Editorials - March 29, 2024

A recent Angus Reid poll found that 56 per cent of Canadians felt that cost-of-living concerns should outweigh climate change concerns when it comes to economic policy. The looming carbon tax increase is, not surprisingly, dividing Canadians along party lines with the majority of those who would support the Conservatives wanting to “axe the tax” (a whopping 75 per cent) or at least lower it (another nine per cent).

 

The fact that more than half of Canadians are willing to push climate change concerns off to future generations rather than absorb any tax increases points to the difficulty that governments have in communicating how a carbon tax actually works. It may also point to why younger voters have grown increasingly frustrated and disenfranchised with politics, as older politicians can be seen as selling their generations up the river in favour of reducing costs now and caring little about the environment, something we all need to survive.

 

Despite surviving a non-confidence motion brought forward by the Conservatives, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party is facing a tough battle with the carbon tax, with an even smaller group supporting it than at the same time last year.

Experts say that a well-designed carbon tax is the most effective way to curb climate change, but we hate paying taxes, allowing heated rhetoric to take over the conversation. In order to survive the carbon tax debate, the Liberals need to figure out how to get their message across to the public. If this thing is really the best option we have to reduce fossil fuel consumption, we need to collectively understand how it works. It’s obvious that the majority of voters have no confidence in another tax fixing anything, so that communication plan will be a year-long challenge to the Liberals’ election platform. – DS

We now know that Princess of Wales Kate Middleton is battling cancer. This comes after she underwent abdominal surgery in January and, after not being seen publicly for a number of weeks, was forced into a public statement to announce her cancer diagnosis as the rumour mill worked overtime and the search for Kate kicked into high gear. 

 

While the bungled Photoshop scandal was unnecessarily deceptive and terribly ill-advised, the whole thing has served, for many, as a reminder of the humanity of those in high places and the insatiable and dehumanizing instincts of some in the media - British and worldwide.

 

For a 42-year-old mother of three, a shock cancer diagnosis would be among the most harrowing and challenging bits of news to receive. Self-reflection, time with family, charting next steps and, above all, taking the time to process it all, would be paramount. And yet, because of Middleton’s place in the world’s consciousness, she has not been allowed to take time for those things and was forced into breaking the news to the world while likely still struggling to understand it herself.

 

The Royal Family itself has fallen victim to the consequences of relentless media scrutiny and the dehumanizing nature of the press at its most bloodthirsty. Because they are among the most famous and adored (by some) people in the world, the Royals can easily be seen as more than human, so it’s easy to forget that lives hang in the balance. 

 

Right now, a young mother, wife, daughter and sister is facing an immense health challenge. The world should leave her family alone to handle the months and years ahead on their own terms. – SL 

Allison Jones of The Canadian Press is reporting that Ontario’s long-term care homes and hospitals saw across-the-board increases in agency staff usage and costs from 2021/2022 to 2022/2023. The resulting costs near $1 billion in a healthcare system that is already pushed to the brink.

 

Health Minister Sylvia Jones insists that agency usage is going down, actually, in a statement that a grain of salt would take with a grain of salt. This means that the same nurse or personal support worker is costing the hospitals and homes double or triple that of a full-time employee. This is an issue that has been identified at local hospitals, as they struggle to keep emergency rooms open and fully staff their workforces.

 

The resulting shell game has left the province’s healthcare system in  ruins, as some part-time nurses turn to agency work to pay the bills, meaning increased costs for hospitals, which are in search of a full staffing complement. It’s easy to see more full-time jobs as the solution, but that would almost be deceptively simple and we’ll all keep paying these inflated costs in the meantime. To a true Canadian who believes in the country’s universal healthcare system (rather than American-style privatization that some have opined is on Premier Doug Ford’s wish list) it also can’t help but feel like a loophole - a way to charge more and profit from care in a system that isn’t supposed to allow that to happen.

 

Regardless of who’s telling the truth and what the solution to move away from agency care may be, it’s clear that we’re all paying too much for what’s happening with a dispiriting return on investment. – SL