National Myopathy
This is the first winter in a few that I am here in Canada and not at my home in the southern United States. The snow, admittedly, provides a cleanness to everything after it falls. And while falling keeps everything somewhat shrouded like when there is a fog. But that is from the comfort of siting in my kitchen looking out the window. The reality is its bitter cold, slippery, difficult to drive in and all one can think of is how much I look forward to the spring.
Winter in Canada is kind of metaphoric for life here in Canada. There seems to still be a bit of a shine to the new government, with a bit of haze surrounding some of its directions. But when you get out and about you start to see the truth of life here. Several news stories of the day highlight just how much we look forward to a political spring here in Canada.
There stories encapsulate the problems in Canada today. One is a story of our vaunted healthcare system that is collapsing. Another is about our economy which is on a knifes edge teetering from not very good to heading to the abyss bad. And the third news story from yesterday was the governments direction regarding electric cars and the idiotic mandate the past government had brought in. To suggest we are better of with the new policy would be a stark denial of the truth.
Let us start with the issue in the news about our healthcare system. A survey by Angus Reid of 4,000 Canadians across the country found that 50% either had no family doctor at all or had great difficulty getting in to see one. That on average across the country 70% of people were dissatisfied with the current health care system.
Moving to a higher level in the system, a specialist 54% found it difficult or impossible to make an appointment. 51% found difficulty with getting emergency care. 46% of respondents have difficulty with surgeries, and 39% finding diagnostics like x-rays or MRIs. That is a staggering level of problematic. Yet the two comments most common that I hear from folks here in Ontario is how the provincial Conservative Party is not spending enough on healthcare or that we should be grateful we have such a great system that looks after us unlike the Americans who go broke after a cancer diagnosis.
That number again is 70% of Canadians are dissatisfied with healthcare, yet will do nothing to change the situation other than suggest more money will fix it. That has been the refrain for the 40 years I have been voting, MORE MONEY! And funny how more money seems to make the situation worse.
Tiff Macklem our current head pooh bah at the Bank of Canada spoke at a function yesterday in Toronto. You may have missed the speech as I did given you are not rich or powerful. Summaries of the speech have also no yet made it to the mainstream news, I read a report in the Financial Post. That it was unflattering to our governments’ stewardship of the country’s economy for the past decade goes without saying. That it was a clarion blasting that we are about to have immense issues seems to not be important.
The fate of our country is hanging in the balance was the message at the Empire Club on Thursday. That as bad as it is today with our stagnating productivity, food inflation, and fear if governments across the country, provincial as well as the federal government do not bring about changes, business and capital flows will leave our country and we will topple into the abyss of financial ruin.
And what does Tiff suggest is the way out? Embracing AI in all aspects of business and diversification of our economy away from the United States. Brilliant idea, maybe but let’s think about that for a moment. If we implement AI in all aspects of business does that not mean fewer people will have the opportunity to be employed? Certainly automation has reduced the number of jobs for our youth. Just walk into a MacDonalds that used to have a front counter brimming with happy smiling teenage faces waiting to take your order.
Today, you walk in and wait while the one staff member who is customer facing gets around to helping you because you are not comfortable with the automated order system. Imagine when all the entry level jobs have been taken by automation that can think for itself and never takes a day off for family or illness. Sure the productivity of people how are working will improve, but the number of workers can only decline making for overall a reduction in productivity.
And what of the structural changes the governments must implement? British Columbia continues to foster anti business attitudes, Ontario is trapped by the past decisions that make electricity so expensive companies no longer want to come here for energy intensive businesses such as manufacturing. Alberta is trying to save the country, but can not get its oil to the coasts to sell to countries other than the United States due to BC and Quebec. And the feds for that matter. They continue to hold the country hostage to the environmental idiocy and World Economic Forum madness of freely allowing the diaspora of the world to come to western nations to bring chaos and ruin.
Which brings us to the third news story of yesterday, the Carney governments announcement of the removal of the mandate for electric vehicles. Except that was just nonsense. True the mandates was removed, but it was replaced with a differing method of restricting non electric vehicles with insane milage mandates. These mpg rules will mean that to meet the mandates auto manufacturers in Canada will have to follow very different rules than the United States for its vehicles, which fr an integrated industry such as it is mean manufacturing in Canada will decline even further.
And yet, So many in my circle are ecstatic over our current leader. Elbows up don’t you know. Our country is falling apart, failing from the centre out and yet we continue to only see the Orange Man Bad and how can we poke him in the eye. Our own nation’s well being be damned. Frustration barely begins to cover what I feel regularly when I read the news these days. Or social media. Truly I am dumbfounded at the myopathy of the average person. Well that and the ability for the ruling class to use that myopathy to its advantage.