By StaffFebruary 21st, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Via Twitter she said: “Taxes are a good thing”- how much is the concern.
This didn’t come up during the debate at Port Nelson United Church earlier this week
In a Tweet (call it an X if you must)@AndreaGrebenc said:
Spoke to a friend who lives in California who recently had ankle surgery.
The surgery cost $33K …and not all the bills are in yet.
No wonder people go broke or are miserable or sick inthe US.
Taxes are a good thing!
I pay for private supplemental benefit insurance and much prefer using private healthcare clinics; it’s all about me I’m afraid not the greater good, that I leave to the young.
Taxes are necessary but it is important to ask whether we are getting good value for the taxes. With healthcare, nothing is free–for middle-income and higher taxpayers, the taxes paid for healthcare are significant. But these are not the only costs that residents of Ontario face–the delays in waiting for treatment can be very significant and so are the costs–pain & suffering, reduced quality of life, lost employment income and in extreme cases, loss of life. Interesting to note that those medical systems, primarily in Europe, that provide the option of public or private care consistently rate higher than Canada in the delivery of medical services. And for those Ontarians who are opposed to the so-called “two-tier” medical care, it actually exists. Affluent Ontarians can leave the province for care in the United States or Europe and the well-connected do not wait in lineups like the rest of us.
Philip
“Interesting to note that those medical systems, primarily in Europe, that provide the option of public or private care consistently rate higher than Canada in the delivery of medical services.”
I’m wondering where you get your information.
Are you aware in the UK both NHS nurses and doctors have been holding separate but coordinated rotating strikes to protest the lack of medical resources, lack of personnel, long wait lists, and low wages? I refer you to this report from CNN (click the link below). So that’s doctors and nurses withdrawing their services. Things must be pretty bad for such dedicated selfless professionals to take such radical action.
https://amp-cnn-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/02/06/business/nhs-strikes-private-healthcare-uk?amp_gsa=1&_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIUAKwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17401982251024&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2023%2F02%2F06%2Fbusiness%2Fnhs-strikes-private-healthcare-uk%2Findex.html
My brother in the Netherlands says the Dutch health system suffers from the same issues.
In the UK it is perfectly legal to purchase private health care insurance which when needed allows you to get treated in private hospitals or preferentially within NHS hospitals. Whilst here in Ontario we do not have a two-tier system as such we do have an ever growing private healthcare industry. An industry which fills in the areas not covered by OHIP. As budgets have come under pressure more and more aspects of healthcare are no longer being covered under OHIP. Ontarians are faced with having to pay the full cost of those areas not covered by OHIP. Instead of providing increased funding and resources to Provincial hospitals, clinics, doctors and nurses, the Ford government is outsourcing more and more services to for-profit corporations. Instead of using $3.1billion of tax dollars spitting in its coffers to help the healthcare system he paid an election bribe to the Ontario electorate.
She has a point. Isn’t that what Canada is all about. We are a socially minded, caring society that provides safety nets for the disadvantaged and social programs for the benefit of all. Programs like healthcare, dental care, $10 a day daycare, CPP & OAS. All funded through taxation or mandatory income deductions.
To those who say Canada is broken and who envy the USA. I say go live there and pay for all those things you take for granted here in Canada.
Taxes in most cases are a good thing. But irresponsible or wasteful spending of tax dollars is never acceptable.
Editor’s note: Our point is that this should have been part of the debate.