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MEDIA RELEASE - |
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Freedom Party |
Attn: Newsroom |
HARRIS/MANNING VINDICATE FREEDOM AGENDA
Policy proposals
mirror Freedom Party election platforms
April 13, 2005 - Oshawa, Ontario
Former Ontario Premier Mike Harris and former Reform Party founder/leader Preston Manning today released "A Canada Strong and Free": a 69 page publication of the Fraser Institute setting out proposals for the betterment of Canadians, Canada, the provinces. Freedom Party leader Paul McKeever is pleased with much of what the document contains.
"The Harris-Manning proposals are backed by research by well-respected economists", says McKeever. "And, because many of the bold policies proposed by Misters Harris and Manning virtually mirror those set out by Freedom Party in its provincial and federal election platforms, Freedom Party is feeling somewhat vindicated today."
"Naturally, Liberals, both federally and provincially (in Ontario) are using this document falsely to accuse Stephen Harper and John Tory of having a secret agenda to allow competition for the current government monopoly on healthcare funding. I sincerely wish that those gentlemen had such an agenda. However, I am truly disappointed to have to inform the Liberals that, in fact, neither the federal nor the provincial Conservative parties have the courage and insight to end the health care funding monopoly.
"If the Liberals want to point the finger at a party with an agenda to break up the government healthcare funding monopoly, they need not look for or allege a secret agenda: I am proud to say that the realization of that agenda is Freedom Party's top priority, both federally and provincially. The reason is simple. The current government monopoly on healthcare funding is dying a slow and expensive death. Socialized medicine's top priority, in truth, is not saving human beings, but saving socialized medicine itself. Arguably, that has always been the case.
"On behalf of Freedom Party and all other organizations who understand the need for market solutions at this time of crisis in our health care system, I would like to say: thank you, Misters Harris and Manning, for leveraging your profiles to help force a much needed discussion of economically sound alternatives into the public dialogue concerning health care reform and governance in general."
A
Comparison of "A Canada Strong and Free"
and Freedom Party's Federal and Provincial Election Platforms
"A
Canada Strong and Free" |
Freedom
Party of Ontario/Canada Election Platforms |
| "With respect to the structure and performance of Canada as a federal state, another serious imbalance has been created through continued federal intrusion into areas such as health care that our constitution clearly assigns to the provinces. Expansion of the federal role in areas of provincial jurisdiction through the arbitrary exercise of the federal spending power violates the spirit of the constitution and creates needless strains in federal-provincial relations." (p. 20) | "Freedom Party rejects the claim that the federal government has implicit authority to spend its revenues even on matters over which it has no authority to make laws. With the exception of federal payments to the provinces that are explicitly mandated by the Constitution of Canada, a Freedom Party government will spend federal revenues on only those matters respecting which the federal Parliament has the power to make laws." ("The Right Direction", 2008 election platform of the Freedom Party of Canada, p. 17) |
"The Canada Health Act (CHA) as interpreted by the current federal administration establishes a public-sector monopoly with respect to health-care insurance, requiring government financing and administration of all core health-care services and denying Canadians the opportunity to acquire such services from private providers. The CHA also forbids any user charges or extra billing for publicly insured services, thus preventing the use of pricing signals and market mechanisms in allocating scarce health-care resources efficiently. This government monopoly and associated restrictions lead to a very inefficient and wasteful system that denies timely health care to all but those with connections or personal wealth...Do the monopolistic and anti-market provisions of the Canada Health Act result in better health care? Based on international comparisons, the answer is emphatically “No!”" (p. 27) "Remove jurisdictional roadblocks to better health care for patients by substantially amending or replacing the Canada Health Act and transferring responsibility for health-care delivery and financing, including tax points, entirely to the provinces." (p. 30) |
" The Constitution of Canada gives only the provincial Legislatures the power to make laws in respect of health care, education and welfare. The Freedom Party of Canada will repeal federal laws that require provincial Legislatures to make laws to federal specifications in order to receive federal funding for health care, education, and welfare." ("The Right Direction", 2008 election platform of the Freedom Party of Canada, p. 18) "Freedom
Party will remove the current prohibition against competition
in healthcare insurance. Those who choose to live a healthier
life will find their health care costs decrease and/or their level
of
service improve." ("The
Right Direction", 2003 election platform of the Freedom Party
of Ontario, p. 9) |
"We believe that the solution to providing better health care in Canada lies with the principles we discussed at the beginning of this paper. Canadians need more freedom of choice in health care services. They should not be limited by a government monopoly over service provisision." (p. 26) "...[remove] all federal restrictions that prevent provincial governments from using private capital, non-governmental providers, and market-based pricing mechanisms in the development of health care facililities and the delivery of health-care services to Canadians" (p. 31) |
Freedom
Party will end the prohibition against competition with government
health care services. Knowing that
providers who give
their patients poor service will lose your business (and, therefore,
your money), all healthcare providers - including government-run
providers - will be forced to improve service to you and to other
patients. If Ontario’s health care system is truly tops,
it will do very well in competition with others. ("The
Right Direction", 2003 election platform of the Freedom
Party of Ontario, p. 10) |
"The task for political leadership will involve challenging contemporary
Canadian attitudes to peacemaking and converting general public support
for peacekeeping into concrete support for measures to increase Canada's
peacemaking and peacekeeping capacity." (p. 64) |
"Soldiers make peace. Police keep the peace....Freedom Party takes the position that the Canadian forces are soldiers, not police officers, and that Canada ought not to be a de facto government on foreign soil. "Activities or planned activities anywhere on the globe that have as their purpose or effect an attack on the life, liberty or property of Canadians are legitimate triggers for military response where prudent diplomacy has failed or is not feasible. Accordingly, a Freedom Party government will not use Canadian military personnel in situations where such a triggering event has not occurred. In particular, a Freedom Party government will not use the Canadian military to curry political or economic favour with foreign governments or non-governmental organizations such as the United Nations..." ("The Right Direction", 2008 election platform of the Freedom Party of Canada, p. 14) |
"Canada’s national interests clearly include expanded free and secure trade with the United States." (p. 51) "...a global market economy, the prosperity of one nation increases the prosperity of other nations. Increasing prosperity allows individuals and companies in foreign nations to buy more products and services produced here in Canada. Canadian consumers benefit from increased international competition and the improvements that brings in quality and price. Canadians therefore have an undeniable national interest—both humanitarian and self serving—in advancing freedom, democracy, peace, and prosperity abroad." (p. 52) "So what are the public policies that will effectively advance the interests of Canadians internationally?...a foreign policy in which the pro-active promotion of global free trade - including increased access for poor countries to Canada's domestic market - largely replaces traditional government-to-government foreign aid..." (p. 54) |
"The
Freedom Party of Canada supports continued efforts to
harmonize the laws of the world’s countries, and to free up
the
movement of goods, services and persons around the globe.
This includes participation in meetings held by international nongovernmental
organizations. However, the Freedom Party of Canada
is committed to a foreign policy that respects, and guarantees the
continuance of, Canada’s absolute jurisdictional sovereignty
and
independence." ("The
Right Direction", 2008 election platform of the Freedom Party
of Canada, p. 13) |
This media release has been sent to all major print, radio, and television media.
For further information, contact Freedom Party's leader, Paul McKeever:
Cell:
***-***-****
Office:
905-721-9772
e-mail
Freedom
Party
240 Commissioners Road West
London,
Ontario N6A 4E3
1-(800)-830-3301 / (519) 681-3999
FAX: (519) 681-2857