On October 19th, Canadians will choose who will lead this this country going forward. Assuming there’s a majority, a rather large assumption given current polls, Canadians will have to live with their decision for four years. Irrespective of the choice Canadians make the world will not come to an end the day after the election. The leaders of the three major parties would try to have believe otherwise, but the truth is there is very little truth in politics, and even less so during a campaign.

I was eligible to vote for the first time in 1978, and since then I have never missed the right to exercise my franchise. I never understand when people say, “What’s the point of voting, it’s not going to make any difference”. To me the point is that we have the right to vote, and that never should be taken for granted. To illustrate how precious the right is; take a moment to take stock of the oppression and brutal disregard for basic human rights around the world today. In parts of the world the oppressors will allow access to Facebook, but allowing an election which will determine who the leader of their country will be?  Well, that’s just a notion too far. Technological advancement is a by-product of society’s enlightenment, and nothing contributes to that more than the simple act of marking an X on a ballot. 

I do understand why voter cynicism and apathy exists. We all know, or least came to expect that politicians are less than truthful. They will say whatever is necessary to get a vote. Therefore, many voters to decide who to vote for based on whom they dislike the least. I must confess, (more…)

For the past week I’ve been on the road speaking at the MA (Mortgage Architects) Conference. The conference started in Toronto, followed a few days later with back-to-back-to back stops in Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary. That can be a bit of a grind given that you’re trying to deliver same energy and passion each time you’re presenting on the stage, and when meeting people that are attending the conference. By the time the fourth presentation rolls around you have to fight the autopilot mode. It doesn’t matter if there are three hundred people in the room or thirty people. I signed up for this; so I have a responsibility to trek on and do the best I can. I can live with the audience not being enamored with the content of the presentation, but it would bother me to no end if someone in the audience thought I just mailed it in.

I needed to catch my second wind on the “tour”, and I received it from the most unusual source. I just finished my presentation in Vancouver, actually it was in Surrey BC, and I quickly had to go back to my room, pack and check out.  I entered the elevator on the 20^th floor, and there were two plain clothed policemen in the elevator giving me the once over. Badge and guns were visible, as well as their ear pieces and cords tucked into the collars of their shirts. A number of things started to race through my mind. Firstly, I was in Surrey – and this was probably normal. I’m just kidding. I lived in Vancouver for eight years, and while living there I picked up some snooty habits – like poking fun at Surrey; my apologies. For a second I thought the cops noticed my fashion faux pas that morning and that’s why they were scoping me out. If they did notice, they’re good.  I was wearing an Armani suit, a custom tailored dress shirt, personally monogrammed, a tie and pocket handkerchief that popped, topped off with a pair of Louis Vuitton dress shoes. Maybe they noticed that I wasn’t wearing cufflinks, forgot to pack the damn things, and instead I had to use paper clips to hold the French Cuffs together. As soon as my moment of narcissism passed, I realized why they were checking me out. There in the corner of the elevator, strategically standing behind the police was the leader of the NDP (New Democratic Party) Thomas Mulcair. (more…)

I’ve been a little tardy with my posts recently. No earth shattering reason why other than life events and other priorities taking precedent. For example, last week I spent a fair bit of time contemplating the Canadian Health Care system. I did all this “deep” thinking while visiting the hospital and spending countless hours in an emergency room. I wasn’t the patient, my brother Tom was. Here’s the Reader’s Digest version.

"The only way the system will change is if we, the majority of Canadians, force the politicians into doing something."

My brother started experiencing sharp stomach pains early last week. My brother has a high threshold for pain so when he mentioned that he was experiencing pain my radar went off immediately. The next day the pain persisted and became more pronounced. I told him to go to emergency but he said: “I’m going to give it another day because I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. I’m sure it will be better tomorrow.” Tomorrow came and so did more pain. Off to the doctor he went. His family physician ordered an ultrasound, and upon review of the results, the doctor’s diagnosis was that the pain was probably caused by gas. He prescribed what amounts to nothing more than antacids. A few hours later I called my brother to see how he’s doing and he answered “not well.” I told him I didn’t give a damn what his doctor said, we had to get him to emergency immediately. He agreed and his wife took him to the hospital.

My brother got to emergency at 5:30pm and after a few hours the doctor treating him ordered another ultrasound. At midnight the doctor notified my brother that he wasn’t going anywhere. His appendix had ruptured and surgery would be required. We’re still not sure how his family physician mistook gas for a ruptured appendix, but needless to say my brother will not require his services ever again.

I couldn’t make it to the emergency room until 9:30pm that evening. To see my brother sitting there, I.V. attached to him, resting his head on the wall in an attempt to get relief, just killed me. I’m wired to fix things and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do. I was sitting next to my brother when the doctor came at midnight to tell him he wasn’t going anywhere because his appendix would have to be removed. He apologized and said he might have to sit in the waiting room until the morning because there weren’t any beds available. My mind started to race and I thought I would go home, get a reclining lawn chair from my backyard and set up a makeshift bed so he could get some comfort. To everyone’s relief a nurse came forward and said that she had a solution, bless her heart. She found a gurney for him to lay down on in one of the examination rooms.

Once my brother was comfortable, due in large part to the morphine drip, I could retreat to my own thoughts. Of all the voices in my head, the loudest one was saying, “how can a country with a standard of living such as ours, reduce health care to this?” To be absolutely clear, our doctors, nurses, technicians, support staff etc., do an amazing job. It’s the strain and the weight of the system that leaves medical practitioners no choice but to keep patients waiting hours for treatment and in some cases, left sitting in hallways to wait for a bed to become available. The responsibility for the state of our health care system today falls squarely on the shoulder of our policy makers. Politicians in our country do not have the courage to confront the sacred cow, better known as universal health care.

For the record (in the event I decide to enter into politics one day and someone claims that I once said that the sick should be left to die on the sidewalk because they couldn’t afford health care) I believe every Canadian has a fundamental right to health care, irrespective of economic standing. But I also believe it is irresponsible to continue on a path that will ultimately lead to a poorer standard of health care and ultimately bankrupt the system. It’s time for us to have an honest dialogue and dismiss those who always invoke the class warfare argument when this subject is broached.

Allowing for a multi-tiered health care system does not mean that the poor and indigent would not have free access to health care. It would mean that there would be different ways to distribute health care, thus relieving some of the pressure on government funded health care. A user pay system or some form of privatization will have to be a part of the solution. By the way, it’s creeping into our system already. For example, there are two private health care facilities within walking distance of my office. I know this because I’m a member of one. I pay an annual fee and that accords me the right to access a doctor, nutritionist, physiotherapist etc. I had to join because when I moved back to Toronto from Vancouver, I had a hard time finding a family doctor. Why? Offices were not taking new patients. So much for universal health care.

I’ll gladly pay, on top of what I already pay through taxes, for the ability to see a doctor. Being a member of a private health care facility does not mean I get bumped up in the queue for tests. In the last two years I needed to have an MRI and C-SCAN and in both cases the wait time was between 4 to 6 weeks. At my request the private facility arranged for the tests to be done in Buffalo, New York, at a cost of approximately $250 per test. I had the tests done within 48 hours. I would have gladly paid that sum for the ability to have the test done in my own country. Maybe I’m missing something but I think private clinics would lessen the burden on the government system, thus increasing the efficiency of care.

Our multi-tiered system is also made obvious when we look at how athletes receive treatment. Why is it the case that if I’m a professional hockey player in this country and I hurt my knee on a Saturday night, an MRI is done on Sunday, and the surgery is on Monday? Could the teams be paying for it directly? I wonder. Should we believe that MP’s, Cabinet Ministers, and the PM himself would wait 4 to 6 weeks for an MRI, or wait in the emergency room for 8 hours? Once again, just wondering.

The only way the system will change is if we, the majority of Canadians, force the politicians into doing something. A politician has two primary goals: getting elected and then getting re-elected. Up until now, doing nothing about the health care systems hasn’t cost them votes. There will be no change unless that changes.

Back to my brother, he’s recovering and doing well. Not back to normal but getting close. One thing about this ordeal is we learned about our father’s brush with appendicitis. It happened back in 1966. One night my dad was in excruciating pain. My mom called their family physician, in the evening no less, and the doctor did what doctors did at that time. The doctor made a house-call, took one look at the condition my dad was in and proceeded to escort him to his own car and he drove my dad to the hospital. My dad was operated on within an hour of arrival.

Until next time

Cheers

Those who live in Toronto can enjoy a taste of Greece by visiting Greek Town.  A walk along Danforth Ave can cause weight gain in a matter of minutes.  The Danforth is the place to go if your palate desires Greek cuisine, washed down with some Ouzo, and for good measure, broken plates.  For those who live in Toronto, and would like full Greek experience, they should visit Queens Park.

The Drummond report was released last week, and based on his recommendations one has to wonder if the governing Liberals didn’t take their cue from the Greek Government. (more…)

That seems to be the reaction for  voters in Ontario.   There’s a provincial election on October 6, and I can’t recall an election where there’s been so little chatter, buzz, debate or general interest.  Sure, the media is doing its part but the voters don’t seem to care.  My conclusions are not based on any data or polling results.  My hypotheses is based on simple interaction with co-workers, neighbors, friends and family.  No one really seems to care or is that interested. (more…)