DGDevin wrote:
"HeyBub" wrote in message
m...

Anyway, Canada ends up with essentially a two-party government:
Conservatives: 167
NDP: 102
Liberals: 34
Quebec: 4
Green: 1

It has effectively been a two-party setup for most of its history,
although lately the two parties that traditionally took turns forming
the govt. have instead taken turns getting stomped in elections,
sometimes giving the traditional comedy party--the NDP--the balance
of power in parliament--it's amazing they're now the opposition. But
it doesn't really matter, ask most Canadians from outside Ontario and
Quebec and they'll tell you that the whole system is set up to
benefit those two provinces with all the others coming in a distant
second. So whoever is in power, their first priority will always be
taking care of Ontario and Quebec. Imagine if New York State and
California between them had 2/3 the national population and what that
would mean for the rest of the country--that's the way it works in
Canada.

Thanks for the observation. Frankly, I seldom followed Canadian politics so
I wasn't as aware of the to-ing and fro-ing you outlined.


As for MRIs, I know somebody there who just waited over six months to
get one, although it didn't cost her anything when she finally got to
the head of the line. So it's a different set of problems from the
also broken American system, they both need serious adjustments.

I suggest the American system isn't "broken." Everybody fits in somewhere.
At the top is "concierge" medicine - those who get top-notch and immediate
care. There are several categories below that, from Blue Cross, down through
Medicare, all the way to "Canada-lite" (Medicaid)".