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Premier Doug Ford's Ontario


Issues w/Ford aside. I get the notion of complying w/the law.......

But I do wonder if the law's not an ass.

That is to say, I'm not at all sure why draft legislation should be confidential.

There are thing governments need to keep a tight lid on......for one reason or another.........but surely a bill is destined to become public and will certainly impact the public...........its not a personnel issue, a national security issue, nor should it be one of partisan interest.

I think I would like to see the onus on secrecy in the provincial and federal governments reversed.

Instead of things being secret unless otherwise directed.............

They should be public, unless otherwise directed, w/the latter limited to certain matters/reasons spelled out in law.
 
Issues w/Ford aside. I get the notion of complying w/the law.......

But I do wonder if the law's not an ass.

That is to say, I'm not at all sure why draft legislation should be confidential.

There are thing governments need to keep a tight lid on......for one reason or another.........but surely a bill is destined to become public and will certainly impact the public...........its not a personnel issue, a national security issue, nor should it be one of partisan interest.

I think I would like to see the onus on secrecy in the provincial and federal governments reversed.

Instead of things being secret unless otherwise directed.............

They should be public, unless otherwise directed, w/the latter limited to certain matters/reasons spelled out in law.

In one sense, I get what you are saying, but having the entire law-making process conducted in a glass house is unrealistic. Many of us have probably written policy or procedures before. While possibly not having the same gravitas as a piece of legislation, they might have the same relative impact of the particular organization, and things in draft can go through many iterations before an acceptable final version is reached. In the early stages, staffers, lawyers and policy wonks joust in their efforts to come up with a solution to the direction given to them.

In addition, many bills can have a significant business and market impact that can cause unnecessary chaos and/or uncertainty as it bounces through the drafting process.

The passing of legislation follows a process that involved 'readings' and committee hearings. The debate should be limited to what the government presents to the public, not the rough notes versions. We would hate to have a term paper or thesis judged on an early draft.

To be clear, I'm in no way defending the subject draft bill; I haven't really paid much attention to it. Based solely on my observations of this Government to date, I would suspicious as heck. Seeking public comment, hiring an 'expert facilitator' plus having even a draft version of legislation all done up at the same time? Hmmmm.

As for the 'leaker', if it is true, then they lived by the sword; they breached their terms of employment. If some poor staffer is being scapegoated for a deliberate government trial balloon 'leak', then that would be beyond contemptible. Public servants are not political cannon fodder..
 
I am not sure what that draft legislation says, but my brother tells me he has written regulations before. He writes several versions as different ways of accomplishing a goal. He's a subject expert, so the legal language is not there yet, its more aspirational language. It gets distributed to all internal divisions and offices. Based on the comments, one method is chosen. This gets modified based on comments and then its sent to Legal. After legal prepares a more formal draft, it again gets circulated internally. This version is what gets distributed to some stakeholders to ensure the general concepts are agreeable. After this, there is a mandatory review period when the actual document goes to the public.
 
With regard to healthcare the two-tier term is also mind numbing.

Our healthcare system isn’t single-tier it’s multi-tier. Your coverage and outcomes are different based on your age, where you live, your income etc. People on social assistance for instance are covered for things other people aren’t but their coverage is limited to a narrow range of health solutions.

At any rate our system kind of works but isn’t great and likely unsustainable. Unfortunately for some here I as well as many others in the Province are perfectly comfortable waiting to see what the Ford government has to propose
 
With regard to healthcare the two-tier term is also mind numbing.

Our healthcare system isn’t single-tier it’s multi-tier. Your coverage and outcomes are different based on your age, where you live, your income etc. People on social assistance for instance are covered for things other people aren’t but their coverage is limited to a narrow range of health solutions.

At any rate our system kind of works but isn’t great and likely unsustainable. Unfortunately for some here I as well as many others in the Province are perfectly comfortable waiting to see what the Ford government has to propose

Those with group insurance could have various limits on coverage, spouse or no spouse coverage. Some have user-pay premiums, others have employer-pay premiums. Some have small deductibles, other have large deductibles, some no deductible. Some have benefit rates based on 10 years ago, while some have current benefit rates. And some have no benefits because of "preexisting conditions" (just try to get travel health insurance).
 
With regard to healthcare the two-tier term is also mind numbing.

Our healthcare system isn’t single-tier it’s multi-tier. Your coverage and outcomes are different based on your age, where you live, your income etc. People on social assistance for instance are covered for things other people aren’t but their coverage is limited to a narrow range of health solutions.

At any rate our system kind of works but isn’t great and likely unsustainable. Unfortunately for some here I as well as many others in the Province are perfectly comfortable waiting to see what the Ford government has to propose

There certainly are gaps in the coverage, notably for dental, pharma, optical, medical devices and physiotherapy et al.

I happen to favour closing most of those gaps, most of the way.

But I digress.

I question why you view the system as unsustainable in as much as the rate of cost growth is down to near inflationary levels with some notable exceptions (the biologic class of drugs for instance)..........and comparable systems exist around the world, many with higher per capita spend and a higher proportion of it public.

The system strikes me as entirely sustainable with the caveat that it needs to be better and more comprehensive and at least some of that money is going to have to come from innovation and efficiency (genuine) as well as reforms to drug pricing and patents.
 
Just like Hydro One, all privatization of Healthcare will do is add more costs for the people of Ontario. it won't make the system efficient.

We will pay to ensure that the private partners get a profit.

I think you meant to say, "Just like Hydro One, Bell Canada, BCTel, MTS, Telus, Air Canada, Canadair, CN, BC Rail, Petro-Can, Highway 407, de Havilland…"

Billions lost in squandered sell-offs, with nothing to show for it save a loss of price protections and fairness.
 
Today's announcement For The People (cough) ........

Concerns how the province funds autism therapy for children.

This is supposed to be a good news announcement about eliminating a long backlog for treatment.

However, people in the field and advocates for this type of care are being less than enthusiastic about the changes.

https://news.ontario.ca/mcys/en/201...action-to-help-more-families-with-autism.html

While there is new money to address diagnostics in a timely way.........

There does not appear to be any meaningful new money for treatment.

Instead a cap on treatment costs of $140,000 has been introduced (lower the later a child begins receiving help) and any household with an income greater than $250,000 will no longer be eligible for any help at all.

This is the Rob Peter to pay Paul method of organizing care.

It also fosters the two-tier idea that if you have enough money, you simply bypass the public system all together, which means you have no vested interest in its quality.

Sigh.
 
Another outstanding success.

PC political staffer and father of two autistic teens quits in anger over Ontario autism overhaul.

https://www.thestar.com/politics/pr...ts-in-anger-over-ontario-autism-overhaul.html

A political staffer has resigned over the Ford government’s autism overhaul, calling the changes a “huge disappointment” and saying his advice against age-based funding was not heeded.

“In light of today’s announcement, I told my minister I did not feel I could continue in my role as legislative assistant,” said Bruce McIntosh, who joined MPP Amy Fee’s political staff when the Ford government was elected last spring.
 

For those unable to link to the above, here it is, dated Tues., May 20, 2014:

Councillor Doug Ford's group home comments shock and sadden autism advocates

Autism Ontario’s Marg Spoelstra was in Atlanta touring a national historic site dedicated to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. last weekend when her Twitter account exploded.

Toronto Councillor Doug Ford was blaming a Rexdale group home for young adults with autism and other developmental disabilities for damaging property values and otherwise “ruining” the neighbourhood.

“It was one of those moments,” Spoelstra said Tuesday. “Here I was, standing at the site of so much history and realizing how much we have yet to do as a society.”

“It was shocking to me that someone would use those words to describe the situation, given how far we’ve come as a province, particularly in response to de-institutionalization,” she said.

De-institutionalization, Ontario’s policy of closing residential institutions for people with developmental disabilities and moving them into the community, dates back to the 1970s.


The last of those large institutions, Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia, closed in 2009. Last December, the provincial government settled a multi-million-dollar class-action lawsuit with several thousand former Huronia residents who suffered physical, emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of former staff and fellow residents.

“We all know what happens in any institutional setting when you treat people as a group rather than individuals. Things start to happen and things are hidden, and then we worry,” Spoelstra said.

“But in the community, where we are more public, when we have that conversation with our neighbours, people are actually safer. We know this,” she added.

“We need places like this home,” she said. “As a society we need to understand that everyone has a right to be in communities and we have to be better neighbours.”

Chris Beesley, head of Community Living Ontario, had a similar reaction when he heard Ford’s comments about the Rexdale-area home run by the Griffin Centre.

“I asked my wife, is it 2014 or 1914?” he said. “This seems to be such a step backwards.”

Beesley’s provincial organization serves about 12,000 developmentally disabled Ontarians, including about 9,000 in group homes.


“If you believe that people with an intellectual disability have the right to be citizens of their community, then this is a model you support,” he said. “To say group homes are disruptive to the community, that the people there aren’t supervised properly, that there is higher crime, lower property values — there is just nothing there to support it.”

The provincial Liberals were poised to spend an unprecedented $810 million over three years in their spring budget to end wait lists for 21,000 children and adults seeking developmental services to help them live fuller lives in the community. The money would have also provided residential care for 1,400 in urgent need, such as the child of an Ottawa mother in crisis who threatened to abandon her 20-year-old daughter at Queen’s Park Tuesday.

Instead of allowing a misguided local politician to inflame a community against these supports, voters should be asking provincial candidates if they are prepared to make a similar investment in developmental services should they get elected, Beelsey said.

“We need to end the wait for people who desperately require supports and services,” he said. “We need to move from a crisis model to one of prevention.”

Four separate initiatives have been examining Ontario’s failure to adequately serve this vulnerable population over the past year, including the provincial auditor general, provincial ombudsman, a panel of medical experts and a Queen’s Park committee on developmental services.

The political momentum must continue, Beelsey said. The organization is mobilizing support at #endthewait.

Like Spoelstra, Beesley doesn’t believe Ford’s views are widespread among politicians or voters.

“We are hopeful this unfortunate incident opens up a conversation across the province around what communities and our political leaders can do to support people with (Autism Spectrum Disorders) in respectful, knowledgeable and meaningful ways,” Spoelstra said in a news release Tuesday.

“Given the strong community support for the closing of our province’s institutions based on good evidence and human rights, we feel confident that the value of living with the right community supports in local settings will be the predominant theme.”
 

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