Stephen Harper's Sneaky Assault on Medicare

It may seem like just another federal-provincial disagreement, another argument in a fractious country.

But there are very good reasons the premiers are united in opposing Stephen Harper's job training plan. 

For not only were they not consulted. Not only is the Con regime clawing back money from provincial programs. Not only is it spending millions on advertising claiming credit for a program that doesn't exist.

It's also, as I have pointed out before, a sneaky attack on the future of medicare.

And to understand that all you need to do is read this story.

An internal document suggests Ottawa is preparing to push ahead with key features of its controversial skills-training initiative, despite provincial opposition and calls for flexibility.

For not only does it make it clear that the process is a sham. One that would have provinces pay to train its young workers to work in the oil fields of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

The opposition NDP has accused the government of adopting a "divide and conquer" strategy, quoting a media report that the document was sent to a few western provinces, likely to be sympathetic, but not others.

Not only is the whole idea flawed.

The objective of the initiative is to match training with available jobs by offering a grant of up to $15,000 to employers for training for each employee, with the cost shared equally between Ottawa, the province or territory, and the employer.

When employers have little interest in training Canadians because they can get an abundant supply of cheaper foreign workers.

It's also, a blatant money grab that would make the cash strapped provinces even poorer.

Provinces are also balking at Ottawa forcing them to put up $300 million from their own budgets while it was also withdrawing $300 million in transfers from existing training programs — a double cash whammy for fiscally challenged provinces.

And at a time when the Cons are offloading other programs onto the backs of the provinces, like the costs of their crazed war on crime. Even though the crime rate is going down.

At a time when the Con regime is preparing to slash health transfers to the provinces, even as they prepare to deal with the demands of an aging population...



The whole idea is nothing more than a stealthy plan to make the provinces too poor to afford medicare, force them to privatize even more services, and satisfy the demands of groups like this one.

That are springing up everywhere, and hovering over Ottawa like vultures.

Fortunately they can't fool me eh? I know too much about medicare. I get my information from real Canadian groups like this one.

And I know that Stephen Harper has been planning to cripple our medicare system from the day he was first elected with the support of the National Citizens Coalition, a group that was founded to DESTROY it. And that Harper headed for four years.



Because it represents the kinder, gentler values of a Canada he hates so much.

But since he knows he can't attack it directly, he is now attacking it through the back door. Through neglect or disguised assault.

When the Harper government says it is time to wind down the Health Council of Canada, it is saying in effect, it is time to wind down national medicare.

And what makes his latest move even more galling is that not only would his phony job training program hurt the provinces, he would force them to get down on bended knee and thank him.

The offer also makes one clear demand of the provinces and territories — that they give the federal government credit for the program once it is in place. "P/Ts will be expected to ... publicly acknowledge the Government of Canada's contribution, including the Canada Job Grant."

Can you believe it eh? Could the Cons be more disgusting? Could their crazed leader be more monstrous?

Oh well, stay tuned, I'll be watching this one closely, and along with all those who love our medicare system, and believe it's a big part of what makes us Canadians, I'll be fighting the Cons on this one like I've never fought them before.

You know, a few weeks ago I was talking to an old guy who was about to have a big operation, when he suddenly whispered: "I hope I don't have to pay for anything because I have no money."

And I was sooooo happy and sooooo proud to be able to say: "Don't worry about a thing my friend, this is STILL Canada."

Let's keep it that way eh?

Please, now more than ever, organize, unite, defeat this foul Con regime.

Before it destroys everything we love.

Before he kills our country...



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