Green home incompatible with area
Sir: Your article on the Green Home being built at Egremont Road and Franklin Avenue was very informative.
However, I wonder if the writer looked around the area and observed any other homes on the lake side of Egremont that even remotely resemble the size and style of this monstrosity.
The members of Plympton-Wyoming town council who approved the plan for this residence - I hesitate to call it a home - should be demoted.
It is interesting that Mayor Lonny Napper, in speaking about Lamrecton Camp, said, and I quote, “We want to make something that is compatible to the area.”
Well, this structure is not even close to being compatible with anything in this area. I challenge Mayor Napper to point to any home on Franklin that resembles this huge box.
David Gray
Plympton-Wyoming
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Harper health cuts will hurt Sarnia
Sir: Canada is aging, and that brings challenges for our health care system, challenges already being felt in communities like Sarnia, where nearly 20% of the population is over 65.
Many of us are already worried about our own future health needs or finding quality elder care for family. The average wait time for long-term care beds in the Erie St. Clair region is 436 days. Then there’s dementia and mental health care – will these services be available if you or your family needs them?
There’s also the cost of prescription drugs. Canada is the only country with a universal public health care system that doesn’t cover prescriptions. Currently, one in ten Canadians can’t afford the prescription drugs they need.
A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that investing $1 billion annually in a universal drug plan would save $7.3 billion every year. But Prime Minister Harper refuses to work with the provinces on this issue.
Most importantly, instead of helping to ensure Canadians can access health care where and when they need it, the federal government broke its promise to adequately fund the health care system.
Before the last federal election, Prime Minister Harper promised to renew the Federal Health Accord. All political parties recognized the Accord’s increase in transfer payments was the only way to ensure Canadians would get the care they need, with the increased demand our aging population.
But in 2013, the government broke its promise. Instead of funding based on Canadians’ health care needs, they tied funding to economic growth. Even if the outlook for Canada’s economy exceeds expectations, increases in funding are unlikely to exceed 3%.
That means a health care funding shortfall of more than $36 billion over the next ten years. In Sarnia, that’s an approximately $140 million cut.
We can make a better choice for health care, including more investment in home care and creation of a universal drug plan. On Oct. 19, let’s choose a government that we can trust to reverse over $36 billion in cuts and protect our health care system.
Hassan Yussuff is the president of the Canadian Labour Congress, the voice of more than 3.3 million Canadian workers.