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Page 16, Whitby Free Prosu, Weckiesday, June 7, 1996 Revamp ing of medicare predicted By 111ke Kowall Change will be made to Ontario s ahealth care system if either opposition party wins tomorrow's eélection. Candidates for both the Liberal and Progressive Conser- vative parties i-Durham Centre riding told a publie forum on medicare last week that changes are inevitable if the system is to be preserved. But neither Liberal candidate Allan Furlong nor Tor hopeful Jim Flaherty'speciflcally spelled out what changes muet occur. While health care funding will b. meintained at current levels, theypromised, savinge muet be fndthe two agreed. However, both men stressed thatno mjor initiatives would be undertaken by their respec- tive parties without firat consuit- ingtosedirectly involved i 1delveringhealth care services. Furlong and Flaherty offered these assurances during a panel discus sion on the future of medi- care held before approxmately 35 pope in the Centennial Building's Regal Room last Thprsday. Durham Centre MPP Drum- mond White did not attend the meeting hich was s ponsored by area physicins an the local branch of, the Canadian Council on National Issues. T'he two candidates who were present fielded questions from the audience and a panel which included Dr. Ted -Murphy of Whitby. Other panel. members were Oshawa physicians Kevin Luoes and Pat Mora as well as author and economiet Hrr Pope. An Uxbridge resident, Pop.e was the National Party candi- date i Durhamn riding (north Whitby) i the 1993 federal elec- tion. Ini their o0nin remarks, Fla- herty and kurlong insisted that their parties wifi not reduce Ontarxo's current $17-billion health car. budget. «W. will preserve that enve- lop. of funding, but w. are look- ing for savings,» said Flaherty. «We went adice from people who work in the system and any savings will stay in the system,» he said while adding that sav- inge w;;à not be trensferred to another ministry. If the Tories do form the government, the employer health tai will b. removed on businesses with payrolls of less then *400,000 and replaced by a Vraduated levy on persons mûk- _mg more than $50,000 annually, Flaherty said. «Rich doctors and rich eyrs will paLy more," said Flahertp Who along with Furlong, falîs into the latter category. But upon teking office, "the first thig we want te correct is the lack of respect for physiciens in Ontario,» said Flaherty. «This has happened over the pt10years (of Liberal and fuindi ng priorities. This could inelude «delisiting" services now funded by the Ontario Health Insurence Plan (OHLP), Furlong said. "Some» things probebly won't get don., lhe said. I won't personally list what they are, that's something wel have te work tegether on with the pysicians.» oeinue services de-insured,» concurred Flaherty. "rd~< like te have sex chenge operations delisted,» h. said. Although Flaherty said there must be a «better maneged approach» te health car. by governm.nt, he felt the general public must also play a roI. by not abusing the system. '«Wé must have reasoneble use of services," he said in offering the example of a person with the flu seekxng treatment from a clinic on the. weekend and his/her own docteir on Monday morning. «W. also have. te encourage people te use (hospital) emer- g.ncy departments only for emergencies and not te, seek out several consultations. That's the role of government.» Although neither candidate disputed the panel's figures that uninsured medical services already cost Ontariens more then $400 million this year, they did not idicat. what else may be affected despite persistent questionning from Marra. However, both men were ada- ment in rejectig user fees or extra biling by doctors as solu- tions te, the provinces burgeon-, ing heaith care bill. eW view thie as a tax on the sick,» said Furlon..«Our party has been clear on this issue ever since I cen remember.» The Tories aIea oppose any "new" user fees, Flaherty said. "I say no new fees because there are already user fees i the yste,'heseid.. «Any time the governiment del- iota »sevcs that. a user f... If you park at Oshawa General Htospital you pay a user fe.. If you rent a TV, that's a user fe. While his Party ie against forc- ugPeople te pay extra for essen- tà.health cmr services, Fla- h.rtX seid the Conservatives have no «philosophical problem» with privat. health ins;urence plainga larger rôlei heîping M e Ytem. Althoug the Tories pledge te mei.tei existing funding levels, Flaherty wae focoSd te, explain how it cen be achieved *hile cut gtaxes. ,,detbe resdent SidWht ryan, pre- sieto the Ontario division of the Ca&nadien Union of Public Employeo, challonged Flaherty te defond a controversial pro- posal te -slash the icome tex rate by 30 per cent. «It will affect heelth services despito what (PC leader) Mike Harris says. I know, I work with government everyday,» said hi wan. by reducing spending ini non- priority ereap. «f w. dôht: dé lit-iVïfgn,' he promised. "'And if you believe that you're dreaming i broad daylight,» Furlongseici, i war gthat the Tory tex cute rwil add enothor $30 billion te Onterio's debt. That's 60 per cent of what the NDP edded in the paut five years,» he seid. As for the most contentious local heelth car. issue, both can- didates reiteratod their previousi support for retention of acute care services at Whitby General Hpitalrspetet the incuni- bent'. absence, moderator John- Frederick Camýeron seid White originally indicated that he would attend, but two days prior te the event he cancellod. «W. were teld Mr. White would not attend," said Cameron. «They (White's campaign staff) said the questions from the panel seemed a littIe too critical of the govorrnent," ho informed the audience. «That's B.S.," campaign mena- ger Doug Ottenbreit teld the FrePress. Th. wren 't streightforward with u rm the beginning about MEMBERS of the Save Lynde Marsh citi- zens' group confront Durham Centre Liberal candidate Allari Furlong. Both he and Tory the subject matter ofithe debate,» ho said. According te 'Ottenbreit he made it a polic not tehave White participatein «single- issue» forums;. «They teld us it would b. a multi-issue debate, not just on health car. as it was last night (Thursday)," he said. "W. have no probl.m going te any kind of al-candidates' meet- ings but we went the people te b. honest with us," ho said. «If they had been honest with us from the beginning, we would have had more time te prepare.» challenger Jim Flaherty promise an environ- mental assessment of the Lynde Shores projeot if their parties win tomorrow's election. Photo by Peter Nitas, Whltby Free Pres Marsh assessment promised FROM PAGE 1 asmny of them effixod Flaherty badges te their clothes before rooeoding on te Furlong's Col- rn Streetheadquartors. "The purpoeeofthis demonet- ration was te show suppoýrt for you and vour camnpaigni," said SLM Chair P c Perkins. "Tii. iberals were power when al of this startedl, d it was perce- tuated by the I ew Democrats. "The. Conse atives are the only ones te show their support for us end wè)re jpleased te b. able ta su o yau Aftor they 4eparted, Flaherty said ho had no quarrel with the Rose Corporatinn's involvement in the pro ect.. «Wiiat I say te them is that the. approval pr6cess has been flawed, partic4uIarIy when one looks at the (1988) CLOCA .report," h. teld Tii.Fr.. Press. FTm not critical of the Rose Corp. at ail, they played by the. rules. ii. sanie cannot b. said of the provincial people." FlIaherty said that if an environmental asseesment deter- mines that the development cen- not proceed, the company is enti- tled te full comipensation. "Tiiey're not the bad guye. This should have been dealt -with in 1988 and '89.» Furlong concurred with Fla- herty on this point. Tii. former MPP teld, the. demne tratfr hie gove#rÎÛtnnt had no intention of allowing a project of thie magnitude when the, proposal firet surfaced. Wiien we decîared these bande teb uplus we did not expect that a Crown corporation (O0C wouîd b. in the deveîopment field competing with private com- panies" said Furlong. '«Tie.way the CSRC has pushed this through should b. a concern te any government 1Furlong endorsed SLM's long- standing demand for an environ- mental assessment and said that «at the worst" he wouîd recom- mend an exciienge of land with the Rose Corp. "I think the. ORC should be the gu ardian of land and not the developer." Furlong later credited the efforts of SLM for making the project an issue in recent years and said that if such opposition had been apparent initialîy, the. development may neyer have got off the. ground. "I appreciate the Rose Cor- poation's rights, they've gone touh the. procees,» he teld The Fr.. Press."'But if this group had been as oruaized then as now, thie woulZdt have gone through." When informed of hie opponents' calI for an assees- ment, White was succinct. 'Tm gîad te hear that, but I don't knïow if anyone is stupid enough te believe'it, h. said. White claimed 'that neither party has eny credilflity on'the Issue. Hie noted that Bradley gave a conditional exemption te tth. pro- ject in' 1988, w. e the Tories voted egainet the govenment's wetlends policy i 1992. Includ.d in the plic is a stipulation that no devebopment occur within 120 metres of a wetland unlese i t cen be demon- strat.d that the. wetîend will not be affected. The buffer zone in the Lynde Shores praoject ranges from 30 metres te 200 metres. "At the time it (policy) was done the Conservatives said it- was an intrusion on property rights. There were commenta that it was ommunistic," said White. As for the Liborale, White said Bradley gave the project its in- ital exemption froïm an environ- mental assessment and that Fur- laonovergupestionedit. <'You're right, Ruth (Grier) did not change hor predecessor's exemption, but for the Bae party te say seven years later that thoy'll do it now in wiehful thinkingLn ho said. Morrieon, president of Rose Corp.'s parent copany, Enscor hic. was not overly concorned. «i. have the 0IMB there fora purpos.,' he said. 'Thoy're just tryfng to gtvot»s. rm not goig tW tae itto rzoualy.»