7.06.2009

"they check your wallet before they check your pulse"

My astonishing track record with letters to the Globe and Mail continues.

I wrote in response to this column by Jeffrey Simpson. The sentence in brackets was edited out.
[The US media would have us believe Canadians wait months for routine care and that we all regularly travel to the US for treatment.] When I immigrated here from the United States, I learned that if you want to know about Canada's system - its strengths and its flaws - you ask a Canadian. Similarly, if you want to know about the U.S. system, ask an American.

Jeffrey Simpson calls Jean Chrétien's phrase, "They check your wallet before your pulse" a "gross exaggeration." I suggest it's barely an exaggeration at all.

In these difficult economic times, it's worth remembering that every unemployed Canadian and his or her family has health insurance. In the United States, if you lose your job, you lose your health care - if you were lucky enough to have a job that included benefits. Part-time and contract workers, who make up an increasingly large portion of the modern work force, do not.

Laura Kaminker, Mississauga

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