I can’t decide which I find more unbelievable – Jack Layton having surgery at a private, for-profit clinic, or Jack Layton doing heavy lifting.
I can’t decide which I find more unbelievable – Jack Layton having surgery at a private, for-profit clinic, or Jack Layton doing heavy lifting.
you’d be surprised how much a couple of lattes or a few pair of Bikenstocks weighs.
And since he is a practising Champagne Socialist, he could have had more than onbe bottle in teh LCBO bag and that would way a LOT 🙂 🙂
Great minds think alike, kate.
It is a hernia for christ sake!!!
The Shouldice Clinic in Toronto has been around forever and has world renown reputation. My Dad had his first done 40 years ago at Shouldice.
Give me a break….Jack was right to go there, juts like any other normal person.
Some of you people need to relax just a bit.
I’ve had two hernias repaired at the Shouldice and it was a very pleasant experience. Imagine, hotel-like rooms, restaurant-style food, plenty of medical staff, recreational areas in beautiful surroundings. This is all delivered for the OHIP rate and represents the perfect medical service i.e. public funding and private delivery.
Was Jack sedated or did he cease talking of his own free will. I think that’s the real story here.
What I find funniest is that he feels the need to defend himself like he was caught beating his wife or something.
Do ya think they tightened things up a little too much when they sewed him up, hence the perpetual shit eating grin???
If I was Jack I’d sue!!!
Syncro
Clay serby went to the States with his cancer,I,d do the samething you owe it to your family to do whatever you can to get better
Take a look at the place, and tell me that some shrill socialist going up the drive isn’t going to think “hey, this looks private!”
Jack! Layton: the champagne socialist’s champage socialist.
Tonight’s Global news reports that Jack didn’t know that Shouldice was a private hospital. He had the operation in 1999. If he is sincere then he is as thick as a brick. Here in Alberta we’ve known about Shouldice for years. It is beyond belief that a seasoned TO politico like Jack wouldn’t have known about private hospitals in his own backyard. How dumb do these people think we are?
No heavy lifting necessary.
From nih.gov:
“If you have any of the following, you are more likely to develop a hernia:
Family history of hernias
Cystic fibrosis
Undescended testicles
Extra weight
Chronic cough
Chronic constipation from straining to have bowel movements
Enlarged prostate from straining to urinate”
Some of the above would explain a lot.
“Undescended testicles”
I could see that being very handy in a bar fight.
Off Topic, Sorry I couldn’t resist
Subject: FW: A politically incorrect chuckle
Dear Abby:
I am a crack dealer in Whalley who has recently been diagnosed as a carrier of the HIV virus. My parents live in a suburb of Guildford and one of my sisters, who lives in Newton, is married to a transvestite.
My father and mother have recently been arrested for growing and selling marijuana and are currently dependent on my other two sisters who are prostitutes in New Westminster. I have two brothers. One is currently serving a non-parole life sentence in Kent for murder of a teenage boy in
1994. The other brother is currently being held in the Surrey Remand Center on charges of neglecting his three children. I have recently become engaged to marry a former Thai prostitute who lives in North Delta and, indeed, is still a part-time “working girl” in a brothel. Her time there is limited, however, as we hope to open our own brothel with her as the working manager. I am hoping my two sisters would be interested in joining our team. Although I would prefer them not to prostitute themselves, it would get them off the street, and, hopefully, the heroin.
My problem is this: I love my fianc�e and look forward to bringing her into the family, and of course, I want to be totally honest with her. Should I tell her about my cousin who voted Liberal?
Signed,
Worried About My Reputation
Kate — A fair contrast. I thought you might be interested (as well as SDA readers) to know that this is not the first time an NDP leader has been caught up in a controversy surrounding private health care. Please feel free to visit my blog and read all about it!
Jack Layton and Olivia Chow lived in federally subsidized 3 bedrooms in a CMHC housing co-op for $800.00 per month while raking in a cool combined income of $120,000 per year.
Comparable rents at that time were $1,500 per month.
A newspaper story outed them and they ended up paying and additional $325.00 per month to CMHC.
The Shouldice Clinic issue is another example of Jack Layton hypocrisy.
But then crypto – communists have a tendency to share the wealth . . other peoples.
Choose Your Canada!
I see nothing wrong with going to a private clinic but if your politics dictate that you won’t let other people have the choice then you are a hypocrite. He said on the radio in Vancouver to Peter Warren that if his wife got sick they would wait in line for regular care.
Weasle Talk.
Jack was totally within his rights to get a much-needed medical procedure done at a private clinic.
Relax.
It was part of the publicly-funded system.
I bet if you dig really deep, you’ll discover that Mr. Layton bought a few aspirins at a for-profit convenience store as a youth after a hangover.
Let’s focus on the issues, people.
Signed,
– A Stephen Harper Supporter
Just as an after-thought, and I have no evidence to prove this and couldn’t produce any in a million years, I bet Mr. Harper, who I consider to be a good family man (heck, I consider Mr. Martin to be a good family man) has probably opened up a Playboy or two in his life.
Yet he believes that it is better to be in a loving marriage.
There’s no contradiction here.
Layton is wrong about some issues, sure, maybe his policies are dangerous, and maybe he’s a hypocrite.
But his back hurt. So he got an operation.
Big deal.
Signed,
– A Stephen Harper Supporter
there is a saying that whore and politician are standing on the same corner.
All I can say is this…I’ve been a political junkie for a long time and blogging has made this election more fun than any!!! EVER!!! To see the Paul Martins and Jack Laytons of this country exposed and held accountable for their actions. ABSO-FRIGGIN-LUTELY PRICELESS!!!!
I think it shouldn’t be any concern if a private hospital exists, of course the only controversey is that Mr. Layton claims “he didn’t know”.
Now if PMPM said he didn’t know, I would believe that. I’d believe it without question really. It is the fact that I would believe this, that shows me he is not suited for his chosen work. He really knows nada. He likely doesn’t know anything about his good and newly wealthy Medisys friends in Montreal either….
Peter Warren is gonna chew the little weasel a new asshole this weekend. A month or so ago Warren gave him a hypothetical about accessing private care. Asked him if he would go private if Olivia needed hip replacement and was in terrible pain.
He out and out swore that he or Olivia would never go to a private clinic, citing his appendix operation and Olivia’s cancer treatment as examples of waiting in line for the public system. I guess he forgot about his hernia operation.
From this I think it’s safe to assume he got the hernia from his nuts not dropping.
Incidently, PMPM answered the question the same as Jack. Harper said he’d do whatever it took to get his wife care.
So what does this prove??
Hypothetically speaking, never marry a champagne socialist ladies, they’ll let ya suffer.
Hypothetically speaking.
Syncro
I agree with (Proud KW), blogging has changed the face of elections.
…and for the better…!!
layton and chow have been sucking off the liberal teat for a very long time. reference joe molnar above. they were both skimming the system when the two were living in subsidized housing (government sponsored program allowing rent to be paid as a basis of income, ie. low income housing) at well under the going rate for their combined salary. it’s not the stuff of urban myth. our champion, CFRA’s on line host, lowell green knows all the particulars and will tell anyone who wants to listen. i don’t have the details but they are there. why doesn’t anyone pick up on this. jack’s squeeky clean personna may need some buffin if that were out. where’s angry? what’s the deal?
Lay off Jack.
sounds better than Jack off Layt.
anyway , he is just one of the elected elite that want to control the great unwashed.
four legs good, two legs better , four legs good two legs better. (geo. orwell)
come on people dont you know where you stand with the liberal and socialist NDP elite. —stand in line brothers and sisters , you have nothing to lose but your freedom.
Look at a picture of Carl Toft, pedophile.
Look at a picture of Paul Martin, Liberal.
See any similarities??
Does Martin have anything to hide??
Would you want either of them as Prime Minister??
Hi there, I know this is off topic so please excuse me.
Does anyone have a link for the liberal military attack ad. I have a friend who lives in a cave and would like to see the ad.
Don’t worry I think I’ve convinced them to vote conservative the ad will merely seal the deal.
Ranger
This is just another Liberal smear campaign for the purpose of poaching NDP support. Liberals are aware that the recent surge in Conservative support has NDP supporters condidering strategically voting Liberal.
Isn’t Alexa (last NDP leader) daughter of a millionaire?
I’m seeing a trend. Wealthy leaders (Martin, Chretien, Trudeau, Mulroney, Layton, Alexa) running the country like their own private clubhouse.
Doucette (I know a separatist) and Harper, both average financially who are good politicians, intelligent individuals and seem to understand the average guy.
No wonder they are becoming so endearing to the public. Now if Doucette could just drop that separatist thing.
Ed the Hun
(pulling for the average guy’s leader).
Part of the System
The CPC party should send Jack Layton some belated flowers. Not only did Jack use private health-care in the 90’s, but his comments today can serve to quell the fears of centrist and left voters of the impact that private health-care will
Let’s not jump all over this folks. He attended a
private clinic. He didn’t get private service. He used his health card not mastercard. But this isn’t serious enough to make a judgement. If he can afford it, let him go. Allan. Toronto.
Anyways, nobody’s perfect.
Originally posted to Calgary Grit:
You know, this really shouldn’t be an issue for Jack unless tomorrow’s headline is “Private delivery works, NDP leader too stunned to notice!” But, then again, what else is new?
Shouldice’s status as a private clinic is well known in Toronto, and it’s not as though Jack hasn’t ever been caught slicing the onion of credibility a bit too thin before. From my days in Toronto Jack was notable in my mind for only three things (other than a superhuman capacity for self-promotion, which really isn’t a vice in a politician):
1. His publicly subsidized co-op, which he an Olivia vacated soon after the Toronto Sun outed them
2. His prodigious use of City of Toronto limousines while loudly proclaiming the virtues of not owning a car and riding a bike but, to be honest, he wasn’t the worst offender (third worst, I believe). I’m not even sure if I was actually living in TO then. I may have been staying with my then-gf at the time the story broke.
3. The satisfaction I felt at voting against him when he ran for mayor (instead voting for June Rowlands which only goes to prove Homer S.’s slogan “Democracy doesn’t work”).
There is also that generalized buzzing in my head that he and Tom Jakobek were always threatening to close the rinks and parks if they didn’t get an increase in the mill-rate (which was why I was pleased to vote against him for mayor). Was that him? I can’t remember anymore (I’m sure about Jakobek), it was almost twenty years ago.
As to Shouldice, I’m perfectly happy to give Jack a pass. The only question should be “Do they take OHIP?” If the answer is yes, the queue begins behind me. Once you start parsing ownership by for-profit/not-for-profit you inevitably start the interminable discussion about why the anaesthetist at the non-profit drives a Lexus while the receptionist at the for-profit only makes do with an ’85 Hyundai Pony? It really gets tedious after that.
Instead we should be asking why the province doesn’t make better use of it monopoly purchasing power for medical services by extracting more service out of the service providers? Because then you can start asking questions like “Are our patients being better served by this clinic, or by that clinic?� You also don’t get great edifices to mediocre service, in the form of super-hospitals when what you need is a clinic with two ORs that specializes in cataracts. As I said, it all gets to be so tedious.
Smile into the camera Jack. You just got busted by the Grit dirty tricks squad. Yesterday it was Derek Zeisman; today it�s your turn. I expect that the �revealed hypocrisies� team will by going full out until the 24th.
To my knowledge all abortions in the Calgary region are done in private clinics for several years now—-they were not in the 70’s and 80’s. All cataracts in the Calgary region are done in private clinics—-they weren’t in the 70’s and 80’s. These procedures are contracted out by the Cagary Health Region just as Ontario contracts hernias to the Sholdice Clinic (private). If an Albertan went to the Sholdice Clinic to get his hernia done he would pay our of pocket and jump the queque. The point is Layton has said he would get rid of all these “for profit” operations. Think of the back-log when all these procedures once more are done in our Acute Care hospitals. IT IS A BIG DEAL!!!
“Does anyone know of any asteroids hurtling towards earth?”
(Originally posted at Andrew Coyne)
OK now I’m beginning to think that they are all bailing on purpose. It looks the Grits have a contest to see who can get away with his/her pension while avoiding time of the opposition benches.
Advantage Valeri
http://www.hamiltonspecta …
h/t Bourque
Maybe they have a weaponized spaceship ready to blast off.
See .. there is nothing scary about private health care .. Even a commie like Jack can’t tell the difference.
What a load of shit these people heap on us ..
the whole link
http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/breaking%20news/breaking%20news_6351440.html
It’s not that he had the procedure done that bothers me, it’s that he sits on his ideological perch and tells Peter Warren that he would never do such a thing when he already has.
And as far as Jack not knowing it was a private clinic.
BULLSHIT.
Syncro
That’s way over the pale, DRock, and you should be ashamed of the comparison.
If there is one thing I believe about Paul Martin it is that he is a decent loving family man.
Signed,
– A Stephen Harper Supporter
“…Advantage Valeri…”
Flipper Valeri ‘buys’ home from elderly neighbor whose eyesight is so bad he can hardly see. Elderly man lives in home for 50 years and collects $225,000.
Flipper Valeri renovates home but doesn’t waste time or money on painting, upgrading kitchens, bathrooms, sanding floors ….just buries a few overhead wires and removes some poles. Flipper Valeri collects $275,000 in 3 months = 122% profit or 489% annualized.
What a sleazebag.
“Layton stressed that the Shouldice facility is a not-for-profit facility that has been part of the Ontario medical system for decades.”
Is this true that the Shouldice Facility is private and yet not-for-profit?
Seems a little far-fetched to me, but stranger things have happened.
Still haven’t heard anything on the Cheryl Gallant story why’s that? conservatives okay with one of their own snooping into private passport info and using it for what? Who at her campaign headquarters has access to this information? What else have they been doing with the information besides sending christmas cards?
Are we sure that nobody helping her during this campaign would sell this information? Worth big bucks on the world market. Bad enough we have some of our Ambassadors and their assistants selling them.
A lot of people in the comments here are saying that this doesn’t matter, but it does.
Jack Layton doesn’t talk about only public payment, he talks about public delivery. I interviewed two local NDP candidates on my radio show, and they both talked backwards and forwards about the evils of anything but public delivery. It doesn’t work. It’s bad. Etc. Etc.
And here Jack Layton actually used it, proving that it is superior care, and it does have a use. He’s hypocritical, then, in the extreme. See, Jack? You can have surgery at a non-public-delivery place (it doesn’t matter whether it was for-profit or not-for-profit, Layton didn’t make that distinction earlier) and the sky won’t fall.
This does matter. It isn’t petty. But it is darn funny.
I don’t think some of the posters here understand the argument Kate presents. For those of you who would give Jack a pass as long as OHIP can cover it just endorsed the Conservative platform. Thank you.
The whole point is that he argues against privatization but used private services.
If you choose to give Jack a pass, give it because this happened a long time ago. People change their views.
But do NOT give him a pass because he said that’s where his doctor told him to go and all he did was flash his health card. It means he, truly, does not understand the Canadian healthcare system. ~30% of our services for healthcare are provided by private clinics in this manner or for corporate clients who want to speed their employees medical attention to minimize their time off work.
You can ask Ujjal Dossanjh about this one. Our Health Minister received quite a bit of cash from clinics like this.
http://thetyee.ca/News/2006/01/12/DonorsRunMedicalFirms/
The site for Martin/Dosanjh hidden agenda on Healthcare in Canada?
there was picture of the clinic on the news last night. Its pretty obviously not a public building.
Think Layton feels the same sinking feeling in the same place now that he has been outed again?
Show me a politician who openly brags about his suprior humanitarian morality and I’ll show you a first rate hypocrite….Jack is no different….uses private medicine while slagging it, takes assisted houseng when his income negates it….typical pied piper blowhard we expect in these fringe political cults with impossible idealistic orthodoxies
Predictable. When the going gets rough for Layton, can Shirley Douglas be far behind?
Image of the Day
NDP Leader Jack Layton, left, accompanied by Shirley Douglas, fields questions regarding his treatment at a not-for-profit private clinic in the 1990s during a campaign stop in Port Hardy, B.C. on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2006. (CP PHOTO/Andrew Vaughan)
Much ado about nothing IMHO. We have better issues to debate, like Layton’s blinkered attacks on Libs/Conservatives, which alienate both of them. Conservatives don’t like being compared to Liberals and vice versa. Not a good way to get their votes. Just how many Conservatives would switch to NDP anyway? My guess, eight people, all living somewhere on Vancouver Island. Jack should focus on Toronto and Vancouver to get the soft Liberal vote. Otherwise, NDP unlikely to increase seat haul; a shocking underachievement given Liberal unpopularity.
I had heard that when Jack Layton and his wife were both Toronto council members, making $50,000 each, they (though not officially married at that time) were living in subsidized housing. Anyone know if this is true?
To quote the linked article
“Layton stressed that the Shouldice facility is a not-for-profit facility that has been part of the Ontario medical system for decades.”
So Kate’s post first is wrong and misleading. Secondly, there are many not-for-profit private organizations that deliver medical, home-care, and respite services that run using public dollars. For example, many organizations that provide care for those with mental handicaps run this way. I have worked for two such organizations. And without public dollars these organizations could not exist because there are many parents who cannot afford to provide indefinite care for such individuals that need assistance.
I am amazed that Kate has not corrected the post to say “not-for-profit” when the article she linked specifically mentions that.