I have no time to justify to you, fool, you're blind, move aside for me

[primroseburrows]

Private ER sets stage for showdown in Vancouver

Canadian flist people (especially topaz7 because I think she lives closest), what do y'all think about this? As an almost complete outsider (I'm not Canadian but I do work in the healthcare field), my reaction was basically a shuddery slippery-slope feeling. I may be totally off the mark, here, which is why I'm asking. This is just the first one in B.C., right, not in the whole country?

Also, Americans, what do you think about the way healthcare works in the US, either as opposed to other countries or just in itself?

Comments

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

It's left us with an odd sort of system wherein private facilities can get a foothold

I think you guys are a lot like our West Coast. Oregon, for instance, seems to have either liberals or conservatives. It's not a criminal offence to possess less than an ounce of marijuana (there's a fine, but not jail time), but a referendum voted to pass a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Geh.

(we're right-wing right now, with the dreadfully misnamed Liberal Party of BC ;D)

I'm pretty sure I've got NDP written all over me. Maybe I should run for office. In Pawtucket. Yay third party!

[topaz7.livejournal.com]

NDP eh? I vote NDP quite often meself, unless the candidate is a complete wanker.

Dunno if you've seen this: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/12/02/bc-clinic.html#skip300x250

After some last minute posturing on both sides, it looks as if they're going to run it within the Health Act, i.e., they'll charge our health plan instead of individuals. I was surprised to see the provincial gov't taking a strong stand against it; I thought Campbell's Fraser Institute buddies would have pushed him to support it. So that's good news for the health care system.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

NDP eh? I vote NDP quite often meself, unless the candidate is a complete wanker.

I got NDP as a result in a couple of those "What Canadian Political Party are You"? quizzes (every time I think I'm a geek to take these things, I boggle at the sheer geekage it takes to create them and feel better), so naturally I go running over to the NDP website and check them out. Affordable housing, check. Environmental protection, check. Healthcare for everyone, check. Protecting workers' rights, check. Justice for aboriginals, check. Ethics in government, check. Yadda, yadda.

The NDP seems very close to our Green Party, which is what I get in the American version of the tests (yeah, I know, Canada has a GP too, but for some reason the NDP appeals to me more). I'm really an independent, which I'm proud of, because I'm a New Englander, and we're famous for our independent views. *g* I do tend to vote Democrat most of the time, but there are times...*points to Chafee icon* I vote Green occasionally and sometimes even Cool Moose (!), but for the top spots a Green vote is more likely to take votes away from a Democrat. I actually voted for Nader in the 2000 election, but only after I was positive that Rhode Island was going Democrat. I'm not a fan of the Electoral College, but for once it allowed me to vote my conscience without feeling I was ruining the bigger picture. Lot of good it did me. :/.

Dunno if you've seen this...

Yes, I did! :) It looks like an actual compromise in favour of *gasp!* THE PEOPLE! It also seems to be something that might start actual movement on the problems within the system? I dunno, I'm just peering through the window, but it sounds good to me.

[topaz7.livejournal.com]

It also seems to be something that might start actual movement on the problems within the system?

We can hope!

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

Yay, compromise!

Dear Dubya: Plz get out of the White House a clue. kthxbai.