All the things that Layton says to excuse himself are actually good arguments for private health care.
Layton had hernia surgery at the Shouldice Hospital, a private facility in the Toronto suburb of Thornhill, while he was serving as a Toronto city councillor.
The NDP leader said he wasn't aware the clinic was private when he went for his surgery in the mid-1990s.
"It's just part of the system,'' Layton said in an interview. "The doctor says, `Go there.' You pay with your (Ontario health) card. It never occurred to me (it was) anything other than medicare, which it is."
[That's exactly the point Jack, private health care is not the bogeyman you make it out to be]
"I can tell you now if my doctor ever refers me anywhere, I'll ask him that question. It never occurred to me at the time, it wasn't a controversy at the time. It wasn't something on one's mind.''
Layton stressed that the Shouldice facility is a not-for-profit facility that has been part of the Ontario medical system for decades.
[It's not for profit, but it's private, and you've promised to ban them or at least prevent public money going to them for services, as was the case with your surgery]
Earlier in the campaign, Layton criticized Conservative Leader Stephen Harper who said he would send a loved one to a private clinic if it would ease their pain.
Layton pointed to family illnesses, such as his wife Olivia Chow's cancer treatment and his own attack of appendicitis, as instances where he has had to make the choice to support the public system. He didn't mention his hernia operation.
[Um, Jack, the best way to "support" the public health system is to not use it. It's not like our over-crowded public hospitals are screaming for more patients.]
10 comments:
Yes, the NDP are hypocrites on a slew of files.
You'll also remember when the NDP came out against the influence of "corporate money" in politics, and them promptly accepted millions in donations and loans from the largest unions in Canada.
Karl Marx must be turning over in his grave.
You forgot another quote... "This was no secret, believe me," he said. "Heck, [Toronto] Mayor [Mel] Lastman came to visit me there. Every family I knew, every middle-aged man that ever ran into a hernia, went to Shouldice. It's part of the system."
Go to the Shouldice website, http://www.shouldice.com/
It appears as if it that hospital is specifically designed to treat hernias...
Big deal, it was probably in his best interest to follow his doctor's orders.
As a 2 time veteran of the clinic, you would have to have the IQ of an moron not to realize the Shouldice Clinic was not a private clinic....which explains why Layton maybe was unaware of its status!
Seriously, in their presentation to all patients, they point this out very clearly.
What an utter hypocrate.
What a dumbass. Not for using private care - but for ever opposing it. The fact that this clinic has operated on so many people over the years demonstrates that private involvement not only works, but is usually better.
All the rhetoric becomes softer when a person's own health is concerned.
I've never heard of any ordinary person ever encountering a politician in a waiting room.
I'm willing to give Harper a chance to make improvements in the system.
I recently had hernia surgery under the Canadian Health System.
I had looked into Shouldice and knew that it was a private Clinic and would have preferred it but distance was the considering factor. To suggest by Layton that he did'nt know is ludicrous. If he is that stupid we don't need him as a leader.
Mr. Layton reminds us that there were no feminists on the deck of the Titanic.
Is Stephen Harper the only major leader who hasn't used Private Health services?
Everyone who opposes private health care has used it and the one who favours it hasn't....
The NDP voter will now think Layton is a big man for admitting his "mistake". I hope the rest of the country see's this stupidity for what it is.
Layton would jeopardize his own health to stay in the strictly "public" system in the future? If you believe this, you really must be an idiot. He knew Shouldice was a private facility, no one within 50 miles of Toronto has not heard of the Shouldice Clinic and once you drive into the place, it is apparent that it is a private facility. Not only that, but they TELL you when you are getting work down there the nature of the clinic. Layton is a lying leftie, just like most who would love to get their hands on our money to reward their political base, the public sector unions who have the most to lose by a private system having any traction at all.
We have two-tier health care now, that is the dirty little secret. What we have to do now is give the taxpayer some choice in how and what is accessed in this system.
At least we know that this clown and his pack of perfumed, pompous nazi's in make up will never form a government.
Why anyone in their right mind would ever vote for this third rate huckster I'll never know.
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