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Sara Landriault (Kemptville,ON), 25 days ago

This is for Jody Delaire, who regards "Child Care" aka "daycare" as the most important social issue of our time.
In a sense I agree with her except how to forward the "childcare" agenda. The social issue should go directly to parents, for full choice in childcare. A full National Daycare program will force many parents away from their children, and a full at home program will force parents our of the paid work force.
Stop playing favorites in daycare Jody and ask for equality in childcare choice like the rest of us.

Sara Landriault
President, National Family Childcare Association
www.careofthechild.com

Edward Sawdon (St. John's,NL), 1 month ago

PHARMACARE UPDATE - GOVERNMENT OF CANADA



Since March 2008, I have received several responses from Federal and Provincial politicians throughout Canada, especially Alberta Liberal Opposition Leader, Kevin Taft, and Saskatchewan Health Minister, Don McMorris



While most people say that Pharmacare is a provincial/territorial matter, our Federal Government provides Drug Coverage for certain groups of Canadians; Native Indians and Inuit, Veterans, members of the Canadian Armed Forces and R.C.M.P., Corrections Canada Prison Inmates and Refugees.



Of these groups, here are some important Federal Government Drug Benefit Policies towards Canada's Aboriginal and Inuit peoples; Military Personal in the various branches of the Canadian Armed Forces; Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Veteran Disability Pensioners.



FIRST NATIONS & INUIT PEOPLES: The Non-Insured Health Benefits Program is a Health Canada Health Benefit Program that assist First Nations Peoples and Inuit throughout Canada to obtain Prescription Drug Coverage, Dental care, Vision Care, medical supplies and equipment; short term crisis intervention; mental health counselling and medical transportation, As for Hospital and Physician services, First Nations and Inuit can gain access through the Provincial or Territorial medicare plans



VETERANS: Canadian Veteran Disability Pensioners are provided with treatment benefits, such as prescription drugs, medical supplies, and prosthetic devices that are directly related to their pensioned conditions. Treatment benefits, including drug coverage, may also be provided to Veterans for non-pensioned conditions provided that the medically related costs are not covered by a provincial/territorial plan and that the Veteran is receiving services under the Veterans Independence Program.



RCMP: Veterans Affairs Canada is responsible for offering similair medical benefits to serving and discharged members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.



Canadian Armed Forces & Veterans: Both Veterans Affairs and the Department of National Defence (DND) are responsible for meeting the medical needs, including drug coverage, for Military Personnel and Veterans living with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other Operation Stress Injuries (OSIs).



If our Federal Government can assist the First Nations and Inuit; Canadian Armed Forces members, RCMP; Veterans, Corrections Canada Prison inmates; and Refugees in getting Presciption Drug Coverage, then there is no reason why they cannot assist all Canadians in a National Pharmacare Program.



One group of Health Consumers: CPP Disability Pensioners do not receive any drug or medical supplies benefits from the Federal Government. Depending where a CPP Disability Pensioner lives in Canada or depending on a CPP Disability Pensioner's income, some get full or partial drug coverage, while others don't. Yes some have to do without. Some are not eligible for coverage under certain Provincial Drug Plans. A CPP Disability Pensioner receives Income Support for their serious and prolonged Physical and/or Mental health conditions, and they shouldn't have to use part of their fixed low pension income to pay for life essential medications and medical supplies. In my opinion, both the Federal and Provincial Governments should provide adequate medical assistance to this group of Health Consumers!



When our country's 13 Provincial & Territorial Health Ministers support the National Pharmaceutical Strategy, our Federal Government ought to commit themselves into partially funding a Castatrophic Drug Coverage, and Drug Coverage for all Canadians, especially Canadians who have either partial drug coverage or no other public or private insurance coverage!



Edward Sawdon

12 Cashin Ave., Apt 2,

St. John's, NL

A1C 2H2

Tel: 709 753-7710

Email: Sawdon_edward@yahoo.com

Jason (Toronto,Ontario), 1 month ago

Please Proof read your articles! One of the very last bastions of print-media staying relevant in this day and age of immediate, electronic information is being a superior reference for quality information (including the way in which it's presented).

For reference I cite your article from September 1st, 2008, "Motorcyclist clocked at 243 kph at Port Hope" by Mandy Martin - from the article (and note these are quoted from statements, not written by those who are quoted):

"These people push it to the limit and people think ***their*** invincible and ***their*** not."

"It’s a nice sunny day and you can’t go out there and ride ***you’re*** bike."

Niagara-on-the-Lake (Mr. Ken Hill (non-smoker),Ontario), 4 months ago

*An open letter that was emailed to all Ontario MPP's in early May, 2008. No replies!

Betrayal, Anti-Smoking Message is Like Fascism that Preys Upon Our Children

We must not look within ourselves. We may discover what we are becoming!

Moral judgement is the mirror, mirror, on the wall image, always lurking in our mind, like an alter-conscience, prepared to reveal the frightening truth, in our soul, such as the undeserved vengefulness, at any cost, wielded against smokers. Even betrayal, of the next generation, becomes palatable within self-betrayal.

This remorseless mental/emotional preying upon, our precious children, recklessly poisons their mind and spirit, under the government's pernicious slogan "health and safety."

By supporting anti-smoking, we endorse and promote Fascism, an historically proven scurvy upon humanity!

The inevitable shame, of our past actions, can still be averted, by rescinding this government agenda!

The most"dangerous smoke" comes not from cigarettes, instead from the government smoke screen to obscure from view, that the real issue is Capitalism and science versus Fascism and politicized environmentalism, not 'health and safety.'

Science and politicized environmentalism are colliding worlds, science being the height of pursuing truth, politicized environmentalism the depth of distorting truth. Anti-smoking is part of politicized environmentalism and the attempted foundation of Fascism!

Do we therefore side with Capitalism, science, Second World War troops and our allies-- honour; or do we side with Fascism, politicized environmentalism, our enemies of the Second World War-- disgrace? Thus far we blindly follow our enemies and disgrace!

From the mouth of Paul Watson, co-founder of Greenpeace, "It doesn't matter what is true; it only matters what people believe is true.....You are what the media define you to be. Greenpeace became a myth and a myth-generating machine." We deserve truth, not half-truths and propaganda!

For any high ranking government official that lack this critical knowledge, they are in their office under false pretenses. They are unprepared to govern. Their present course of anti-smoking legislations is the proof of that statement.

In the words of Psychotherapist Nathaniel Branden, "I was acutely conscious of the pressure to 'adapt' and to absorb the values of the 'tribe'---family, community and culture. It seemed to me that what was asked was the surrender of my judgement and also my conviction that my life and what I made of it was of the highest possible value. I saw my contemporaries surrendering and losing their fire. Why was growing up equated with giving up?"

Philosopher/Novelist Ayn Rand wrote, "If some demagogue were to offer us, as a guiding creed, the following tenets: that statistics should be substituted for truth, vote-counting for principles, numbers for rights, and public polls for morality--that pragmatic, range-of-the-moment expediency should be the criterion of a country's interests, and that the number of its adherents should be the criterion of an idea's truth or falsehood--that any desire of any nature whatsoever should be accepted as a valid claim, provided it is held by a sufficient number of people--that a majority may do anything it pleases to a minority--in short, gang rule and mob rule--if a demagogue were to offer it, he would not get very far. Yet all of it is contained in--and camouflaged by--the notion of 'Government by Consensus."

'Rule by Consensus,' (Rule by health care pressure group) is todays' anti-ideology in government. Appeasement of these power-lusting, health care pressure groups is of higher priority than our children and all other tax payers, voters, and citizens. The permeating emotion from 'Rule by Consensus' is demoralizing, debilitating fear instead of an optimistic view of the future.

Note this recent example, Premier Dalton McGuinty said he wouldn't entertain a ban (smoking in cars with children) because it amounts to "too much intrusion into people's private lives." The logical interpretation of this statement is that the entire anti-smoking movement eliminates smoker's individual rights, and has always been an intrusion into a smoker's family dynamic. Now, the Ontario government is prepared, in predictable flip-flop fashion, to enact such a ban.

In ignobility, many people have misaligned themself with politicized environmentalism, despite the fact that 1930's, 1940's, Germany used "politicized ecology and public health" to base its rationalizations. Are we predisposed to mistakenly mirror the historic footsteps of self-loathing mass destruction? No! Everyone has an individual mind and conscience, above party politics. Be true to them, follow your courage (truth) and dethrone your fear (fallacy). Rescind this government's shameful anti-smoking agenda.

References:

Paul Watson - Environmental Overkill, (Whatever happened to common sense) - book
Psychotherapist Nathaniel Branden, The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem - book
Ayn Rand - Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal - book

Milford (Don Ross,Ontario), 4 months ago

ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO FOCUS ON AWARENESS.

If you participated in Earth Hour in April, when many Ontarians turned off lights & appliances for 1 hour, you’ll know that your efforts reduced electricity demand in the province by 5% for that brief moment in time. Many people I speak with were amazed by that and question why we can’t do more on a regular basis to save energy. Obviously all of us can & many of us do try our best to make Earth Hour & Earth Day a habit in our homes every day of every year. It all comes down to waking up from our sleep-walk , setting priorities and becoming conscious of the collective damage that our daily routines are inflicting upon the earth.
It seems to take an organized event , special media blitz or some climate crisis in the world to shake us into awareness & action, but whatever it takes to help create a culture of conservation in our lives is a worthwhile endeavour. Ontario is holding it first ever Energy Conservation Week from May 25th to 31st so please consider taking part in some way, and go to www.energyconservationweek.ca to learn more about what you can do to participate at home & at work.
Here are just a few examples from this site of things you can do that week which may even become a new habit that you’ll carry on with for the rest of this year & your life. Just imagine how much more of your hard earned money you’ll be saving , while you’re doing your small part to save the planet?
*Instead of using your oven to reheat your food, use a toaster or microwave oven to save energy.
• Install a programmable thermostat.
• Turn your air conditioner up whenever possible to help reduce the strain on the electricity system during peak demand periods (noon to 8pm).
• Service your central air system annually.
• Whenever possible to help reduce the strain on the electricity system, use your appliances after 8 p.m., when electricity usage is not at its peak.
• Run the dishwasher only when it's full.
• Close your refrigerator door on a five dollar bill or piece of paper.
(If you can pull it out easily, you may need to replace the door gasket. Tight sealing gaskets keep cold air in and lower energy costs.)
• Do laundry only when you have a full load.
• Replace your high-use incandescent light bulbs with ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).
• Whenever you leave a room, get into the habit of turning off the lights.
• Motion sensors are ideal for rooms where you may forget to turn off the lights.
• Maximize the amount of natural daylight.
• Install dimmer switches and use dimmable CFLs.
• Install programmable timers or motion sensors on interior and exterior lights.
• Maintain your heating and central air conditioning year round. A properly running furnace and air conditioner will save energy.
• Clean or replace furnace filters monthly.
• Shade south- and west-facing windows with awnings, solar screens, reflective window film or leaf bearing trees.
• Rinse dishes in a tub of clean water instead of under hot running water.
Don Ross……Milford, Ontario

Cobourg (Clive Naismith,Ontario), 5 months ago

The Editor.

I read with interest your editorial and the Letter by Roy Cowan of Port Hope. Suggesting that Canadians should boycott Mexico by you and several members of Parliament is irresponsible.

For over 17 years my wife and I spent the winter months in Mexico. In 1990 we purchased a house in a small village 10 kilometers north of San Miguel de Allende. We stayed there until 2002. We did not require a security system like we had in our house in Mississauga nor did we have any problems in the 12 years we were there. We drove down and back each year without any problems except the latter years when the government put in more restrictive entry requirements and also eliminated the mordita (money) that allowed you quick entry. It was interesting that some North Americans were upset that they could not longer gain quick entry by bribing the Border Custom personnel.

My wife learned Spanish before we went so that we could communicate with the people in their language. What we found is that many Mexicans were bilingual in Spanish and English and so for many North Americans in Mexico it was easy to get around.

We found the people of Mexico very accommodating and friendly. There is poverty to a larger degree than here in Canada and that is why you find so many street beggars, but they don't assault you as they sometimes do in Toronto.

Over the years we met and became friends with a number of Mexican families and enjoyed learning their culture. We spent many Christmas periods with a family in Mexico City and were treated like members of their family.

We found the land of Mexico very interesting. In one days travel you could pass through Mountains, desert, tropical areas before reaching either coast.

In Mexico , like any other country, if you break the law or act in a stupid manner you will find yourself in trouble. Unfortunately like France they do work on the system of Guilty until proven Innocent . When I read or hear people express their distaste for Mexico (sometimes without even having being there) I think it very unfair. It’s even more disturbing when it is done for political reasons only. Ms Martin may be innocent but as we find here in Canada some people are charged, convicted and many years later found to be innocent. The circumstances surrounding her arrest have never been made clear but for the liberals of our society, who think no one should be charged with an offence as it was probable the fault of society, we are now is the process of trying to change the customs of a sovereign country to fit our own - sounds a bit American to me.