[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[viper37]

But it is an easy thing for the feds to do because it's already been done. I think that's the simplest explanation for why it was picked. It's easy.

No, the easy part was to sit with the provinces and say: "Look, we want to expand pharmacare in this country.  We'll work with you to make it so.  We'll provide each of you with a list of drugs we want covered and we will eventually pool our resources together to create a huge market to buy them so we can get bulk discount.  In the meantime, we will discuss appropriate funding for this program".

But since it's the NDP and the Libs we're talking about here, it was their usual bullshit:  "Fuck you, you will do what I tell you to do.  I don't care if it does not work as well, I don't care if it costs 3x more, I want the spotlight on my face."

[Grey Fox]

I think the Liberals were also trying to please the NDP while at the same time spend the bare minimum amount of money.

Viper is correctly pointing the biggest flaw of the NDP. They never want to talk to the provincial leaderships. They just keep on working like our system is England or some shit.

[crazy canuck]

BB, there are good reasons for subsidizing birth control independent of your imagined culture war

The problem arise in only subsidizing that, of course.

When Quebec's plan was launched back in the day, there were much more than contraception and diabetes medications covered.  Of course, we weren't trying to do wedge politics with this back then.

Yes, no doubt the Federal plan is nowhere near what some of the provinces do.  And that goes back to my point they did what they did because it was an easy way to satisfy the NDP.

That is the other thing I disagree with BB about.  Not only with the NDP not get any credit for this, they will lose support because this token gesture is not what the NDP were promising.

[Barrister]

I think the Liberals were also trying to please the NDP while at the same time spend the bare minimum amount of money.

Viper is correctly pointing the biggest flaw of the NDP. They never want to talk to the provincial leaderships. They just keep on working like our system is England or some shit.

...because the Liberals under Trudeau are so great at respecting provincial authority?

[crazy canuck]

But it is an easy thing for the feds to do because it's already been done. I think that's the simplest explanation for why it was picked. It's easy.

No, the easy part was to sit with the provinces and say: "Look, we want to expand pharmacare in this country.  We'll work with you to make it so.  We'll provide each of you with a list of drugs we want covered and we will eventually pool our resources together to create a huge market to buy them so we can get bulk discount.  In the meantime, we will discuss appropriate funding for this program".

But since it's the NDP and the Libs we're talking about here, it was their usual bullshit:  "Fuck you, you will do what I tell you to do.  I don't care if it does not work as well, I don't care if it costs 3x more, I want the spotlight on my face."

Sitting down with the provinces is not the easy thing to do. It is the hard but correct thing to do. 

The easy thing to do was to create a program that is essentially meaningless to appease the NDP.

[Jacob]

... while perfidiously feeding the culture war by baiting the Conservatives about birth control.

[Grey Fox]

I think the Liberals were also trying to please the NDP while at the same time spend the bare minimum amount of money.

Viper is correctly pointing the biggest flaw of the NDP. They never want to talk to the provincial leaderships. They just keep on working like our system is England or some shit.

...because the Liberals under Trudeau are so great at respecting provincial authority?

Sure, the Liberals always sucked in that facet. However, they are not my party. I don't care if they get better or not at anything.

[Barrister]

... while perfidiously feeding the culture war by baiting the Conservatives about birth control.

So - adding contraception into the pharmacare program might have the effect of baiting the Conservatives.  I hope not, but in 2024 I can't rule it out.

But what I tried to explain (as my theory of the case) is that when, almost inevitably, the Conservatives say that pharmacare is not a good use of resources given our financial situation, the Liberals will reply "See!  The Conservatives hate both women and contraception!".

[HVC]

Not to muddy up the dead pool thread, but question to our more knowledgeable (and senior ) members, but why was GST so unpopular. Didn't it replace another "hidden" tax? I'm sure I'm missing something simple.

[crazy canuck]

Yes, and that is what made it unpopular. People could actually see it.

[Jacob]

So - adding contraception into the pharmacare program might have the effect of baiting the Conservatives.  I hope not, but in 2024 I can't rule it out.

But what I tried to explain (as my theory of the case) is that when, almost inevitably, the Conservatives say that pharmacare is not a good use of resources given our financial situation, the Liberals will reply "See!  The Conservatives hate both women and contraception!".

I think it's a very reasonable hypothesis, and we'll see how it plays out because you've provided a clear result we can use to judge it by (do the Libs/NDP say "see, the Conservatives hate women and contraception!" or not)

Though... to be fair, I guess there's some nuance between whether the Libs/NDP push that line aggressively at the least provocation, or whether the Conservatives blurt out a bunch of borderline misogynist stuff as part of their reasoning all on their own.

Still, I like a clear testable hypothesis like this

Other things may be involved as well. I think CC's hypothesis that the Libs are doing this to satisfy the NDP in the cheapest possible way probably has merit, though I don't know how how we can test it.

[Admiral Yi]

Sorry if this was answered, but I'm curious how one would verify age online.  Take a picture of your face next to an ID card and send it to the site?

[crazy canuck]

Both provincial and the federal government are moving (slowly) towards digital government ID.  My assumption is that is what would be used under these proposals.

Yi, doesn't read my posts so someone else will have to cut and paste the answer.

[PRC]

Ahoy Yi, here is a note from Crazy Canuck:

"Both provincial and the federal government are moving (slowly) towards digital government ID.  My assumption is that is what would be used under these proposals.

Yi, doesn't read my posts so someone else will have to cut and paste the answer."

Would you like to pass a note back?

[Jacob]

Sorry if this was answered, but I'm curious how one would verify age online.  Take a picture of your face next to an ID card and send it to the site?

I recently read an article about sites that generate very realistic fake ID photos, so it probably wouldn't work.