tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708375.post111463888163019885..comments2024-03-28T03:54:21.932-04:00Comments on Canadian Cynic: An apparent urban legend about Canada's health care.CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406057201126015750noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708375.post-1114732957337081402005-04-28T20:02:00.000-04:002005-04-28T20:02:00.000-04:00At this point, I think we're safe in concluding th...At this point, I think we're safe in concluding that MacDougall's claim is bogus but, in any case, it's perfectly acceptable to suggest that there is no meaningful evidence to support his story, and that it's <I>his</I> responsibility to substantiate his own claims. Then challenge him to do that.CChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11406057201126015750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708375.post-1114728369171074732005-04-28T18:46:00.000-04:002005-04-28T18:46:00.000-04:00I also tried google before I came here. If you guy...I also tried google before I came here. If you guys can find something, I can use it to embarrass/discredit this local right-winger. <BR/><BR/>He also said that Canadians are unhappy with their healthcare, which is obviously pure fiction; it's not hard to find quite a few polls saying otherwise, and I believe I cited one in a piece I wrote on the subject last year for commondreams.org. <BR/><BR/>Anyway I'll stay tuned, thanks again for pursuing this. <BR/><BR/>egalia<BR/>Tennessee Guerilla Womenegaliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01984164276644962191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708375.post-1114701502136622902005-04-28T11:18:00.000-04:002005-04-28T11:18:00.000-04:00Lastman was mayor from November (or maybe it was l...Lastman was mayor from November (or maybe it was late October) of 1997, until last spring I think.<BR/><BR/>During this period I was doing a lot of commuting into Toronto and I listened to a lot of Toronto-based talk radio (explanation: FM radio in car broken). I can say almost certainly that Lastman did not suffer a broken leg in that period.<BR/><BR/>I do vaguely remember some story about Lastman going to the ER, but I wonder whether it was for his wife rather than himself.M@https://www.blogger.com/profile/13408488215496128814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708375.post-1114682726184003262005-04-28T06:05:00.000-04:002005-04-28T06:05:00.000-04:00Hmmmm ... it would seem that that Star article wou...Hmmmm ... it would seem that that Star article would be a possibility, but you'd think that an incident like a mayor getting shabby medical treatment would be a bigger story than that.<BR/><BR/>In addition, in his e-mail, MacDougall described the incident as having happened "early" in Lastman's stint as mayor. What was the time frame of his mayorship? Or mayorness? Or whatever.<BR/><BR/>At this point, I think it's safe to conclude that the story is bogus unless some compelling new evidence comes forward.<BR/><BR/>And here's another homework assignment -- what right-wing echo chambers have already picked up on this "story" as proof of the inferiority of Canada's medical system? It's always fun to keep track of the gullibility factor out there.CChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11406057201126015750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708375.post-1114670102514994092005-04-28T02:35:00.000-04:002005-04-28T02:35:00.000-04:00Well, I haven't any cash to check right now, but a...Well, I haven't any cash to check right now, but a cursory search of the <I>Toronto Star</I> archives (figuring that if ANY paper covered Mel Lastman being stuck in an ER for eight hours, it would be the <I>Star</I> shows the following:<BR/><BR/>for "Mel Lastman AND emergency room" - 24 articles, most about patient overcrowding or funding cuts, but one from February 10, 1999, refers to "Mel Lastman experiences ER crisis firsthand" - if anything is the article in question, I'm guessing it would be that. (Byline by Paul Moloney and Bruce Demara.) It unfortunately costs $4.25 to get the article online from the Star archives and I'm pretty broke, but there you go.<BR/><BR/>for "Mel Lastman AND broken leg" - one article. Not the same as above, it's one from April 2000 from the sports section somewhere.<BR/><BR/>for "Mel Lastman AND stretcher" -<BR/>six articles. Again, none of them are the one mentioned above and none appear to be about Mel Lastman on a stretcher.<BR/><BR/>If I've got time anytime soon I'll drop by the Toronto Research Library, because now my interest is piqued, and check it out for free (as well as checking the <I>Globe And Mail</I> and <I>Toronto Sun</I> from the same period). But, as it stands, it's looking like this is either a vast exaggeration of one article or a myth.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com