We are sick and dying because:

 

We are sick and dying because:

I read a letter from my member of parliament and it left me speechless. I am not used to agreeing with the party he represents, but here it is, black on white. We are a rich advanced country, why do we not make our own vaccines, tests, and all the necessary safety equipment. Why did we get caught in a situation where we were unprepared for a pandemic when we know pandemics occur regularly with severe spread every hundred years or so?

Well, I can try to explain with the limited information at my disposal. Our problem is stretched over a much longer time than one government. It is spread over Federal governments, provincial governments, and even corporations. I can summarize it by saying it is our idea that Austerity is the answer for everything and our false belief that if we help big corporations prosper without control, they will solve all of our problems. You see, big corporations saw no need to prepare Canada for a pandemic, and many found ways to benefit from it when it happened. Others spend a lot of energy demanding that the government will act “socialist” and bail them out using tax money.

Preparing a country for potential disasters is more like buying insurance, and it costs money. You must have civil servants in charge of it, stock of materials, trained staff, built and equipped infrastructure and contingency plans. Countries that do weather the storm and those who don’t will suffer as we do, or even worst as the US and Brazil are right now. You will spend a lot more if you are not prepared. It is similar to people who choose not to invest in winter tires. You save a little, but you pay big if an accident happens.

For many years now, government after government, of both main political stripes have been reducing our preparedness in a big way. Can anyone tell me what is the average time right now for an ambulance to reach me here in Blairmore? If I am suffering from a stroke, how long will I be on the road before I reach the proper hospital equipment to help me? Those are decisions governments, not health boards make. (In Calgary, it used to be 7 to 9 minutes.)

Every government attempts to be more efficient than those before, and they always promise not to reduce services. Good idea, but never happens.

I became convinced that the provincial government was against universal health care in 1998 when I witnessed Ralph Klein’s attempt to significantly reduce our care by imploding the only downtown hospital in Calgary. He had a long fight with the health providers trying to make them work for less and showed that he was boss by demolishing the fully-functioning General Hospital. He sold the land for high-end condominiums. Soon after waiting times in Emergency Departments became impossible, Private clinics appeared and many services like hospital food and cleaning were privatized. It didn’t cost less, but the service now was provided mostly by new immigrants who often worked two jobs to make ends meet. The good jobs were gone.

Seniors assisted living facilities faired the same. Amongst other things, what used to be private rooms now became shared accommodations, and medium-priced homes were no longer available. It was either you can afford the rich places or else. In the rural areas, couples were split up when they needed different levels of care.

Higher learning institutions were no longer built, and many spaces that would have provided education for middle-class students now were marketed to students from other countries. The new rich class from Communist China capitalized and filled spaces up. (I don’t blame the Chinese.) Graduates from our excellent institutions are quickly gobbled up by other countries while we have a shortage of professionals. We know it since they come here on vacation.

I think we should counter the Brain Drain with our own measures. First, we should finance government-owned institutions for advanced science and technology. Students who pass the tests should study free of charge and only pay back the cost of education if they leave. Investing in our youth, health and education are insurance for a bright future.

Canada should be a place so great to live in that the lure of higher income will not convince most people to leave. You see it in Northern European countries. We can afford it if we don’t give our money away to People who come here offering us temporary jobs to serve their interests (i.e. Build pipelines) and enrich them with our resources.

I don’t care if Canadians are free to invest in publicly owned companies that make them money. I only care about Canadians who are contributing to the well-being of all Canadians. I would like to see us lead the world by legislating that politicians who lie in campaigns or do not do the work we hire them to do will be taken to task. Remove their pensions and hold public investigations. If a person is not interested in making sure that our money is wisely applied for our benefit, there should be some price to pay. Being a leader involves using all you have to introduce and supervise measures that will make your country great.

I can’t stand a system where hundreds of so-called representatives are meeting just to end all disputes by voting as they are told on party lines. We take our brightest and shut them up, letting the Prime Minister rule like a king. The leader of the opposition is a lower king keeping his valuable MLAs muzzled in the same manner, and the voting public is never heard.

It is our governing system that is responsible for our suffering and now dying from a perfectly predictable pandemic.

Here is a link to my blog: https://thesimpleravenspost.blogspot.ca/  Feel free to check other articles and comment.