Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 22, 2001, Winnipeg, Manitoba Focus a15 2001 Harris stirred up financial crises Toronto Ontario Premier Mike Harriss Ontario govern by shelving plans to amalgamate the cities surrounding has tacitly admitted that its policy of Urban amalgamation was a other developments How serious the financial crises created by the government actually the government has reneged on promises to finance the transitional costs of amalgamation in Hamilton and it has to refused to help Toronto out of its almost annual budget one reason for this May be that the finances of the provincial government Are not in As Good a shape As they the gov Antici Pating Revenue shortfalls because of an Economy showing signs of is already sending warnings of further cuts in education and health in Ontario we live by the automobile and also die by in its dealings with in Par the government has pointed to the cites huge budget Toronto Bud get is apparently larger than Vancou Ottawa and combined and demanded cuts be the response of mayor Mel Lastman was one of his Sil he proposed to Cut Magazine sub close a zoo for the Winter and pull one or two rabbits out of his sleeve or these rabbits would be to finally get some Money from the province because in caused the shortfall in Over the the City has devel oped some very impressive social it Over constructed an expensive approach to a modern flexible education al that system is now being torn apart by rigid provincial the City also devel oped a recreation system and Environ mental infrastructure and acted to maintain vibrant one can argue How Well these amenities stacked up with other Urban but now this is hardly the Point because the neoconservative ideology of the government demands an end to these foolish when the province says everyone knows what it on it was reported that the provincial government was about to Force the City of Toronto to cancel its contract to ship its garbage to a Pri vate Landfill site in Michigan and reroute it to an abandoned mine in Kirkland just a week the City had once and rejected the Adams mine As a Landfill the very next John Engler of Michigan sent a letter to mayor Lastman sympathizing with the cites financial the governor suggested Toronto reconsider its plan to Send More of its garbage to it would be he for Toron to to ship its garbage to the Adams mine in Kirkland Lake and it would save Ontario almost 135 of coincidentally the mayors of All the cities Between Toronto and Detroit came As a delegation to Toronto demanding the City Stop shipping its garbage along their Toronto has been shipping garbage to Michigan for a few last the City began shipping another tonnes and by 2003 the City plans to Send much we were led to believe that Michigan welcomed the there is no record of Engler Ever previously being concerned about Ontario Job loss or either knowing or worrying the cites the cities along the Way had never previously the letter from Engler in written by the premiers office and was sent As a Friendly gesture toward anglers Friend Mike it was part of a plan to show that Cost effectiveness and Good neighbourliness supported use of the Harris has never made a secret of his support for the shipment of the garbage he even asked the mayor of Kirkland Lake to stir things moving the garbage would mean possible salvation for the struggling Ontario Northland it would provide some economic support for Kirkland far from solving Toronto financial Harris is muscling Toronto to Benefit Harriss own political base in Northern the neoconservative ideology of the government demands an end to these foolish profit is the antidote to ailing healthcare deliver the debate whether markets or Central plan ners Are better at delivering the goods was largely settled with the collapse of the soviet Union in the consumer reigns when com Peting suppliers Battle to sell their products to willing the ability to choose provides a powerful customer Sanction against mediocrity and High can you imagine what the pizza business would be like if the government ran it As a nonprofit monopoly like medicare Dominos pizza delivers in 30 minutes or its yours but that would turn if it didst arrive write the Winnipeg regional pizza authority or talk to your politician and Well see what we can do for pizzas produced in a Market of competing for prof it companies Are bet Ter made and arrive on in our Alice in wonderland healthcare our nip government has declared profit the essential marketplace ingredient that rewards pro Ducer excellence and innovation verboten in the fear and loathing the word invokes in our governing party encapsulates All that gone wrong with the without the Competition for rewards but it carries on in ways that Are less direct and much less political priorities guide the resources through a Maze of government facilities and organized provider groups with a Strong interest in maintaining the that despite much new weve seen no reduction in waiting times for a Range of crucial to a distressing the Money we spend the most per capita in Canada goes to the winners of a political pingpong not to Ordinary raging debate a debate is raging Over whether the proposed establishment of a Small for profit clinic by a medical entrepreneur would harm our troubled healthcare Mark who operates the false Creek surgical Centre in wants to expand his operation to pre there Are howls about but wait a its Sweden nation we should be looking godless new consumer option is tantalizingly close to whats now taking Root in the old est Cradle of social after discovering that More Money is not the Stockholm regional government started taking itself out of the business of being the frontline provider of health care it allowed profit making often employee owned healthcare providers to enter the Field and began buying ser vices from the key component of Public remains but introducing Demon profit made productivity with savings shared by the staff and the Public nurses letters to the editor healthcare facilities would be More efficient if run on a for profit Rick Star and doctors salaries have risen new primary care doctors make roughly a meaning that the least skilled of them easily earn much More Money than their senior managers in the swedish healthcare particularly the appreciate the merits of a for profit Model and promote the statistics on swedish waiting lists confirm the usefulness of allowing authorities in Stockholm have reduced delays by two compare the waiting lists Between where Competition and profit guide ser with areas of the country which run with the old monopoly hear surgery patients wait two weeks in the 1525 elsewhere Stock Holms hip replacement wait is three10 weeks 4550 outside six weeks wait in Stockholm by allowing private Competition within the Public funding Stockholm medical authorities reduced costs for lab and xray services by 50 per for nursing Homes by 30 per cent and for ambulances by 15 per even As they increased the Quality of the private doctors perform ing the same procedures As their Public counter parts Are Billing 1040 per cent the 1998 privatization of Stockholm Georges Hospital has been so successful that another major Public facility is up for the company that now runs it has increased its the number of services performed against by 30 per it makes but the changes it has made to improve service and shorten waiting lists would not have been possible the Stockholm Model of Public finance and competitive production would be a Start to reforming a critical Public the germans Are moving to privatize 90 per cent of their the British labour government is pushing Forward with Public private management of for profit likewise which uses a system of med ical savings accounts to guarantee Premium service and is moving completely towards for profit hospitals because they Are More customer current standards in the Island state dictate that nobody Waits More than 15 minutes for medical a clinic or Hospital that fails to meet its patients needs in a timely Way runs the risk of losing its in All so despised by those in Thrall to the old plays a key profit is not the Poison Pill that will kill its the key ingredient in a customer based Model that rewards excellence and More Blunt it is the antidote to the ideological obsessions now afflicting Peter Holle is president of the Frontier Centre for Public o see act now to keep experienced nurses As a registered nurse in i see firsthand the acts being done to entice nurses to stay or come to win these include the offers of relocation repayment of As Well As Over nurses Are slated to retire at i fail to see any efforts being made to encourage these nurses to postpone their licensed practical nurses lpns Are being forced to take a physical assess ment course before the end of the spending months in a classroom and a few Hundred if they do not take this they will not be Able to obtain their Many of these lpns Are choosing not to take the therefore adding to our the majority of these lpns have years of experience and already have excellent assessment skills they Only Lack the i recommend extending the requirement for the physical assessment for another five offering bonuses to those who elect to we Are at risk to lose some of our most experienced and highly skilled if Pur government is serious in helping the nursing shortage they must act because it is now or Carmel Barnes Winnipeg i Trust my life with skydiving coach i read with dismay your reports of judge Ronald Meyers vilification of Rob Hutch Hutchinson in his inquest report arising out of the tragic skydiving death at the Winnipeg skydiving i am a skydiving student of Hutch who cannot characterize our relationship As anything More than a recreational acquaint he is my coach a Man trying to grow a Small aware that accidents of any severity Are bad if his vested inter est As a businessman lends itself to a safer environment where these things Are less Likely to Hutch and the people with whom is i a surrounds himself Are very serious about what they very serious about the safety of their students and fellow enthusiasts and they run a tight since the and with full knowledge of i have personally strapped myself to Hutch Sev eral times to share his one Parachute in tandem jumps trusting him completely with my life in the As i will again in the it has nothing to do with Blind Faith or hero Wor ship As the judge but rather a Trust borne out of being around this Guy As he Hes a Kelly Parker Winnipeg deadly mistakes can happen regarding the inquest report on the death of Randy As reported in the Winnipeg free press on judge Ronald Meyers condemns the Winnipeg skydiving Centre and its instructors As the perpetrators of Randy he judges that the club treats Canadian sport Para association regulations As a nuisance to be if Steps Arent taken to safeguard this judge Meyers that skydiving be banned and limited to the Mili the skydiving Community mourns an Accident resulting in serious injury or but it is accepted that this is a dangerous As is bobsled Ding or downhill skiing even at figure and we know that lapses in judgment can kill at one time or everyone will make an error in whatever he does that could cause serious injury or Given the right some of judge Meyers recommended safety rules Are already safety rules of either the Canadian sport parachuting association or transport some have been under consideration for regarding Bene fits or some of his suggestions Are not and regardless of All the existing or future some people will sometimes Bend or break a Rule in order to touch the limits of an extreme and that lapse will cause Seri Ous injury or Dave Serle Brandon Only sure thing left will be taxes ban reason May cause dont extradite reason May cause Register and ban Rea son May cause Why Doest the supreme court just have done with it Tell the Federal government to dispense with All per Sonal and ban All extreme sports and any other activities that May result in then the Only sure thing left in this country of ours is taxes Kronhofman Winnipeg scam Doest reflect nigerian values the attention of the nigerian association of Manitoba has been drawn to the in this of letters originating from Nigeria and purporting to enrich their recipients by siphoning Oil Money out of that country we of the nigerian association of and indeed All nigerian nationals All Over View such letters with serious con Cern and unequivocal the authors of these letters want the names and Bank accounts of their unsuspecting they to draw these foreigners into protracted contract negotiations during which the latter will be required to pay a sort of Down pay ment or Advance fees in anticipation of the fat in some the scam perpetrators even attempt to operate their correspondents Bank information on How to con duct legitimate business in Nigeria is available online at in the nigerian association of Manitoba wishes to reiterate that nigerians Are hardworking and honest people who go about their duties with the highest sense of Onyebuchi nigerian association of Manitoba Winnipeg doonesbury by Garry Trudeau Ous and i whats push ;