Friday, April 22, 2005
Call the election before somebody gets hurt
Who is fooling who here? Conservative health critic Steven Fletcher calling Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh outside to settle a dispute in a Commons Health Committee meeting on Thursday. Yikes!
The committee was supposed to be examining Health Canada's spending estimates for the coming year, but most members didn't even refer to current spending plans. "Was it a good idea when your government cut $25 billion from the health-care system in 1995?" asked Fletcher, in one of his opening questions.
Sidenote - That is just bullshit and Fletcher knows better. The cuts were from the CHST and not all of it goes to health. It doesn't make the cuts right, but let's talk in fact.
Outside note - A tip of the cap to Fletcher for moving the motion on Hep C victims.
Fletcher did have a good retort to Dosanjh's claim that Stephen Harper wants to commodify health care. He fired back that the Canada Health Act already allows for private health care, and that the majority of doctors' offices are private businesses, yet the Liberals suggest that "somehow private delivery of health care is evil."
The classic moment in question followed soon after, when after further mutual interruptions, Fletcher snapped: "If you'd like to take this outside, I'd be happy to."
"I'm not a physical kind of guy," said Dosanjh, to laughter. "Neither am I," said Fletcher. "Don't be shocked if you have any tire marks."
The funny thing is I don't think Fletcher was joking. I only hope the election main course is a good as the appetizer.
The committee was supposed to be examining Health Canada's spending estimates for the coming year, but most members didn't even refer to current spending plans. "Was it a good idea when your government cut $25 billion from the health-care system in 1995?" asked Fletcher, in one of his opening questions.
Sidenote - That is just bullshit and Fletcher knows better. The cuts were from the CHST and not all of it goes to health. It doesn't make the cuts right, but let's talk in fact.
Outside note - A tip of the cap to Fletcher for moving the motion on Hep C victims.
Fletcher did have a good retort to Dosanjh's claim that Stephen Harper wants to commodify health care. He fired back that the Canada Health Act already allows for private health care, and that the majority of doctors' offices are private businesses, yet the Liberals suggest that "somehow private delivery of health care is evil."
The classic moment in question followed soon after, when after further mutual interruptions, Fletcher snapped: "If you'd like to take this outside, I'd be happy to."
"I'm not a physical kind of guy," said Dosanjh, to laughter. "Neither am I," said Fletcher. "Don't be shocked if you have any tire marks."
The funny thing is I don't think Fletcher was joking. I only hope the election main course is a good as the appetizer.
# posted by Shaky @ 12:40 a.m. 
