The opposite is the case with Canadian politics. Stephen Harper is a wolf in sheep's clothing, or sometimes just a wolf. He is a right-wing fundamentalist Christian like nothing we have ever seen. He supports capital punishment, opposes abortion, and wants to gut the social safety net. He has been held back by his minority status, but even so he has done enormous damage to our country with his policies to send more people to prison, his gutting of funding to women's organizations and arts groups, his pro-war foreign affairs strategy, and his politics of polarization.
There is no question in my mind that we have to do whatever we can to turf out this negative, scandal-ridden group of ideologues and elect Stephane Dion.
To me, the battleground we should fight the upcoming election on is the preservation of our system of universal health care. The Harper government came out last week with their latest plan to introduce two-tier health care. They must be stopped.
We already, of course, have two-tier health care. Any Canadian can easily go the US and buy health care. What the Conservatives want to impose is subsidized private health care. Queue-jumpers want a bargain.
We have a health care system that is the envy of the world. It works. It's affordable. Harper - on ideological grounds - wants to dismantle it completely. He's trying to wiggle his foot into a crack, pull off a piece of it, and start the decay that will make the whole system unfeasible. We can't let him get a toe-hold.
Being a dual citizen, I may have two federal elections to vote in this fall. I'm ambivalent about one, but I have no doubts about the other. Harper is a bad leader and it's time to throw him out.
3 comments:
"We have a health care system that is the envy of the world."
The only two nation's who envy Canada's health care system is Cuba and North Korea.
And that's something to be proud of?
I'm also a dual citizen and the fact your a fan of Stephane Dion makes me wonder.
Again, how can North Korea and Cuba be part of the "envy of the world"?
I find that comical.
Except for a minority of fortunate Americans, the US envies our health care system. And Dion is a great guy, the opposite of Harper. He's ethical, open, and cares about the environment and social justice.
My wife is also a dual citizen, and has experienced significant medical care in the United States and in Canada. Canada wins hands down. Our system isn't perfect, but it works, and one doesn't have to mortgage the house in order to get decent care.
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