Sunday, January 15, 2012

Premiers Are Lost Little Kittens.

On the issue of health care, the Premiers have been given a blank slate by the federal government. They have been left confused without direction from the feds.

They do not seem to understand that health care is a provincial responsibility. They are refusing to take that responsibility and own it. They want the federal government to guide them.

Personally, I think the Premiers were happy to have the federal government intrude on their domain because they could then pretend it was the feds that were keeping provinces from providing good health care to Canadians. Now, they have to own it!

OTTAWA - Canada's premiers will spend the next two days trying to find a common front to present to Ottawa over health care.
Provincial and territorial leaders are in Victoria, B.C. for 36 hours of strategizing in the wake of the federal government's unilateral move to lay out the health funding framework.
But the premiers are divided along broad east-west lines over whether they like the deal, with provinces such as Ontario balking at the arrangement.
In December, Ottawa short-circuited what were expected to be lengthy negotiations over health transfers to the provinces by dictating the terms - transfers would continue to grow by 6% annually until 2017. They would then be tied to economic growth including inflation, likely around 4%.
"That completely changed the dynamic," said the University of Ottawa's Patrick Fafard, noting the provinces, instead of uniting over squeezing extra cash from Ottawa, now have to confront more illusive targets.
The provinces are so used to whining to the feds that they are in shock that they have been given the health care money without any strings attached. This makes them responsible for their own health care spending, and it scares them because they will have no-one to blame but themselves for longer wait times, no family doctors, etc.

Grow some balls Premiers, you wanted the job, now solve your own provinces problems, without crying to the feds for everything. Your whining grates on my nerves, and makes you look like lost little kittens.

4 comments:

wilson said...

Whiners! The have-nots get equalization to shore up the differences in the regions.

If these Premiers need Big Daddy to tell them how to spend the healthcare funding,
they should be fired.
Hire someone who has a clue.

Roy Elsworth said...

we may as well not have premires then my as well let our pm run the country and the provinces. if there gonna have that additude. unlike the liberal PM this one beleives in letting the provinces be creative.

cantuc said...

I wonder how much of Redfords visit to Charest was spent on discussing how to steer the other premiers into this direction . I mean , theres a few of them owe big uniuns to keep getting elected . She didn't go there to talk about the weather , eh .

JR said...

What a pathetic lot! Especially that weasel Jean Charest.

All federal health funding to the provinces should be completely cut off. If, as they claim, they are worried about some provinces being 'disadvantaged' let the provinces figure out how to 'share the wealth' directly - and see how that sits with their electorates.