by arthur Weinreb, associate Editor,
June 23, 2004
When Dalton McGuinty, the "I won’t raise your taxes" premier of Ontario, raised taxes on the gullible people who swept him into office and called it a health premium, he promised that "every penny of Ontario’s new health premium will go into health care".
It seems Dalton just loves to talk about pennies. He mentioned them during the election campaign when he promised that Ontarians would not be paying a penny more in taxes under a McGuinty government. Besides indicating just how small he thinks, the constant reference to pennies shows a marked indifference to the financial well being of the taxpayers. Don’t worry about having to pay an extra $300 to $900 a year for a health premium — it’s only 30,000 to 90,000 pennies.
In the legislature a couple of weeks ago, NDP leader Howard Hampton pointed out that according to the budget document, spending on health care includes $113 million for the construction of new sewers. Hampton then asked the premier, "When did sewer pipes become a health service"?
With all of the arrogance that a Liberal can muster, McGuinty condescendingly lectured the NDP leader about "the broader determinants of health" and about how clean drinking water is a precondition to good health. It makes you wonder what else the McPremier will try and pass off as health care.
as far as government funded health services are concerned, optometry, chiropractic services and physiotherapy are out; sewers are in. McGuinty and his merry band of hypocrites will seemingly go to any length to rely on the simplistic solution of raising taxes in order to add more to the government coffers. and they justify their actions by putting into health care, even if they have to stretch the definition of health care. It’s shameful.
How about roads? as everyone knows if roads and highways are not maintained they can cause more accidents. and more accidents mean more injuries. It will only be a matter of time before roads and other infrastructure will be put into health care spending.
Now accidents can be reduced by more policing of the roads and greater penalties for infractions. Look for the costs of police and the justice system to wind their way into Ontario’s budget for health care.
It is also no secret that crime can be a health hazard. Getting shot, stabbed or otherwise beaten to a pulp can put great strains on the health care system. all policing functions and the administration of justice will end up being counted as expenditures for health care. This will not pose a major problem because the Fiberals are soft on crime. Dalton is one of these who think that the crime rates are falling and therefore people should just relax and not worry about the seemingly endless weekend murders that are taking place in Toronto. McGuinty only seems to be concerned with crime when one of his sons gets mugged. But that can’t happen every day.
arguments can be made that education could be put into the health care budget but McGuinty won’t do it. We have to remember that Dalton wants to be known as the "education premier". That budget will stay where it is. But we can undoubtedly look for more tax increases during McGuinty’s tenure — all in the name of health care.
as every Ontarian knows by now, any similarity between what McGuinty promised during the election campaign and what he did after coming to power is strictly coincidental. He loves to justify his broken promises by saying, "it’s the right thing to do". He is a self-centred little man who shows more concern for how his lies and deceptions make him look than the effect they have on the people of the province. He has shown practically no concern for the many Ontarians who will not only have to go without the medical services that his government has delisted but to whom the payment of the health care premium will be noticeably felt.
Perhaps the Honourable Dalton McGuinty should consider this. anxiety and depression are real health concerns. Those illnesses can stem from the pressure of having less money to support their families that comes from large tax increases as well as having to pay out of their pockets to see an optometrist, a chiropractor or a physiotherapist. But again, Dalton doesn’t care about such trivial matters. He’s only concerned with increasing taxes and trying to justify them by saying those increases all go into the health care system.
a Toronto Sun reader wrote about taking a walk down the street. Not being able to see properly, he fell into an open sewer. He hurt his back but could not afford to go to a chiropractor. He was happy, though because the sewer that he landed in was brand new.
Ontario’s health care pennies at work — it couldn’t have been put any better.