Liberals blew it, they called the bluff , read the polls and figured they could chance a Christmas election.
The NDP attack on the Liberals last election over this was muted by the demonizing of the Harper by the Liberals. They played their trump card about Harpers secret agenda for Health Care. Sorry can’t use that again, because as Jansen says the cat is out of the bag, privatization of health care is the political reality today in
If it was only Klein the Federal Liberals would confront the issue, using
The NDP on the other hand have no qualms about imposing a federalist solution where it is warranted. They did this with the NEP in Alberta in the 1980’s and could use Health Care as the issue on which to impose a Federalist model that would offend both Quebec and Alberta, but not their supporters or soft left Liberals or even Red Tories.
To do that the NDP has to make the Canada Health Act the issue, amending it, strengthen it, attaching strings to Federal Funding, all in the name of ending the biggest loophole in the Act, that it fails to mention privatization.
By making the issue strengthening the Canada Health Act to end privatization they can appeal that it can be done asymmetrically as each province has violated the Act in uncommon ways. That is services that are privatized are sufficiently different in each province that a federal act ending privatization would impact differently in B.C. than in
The Liberals made NAFTA the issue in the 1988 election and stole the show from the NDP. Last election Martin made Health Care the eleventh hour issue to differentiate the Liberals from Harpers Conservatives. This time this issue for the Liberals, Tories and Bloc is Gomery and Adscam. It’s an issue that the NDP left to the other opposition parties to pick the flesh off the bones of the Liberals.
Instead they have made the Democratic Deficit the issue, as well as health care and the environment. In the upcoming election Health Care is issue number one for the NDP. It’s why they cannot support the current Liberal regime. Then to deal with Gomery it’s their ethics package. Even the issue of Aboriginal Self Government, can be covered with the Broadbent Ethics package. And unlike the Liberals the NDP could make the seque to Aboriginal Self Government, while the Liberals are the party of the Department of Indian Affairs.
Finally with the climate change conference happening during the first weeks of the Election, the environment, Jacks personal peccadillo takes centre stage.
The NDP could not ask for a better time or a better election to actually make real gains in seats. Its there’s to lose. And they won’t if they make Health Care, Ethics, and the Environment their issues. Leaving the infighting to the other three.
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