Letters to the Editor
Dr . Day’s hypocrisy
In “Brian Day’s False Start” (Canadian Perspectives, Fall 2006),
Dr. Day states that the influence of public sector unions in
health care should be reduced because their “negative influence”
and “propaganda machinery” have created “the present
crisis.” I wonder if Dr. Day includes the Canadian Medical
Association in that assessment?
Rick Jelfs
Vancouver, British Columbia
Private health care privilege
My brother Brian Osborne lives in Leigh-on-Sea, England.
He is a recovering cancer patient. I am happy to say he is
doing very well. Not too long ago, he needed to see a specialist.
Brian was informed that there was quite a long wait to see
this particular doctor, so he decided to “go private” rather than
endure the stress of waiting.
Brian got an appointment in days. But here’s the crunch –
it was the same consultant. Only this appointment was held in
another office, plush leather seats and all.
Is this what Dr. Day (aka Dr. Profit) has in mind?
Ronald S. Osborne
Ladysmith, British Columbia
Letter from the Editor
The energy in the Council
of Canadians’ office is electric.
That’s the only way I can
describe what it’s been like to
work at the Council over the last
few months. As I’ve been putting
this special 36-page issue of
Canadian Perspectives together,
my co-workers have been hard at
work, planning the teach-in that
will take place in Ottawa from
March 30 to April 1, Integrate This! Challenging the Security
and Prosperity Partnership of North America. The emails have
been flying back and forth at lightning speed. Every time I
turn on my computer, there is new information to absorb.
More and more partner organizations are jumping on board.
We’re hearing from chapter members, university students,
artists and activists. Their curiosity has been piqued. They
want to know what the Security and Prosperity Partnership of
North America (SPP) is all about. And because the Canadian
government has been less than forthcoming with information
about the SPP, they’re turning to the Council of Canadians for
information.
It reminds me of when the Council of Canadians launched
its fight against the Multilateral Agreement on Investment
(MAI) in the mid-1990s. I was a high school student in
Unionville, Ontario. Thanks to a radical teacher (a dedicated
Council of Canadians member), I had been learning about the
dangers of corporate globalization and structural adjustment
in my history classes. I attended the Council’s Teach-In on
Corporate Globalization at the University of Toronto in 1997,
and I was hooked. Within weeks, I was hounding my Member
of Parliament about the secrecy surrounding the MAI. And so
were thousands of other Canadians. Our collective effort killed
the MAI. And I became an activist for life.
Resistance to the SPP is growing every day. This issue of
Canadian Perspectives is designed to help you understand
what’s at stake – and what you can do to make a difference.
Be sure to check out our website where
we are always posting new information. And be sure to join
us in Ottawa from March 31 to April 1 for our Integrate This!
teach-in. Check out www.IntegrateThis.ca for details, or give us
a call at 1-800-387-7177.
(photo by Tony Fouhse)
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