Tag: Health Care

On health transfers, Houston needs to lead ‘Anybody but Conservative’ campaign

On health transfers, Houston needs to lead ‘Anybody but Conservative’ campaign

Posted by | Sep 14, 2021 | |

We’ve seen this play out in previous federal election campaigns. The provinces, constitutionally responsible for health services, unite to demand more federal help in this endeavour. The party in power at the federal level rejects the ask, while the opposition parties initially embrace it. But when the writ is dropped and one of the major opposition parties starts to waffle in its support the provinces fail to react. They put party loyalty ahead of the their populations’ need for adequate federal support for health care. When we observed this in the 2015 campaign and its aftermath it was mainly...

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This election there’s real $$ in the health care debate

This election there’s real $$ in the health care debate

Posted by | Sep 3, 2021 | |

It’s not unusual for health care to be selected by the Canadian public as a top election campaign issue. What is new this go around is the willingness of the Liberals and Conservatives to talk about it. Unlike the vague generalities characterizing their health care commitments in the last two federal elections, the two parties most likely to form government have been quick with some big-ticket commitments. We can probably thank the pandemic for that. It revealed the deficiencies in the health care system and shattered the over-riding obsession with spending restraint. The main plank in the Conservative platform,...

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Starr’s Point Index #6

Starr’s Point Index #6

Posted by | Jan 19, 2021 | |

Pandemic Number of countries reporting more cumulative cases of COVID-19 than Canada to Nov. 30, 2020: 28 Number of Countries reporting more cases than Canada to Jan. 15, 2021: 21 Canada’s increase in cumulative COVID-19 cases Nov. 30-Jan. 15: 85.3% Number of top 30 countries with faster rates of increase than Canada Nov. 20-Jan.15: 3 Country with fastest rate: Turkey 272.6%[1] Number of reported COVID-19 deaths in England as of Jan. 18, 2021: 78,636 [2] Number of reported COVID-19 deaths African continent to Jan. 14, 2021: 76,480[3]   Business insolvencies Number of insolvency filings by Canadian businesses second and...

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New Health Minister doesn’t mean better health deal

New Health Minister doesn’t mean better health deal

Posted by | Sep 3, 2017 | |

Although last week’s federal cabinet shuffle generated little excitement here, it was a different story in New Brunswick. There, the surprise appointment as Health minister of Ginette Petitpas Taylor, a rookie backbencher from the Moncton area, created considerable buzz. Aside from the fun fact that the appointment gave the province with 2% of the population 6% of cabinet posts (Trudeau friend and Fisheries minister Dominic LeBlanc is the other New Brunswick cabinet minister) there was the added possibility that the new Health minister would be sympathetic to the health funding concerns of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the other...

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Unfulfilled health care promises piling up

Unfulfilled health care promises piling up

Posted by | Apr 2, 2017 | |

During the 2013 provincial election campaign the Liberals made three big health care promises. They were going to amalgamate nine district health authorities into one, improve wait times for hip and knee replacements and ensure a doctor for every Nova Scotian. Since any one would be hesitant to argue against the latter two planks, the promise about replacing the DHAs with a single authority drew most of the fire from their opponents. Pointing to problems that had come from Alberta’s earlier move to a super board, the NDP predicted all sorts of chaos would ensue. But the amalgamation has...

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Richard Starr, The man behind the Point

About Richard

RICHARD STARR has had careers as a journalist, public servant, broadcaster, political staffer and freelance policy adviser. He is author of numerous newspaper and magazine articles, a former radio and TV producer and weekly newspaper editor, and the author of three non-fiction books. Starr has lived in Dartmouth for more than 30 years.

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