The listicle thing reminds me of an old Soviet joke,
A nursery school teacher is telling her charges: "In the Soviet Union , all the families have nice apartments. In the Soviet Union , all the adults have well-paid jobs, and all the children have sweets and toys." Suddenly, a kid bursts into tears. "What's the matter?" asks the teacher. "I wish I lived in the Soviet Union !!!" the kid blurts out.
Ask any Canadian how they would rate Canada as a place to live and most would prefer it to any other.
In spite of the issues we face, most Canadians feel we are better off than other countries.
Ask Canadians what is in store for us in the future and their confidence wanes.
Canadians are far from certain about the path our leaders are taking us and whether the sacrifices they are being called on to make will lead to a better quality of life for themselves and their families.
What has been accomplished by us and for us in past is looking unlikely to be duplicated.
But until we acknowledge broader, structural problems in Canadian health care — it is a horrifically expensive, inefficient and (by useful international comparisons) utterly mediocre system
Next time you find yourself abandoned on a hospital gurney waiting hours and hours to see a physician make a point of asking the person writhing in pain next you what he or she does.
That person may turn out to be a butcher, a baker or a candlestick maker.
But, dollars to doughnuts, that person will not be a cabinet minister.
And that is because our dear leaders have access to a parallel health system in which a person admitted to emergency does not risk dying after waiting two days to see a doc as happened to someone recently in North Vancouver.
Until we have leaders who have to live with the consequences of the policies they impose on the rest of us what are the chances anything will really change?
The Supreme Court of Canada nowadays has about as stellar a reputation as that other infallible institution, Canada's Health Care system. Both have seen better days and are symbols of Canada's decline.
Canadians put a grossly naive level of trust in their institutions. It's sad.
MP Gerretsen might want to check out the list of countries ranked according to their GDP per capita.
When he has done so, maybe he could explain how a country like Switzerland, which has no natural resources other than cuckoo clocks and alpenhorns, manages to outperform our country which is blessed with huge amounts of natural wealth from, fertile soils to forests to hydrocarbons.
The thing about the Trevor Tombe piece from last October was that it was very obvious to even the average financially knowledgeable reader that it was filled with holes. Even the comments on that piece from back then made that clear. Somehow it took almost a full year for that man to realize his errors. While there can be some credit given to his mea culpa, that should not shine over the fact that his analysis was fundamentally flawed in the first place.
I had said this in one other comment previously, but The Line needs to have a proper Editor for articles about the economy and finance. I hope they have the resources for it soon.
PS: At this point I wonder if any interview by any so-called experts should be treated purely as opinion and not as some proper analysis of facts.
Gerry Butts is the worst. Much of what is wrong with Canadian politics today is attributable to him, or to people like him. I realize there are people like this in all the federal parties, i.e. Teneycke, Byrne, etc. But he's the worst, and the PMO still runs like it did when he was officially employed. I'm skeptical that he no longer enjoys influence with the PM... doesn't seem like the type to take his comeuppance and retreat to the corner. Here he is still cheerleading for his erstwhile boss and, as pointed out the article, doing so from an illogical and poorly-reasoned standpoint. He's the worst. Maybe the Line previously wrote about this but I'm surprised at how little attention media seem to pay to the Butts, Byrnes and Telfords of the world. The personal political ideologies of these unelected staffers seem to have a great deal of sway on what happens or not at the policy level.
The listicle reminds me of a survey someone did as a joke to illustrate the issue of content validity-- are you measuring what you think you are. They did a random survey of people in the Czech republic and asked if they believed "Knowlton Nash was the most beautiful woman in Canada." 75% said yes.
I have a nephew that graduated from an Ontario University with very high marks but was not accepted at that university's medical school nor any of the others he applied to in Canada. He was accepted to a well known US medical school. He is going to school in the US now and will probably have to practise in the US to pay back his student loans due to the difference in cost. The Ontario university accepted nearly 25% foreign students to the medical school. These students may stay in Canada or may return home. I don't know if this is to help finance the school but it seems that we limit the opportunities to graduate more doctors while millions of Canadians have no family doctor. I assume the same happens in nursing.
I expect if we had some private clinics that would deal with orthopedics, ophthalmology and outpatient procedures (don't worry provincial health still pays) some number of nurses could work in a less stressful environment without shift work. Those still working in hospitals would be less busy with the offloading to private clinics and less stressed.
The section on the healthcare situation is excellent.
One element that was omitted is the impact of immigration on the system - particularly that arising from the family reunification program.
As the writer acknowledges, Canada already has a problem with its aging demographic - inviting more aging people into Canada is only going to make a bad situation worse.
Don't forget immigration,. The government is planning on doubling Canada's population in the next 25 years, including 1000s of elderly people who will require tons of (not) free heathcare in an already over stretched system.
I think the conservatives, assuming they win, will not change anything.
Oh and to be fair, I live in Germany and daily I see articles about how stressed the HC system is here. But there is one major difference, it's, per capita, 3 to 4 times the size while hospitals are stressed there is only minimal waiting times for most surgery's.
Sticking with inflation, I gather that half of inflation is energy prices. Half!
And the "wrong" prediction was made three months before the war, which all the most-savvy analysts were saying was just bluster and show, in mid-February. NOT being wrong would have been the incredible thing.
I missed all the apologies from those who didn't predict the war, or for that matter, didn't predict the Afghan forces dropping guns, right on day one. Or didn't predict the Iraq War would go so badly.
Journalistic apologies are far fewer, and further between, than those from professors.
The Hub's feature was based on the NYT feature of several journos admitting they were wrong about something. Well, guys? We're waaaaaaaiting....
As a Nova Scotian, I don’t know whether Lucki provides a convenient target for NS RCMP who did not conduct themselves in glory or whether changes are needed on all fronts. RCMP in NS privately notified their own family members of the danger but did not send out a public alert. This is unacceptable. The behaviour of Lucki needs to be examined but not at the expense of taking the spotlight off NS RCMP actions in 2020.
On a happier note, good to see so many female opinion writers and you using Trevor Tombe - I follow a lot of Canadian economists on Twitter because they base opinions on facts rather than emotion.
What gets measured and by whom is critical to scores and rankings. Most Canadians aren't really considering uprooting themselves to move to Austria, Denmark, or Singapore, depending on what means the most to them.
I would suggest simply ignoring the listicles. They are usually in response to a comment that is as lame as the listicles themselves. They aren't info, they are memes and not particularly good ones except that they seem to make some folks irritated as hell. Like DTs blackface memes. There are so few good memes on Twitter anymore. Even the word meme is a misnomer.
Is this maybe the beginning of the end of Twitter and similar apps? We can hope so.
I think you are right I just don't think that it's institutional i.e. part of an official program like the Senators have with the Ottawa Hospital system. There is a one official program that does accelerate access at least in Ontario, those people who are receiving workman's compensation (it's on every intake form). Other than that no I don't think there is a formal VIP program for MPs & Senators (though wouldn't be surprised if the PM got preferential access). Having said that I do think plenty of people get faster access, as wait lists are maintained by individual doctors not by the hospital or OHIP. Of course those doctors have limited access to ORs so it's not something they can do all the time but I know that it happens. That's inevitable, you can argue it's morality but it would be almost impossible to police by the province.
The listicle thing reminds me of an old Soviet joke,
A nursery school teacher is telling her charges: "In the Soviet Union , all the families have nice apartments. In the Soviet Union , all the adults have well-paid jobs, and all the children have sweets and toys." Suddenly, a kid bursts into tears. "What's the matter?" asks the teacher. "I wish I lived in the Soviet Union !!!" the kid blurts out.
Ask any Canadian how they would rate Canada as a place to live and most would prefer it to any other.
In spite of the issues we face, most Canadians feel we are better off than other countries.
Ask Canadians what is in store for us in the future and their confidence wanes.
Canadians are far from certain about the path our leaders are taking us and whether the sacrifices they are being called on to make will lead to a better quality of life for themselves and their families.
What has been accomplished by us and for us in past is looking unlikely to be duplicated.
But until we acknowledge broader, structural problems in Canadian health care — it is a horrifically expensive, inefficient and (by useful international comparisons) utterly mediocre system
Next time you find yourself abandoned on a hospital gurney waiting hours and hours to see a physician make a point of asking the person writhing in pain next you what he or she does.
That person may turn out to be a butcher, a baker or a candlestick maker.
But, dollars to doughnuts, that person will not be a cabinet minister.
And that is because our dear leaders have access to a parallel health system in which a person admitted to emergency does not risk dying after waiting two days to see a doc as happened to someone recently in North Vancouver.
Until we have leaders who have to live with the consequences of the policies they impose on the rest of us what are the chances anything will really change?
The Supreme Court of Canada nowadays has about as stellar a reputation as that other infallible institution, Canada's Health Care system. Both have seen better days and are symbols of Canada's decline.
Canadians put a grossly naive level of trust in their institutions. It's sad.
MP Gerretsen might want to check out the list of countries ranked according to their GDP per capita.
When he has done so, maybe he could explain how a country like Switzerland, which has no natural resources other than cuckoo clocks and alpenhorns, manages to outperform our country which is blessed with huge amounts of natural wealth from, fertile soils to forests to hydrocarbons.
All ears, Sir.
The thing about the Trevor Tombe piece from last October was that it was very obvious to even the average financially knowledgeable reader that it was filled with holes. Even the comments on that piece from back then made that clear. Somehow it took almost a full year for that man to realize his errors. While there can be some credit given to his mea culpa, that should not shine over the fact that his analysis was fundamentally flawed in the first place.
I had said this in one other comment previously, but The Line needs to have a proper Editor for articles about the economy and finance. I hope they have the resources for it soon.
PS: At this point I wonder if any interview by any so-called experts should be treated purely as opinion and not as some proper analysis of facts.
Gerry Butts is the worst. Much of what is wrong with Canadian politics today is attributable to him, or to people like him. I realize there are people like this in all the federal parties, i.e. Teneycke, Byrne, etc. But he's the worst, and the PMO still runs like it did when he was officially employed. I'm skeptical that he no longer enjoys influence with the PM... doesn't seem like the type to take his comeuppance and retreat to the corner. Here he is still cheerleading for his erstwhile boss and, as pointed out the article, doing so from an illogical and poorly-reasoned standpoint. He's the worst. Maybe the Line previously wrote about this but I'm surprised at how little attention media seem to pay to the Butts, Byrnes and Telfords of the world. The personal political ideologies of these unelected staffers seem to have a great deal of sway on what happens or not at the policy level.
The listicle reminds me of a survey someone did as a joke to illustrate the issue of content validity-- are you measuring what you think you are. They did a random survey of people in the Czech republic and asked if they believed "Knowlton Nash was the most beautiful woman in Canada." 75% said yes.
Congrats to Knowlton!
I have a nephew that graduated from an Ontario University with very high marks but was not accepted at that university's medical school nor any of the others he applied to in Canada. He was accepted to a well known US medical school. He is going to school in the US now and will probably have to practise in the US to pay back his student loans due to the difference in cost. The Ontario university accepted nearly 25% foreign students to the medical school. These students may stay in Canada or may return home. I don't know if this is to help finance the school but it seems that we limit the opportunities to graduate more doctors while millions of Canadians have no family doctor. I assume the same happens in nursing.
I expect if we had some private clinics that would deal with orthopedics, ophthalmology and outpatient procedures (don't worry provincial health still pays) some number of nurses could work in a less stressful environment without shift work. Those still working in hospitals would be less busy with the offloading to private clinics and less stressed.
The section on the healthcare situation is excellent.
One element that was omitted is the impact of immigration on the system - particularly that arising from the family reunification program.
As the writer acknowledges, Canada already has a problem with its aging demographic - inviting more aging people into Canada is only going to make a bad situation worse.
Don't forget immigration,. The government is planning on doubling Canada's population in the next 25 years, including 1000s of elderly people who will require tons of (not) free heathcare in an already over stretched system.
I think the conservatives, assuming they win, will not change anything.
Oh and to be fair, I live in Germany and daily I see articles about how stressed the HC system is here. But there is one major difference, it's, per capita, 3 to 4 times the size while hospitals are stressed there is only minimal waiting times for most surgery's.
Sticking with inflation, I gather that half of inflation is energy prices. Half!
And the "wrong" prediction was made three months before the war, which all the most-savvy analysts were saying was just bluster and show, in mid-February. NOT being wrong would have been the incredible thing.
I missed all the apologies from those who didn't predict the war, or for that matter, didn't predict the Afghan forces dropping guns, right on day one. Or didn't predict the Iraq War would go so badly.
Journalistic apologies are far fewer, and further between, than those from professors.
The Hub's feature was based on the NYT feature of several journos admitting they were wrong about something. Well, guys? We're waaaaaaaiting....
As a Nova Scotian, I don’t know whether Lucki provides a convenient target for NS RCMP who did not conduct themselves in glory or whether changes are needed on all fronts. RCMP in NS privately notified their own family members of the danger but did not send out a public alert. This is unacceptable. The behaviour of Lucki needs to be examined but not at the expense of taking the spotlight off NS RCMP actions in 2020.
On a happier note, good to see so many female opinion writers and you using Trevor Tombe - I follow a lot of Canadian economists on Twitter because they base opinions on facts rather than emotion.
What gets measured and by whom is critical to scores and rankings. Most Canadians aren't really considering uprooting themselves to move to Austria, Denmark, or Singapore, depending on what means the most to them.
I would suggest simply ignoring the listicles. They are usually in response to a comment that is as lame as the listicles themselves. They aren't info, they are memes and not particularly good ones except that they seem to make some folks irritated as hell. Like DTs blackface memes. There are so few good memes on Twitter anymore. Even the word meme is a misnomer.
Is this maybe the beginning of the end of Twitter and similar apps? We can hope so.
I think you are right I just don't think that it's institutional i.e. part of an official program like the Senators have with the Ottawa Hospital system. There is a one official program that does accelerate access at least in Ontario, those people who are receiving workman's compensation (it's on every intake form). Other than that no I don't think there is a formal VIP program for MPs & Senators (though wouldn't be surprised if the PM got preferential access). Having said that I do think plenty of people get faster access, as wait lists are maintained by individual doctors not by the hospital or OHIP. Of course those doctors have limited access to ORs so it's not something they can do all the time but I know that it happens. That's inevitable, you can argue it's morality but it would be almost impossible to police by the province.