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-- U à WOâ& "-C& U Orono Weekly Times, Wednesdlay, March il., 1998 - 9 Hospîta-l A uxiliary present che que to Foundation The Memorial Hospital Foundation received a cheque in the amount of $1 7,000 from the Hospital Auxiliary. The donation wiii be used for Invasive Monitoring Equipment upgrades for the Special Care Unit as pictured above, and an Ophthahnoiogy Stretcher for the Same Day Surgery. Pictured are from left to right: June Hunter - Auxiliary President, nurses Carol Bromeil and Sharon HiIlyer, and Foundation Treasurer - Mrs. Mary Fletcher. FROM PARL/AMEN HILL Alex Shepherd To go or not to go is the question on the mind of fed- eral Progressive Conservative Party leader Jean Charest. Should he run for the lead- ership of the Quebec Liberal Party or stay in Ottawa in his present position. I think he should go.to Quebec. 0f course on any given day. he is. naturally, my adversary as weé cross swords over public policy. For exam- pie 1 attacked him in the House recently for support- ing the idea that Quebec. uni- laterally. has the right to decide its status without ref- erence to common law. Obviously. in a democracy. people have differing views. But last week I set my party allegiance aside and wrote John Charest urging him to contest the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party. I understand that in the pubiic's eyes the whole thing may seem somewhat absurd wondering how a Conservative can take over the leadership of a Liberal party. An essence the Liberal Party of Canada and the Quebec Liberal Party have only thé same name in com- mon. In fact it is not uncom- mon for members of the Quebec National Assembly to work for members of the Bloc Quebecois in federal elec- tions. In short there is little synthesis between the two parties. Mr. Charest has shown bis dedication to the country by actîvely fighting for the "No" side in the last referendum (which is quickly becomhing known. as the "neyer- endum"). In some ways Mr. Charest's going to Quebec is like going to a horse race. There is one horse we cer- tainly don't want to wln whidh is the front runner. And of the remaining horses there is only one that has a chance of catching the front runner. The choice then seems clean. Mr. Charest should go to Quebec since he is in the best position to beat Bouchard. I don't believe that if he doesn't stan d up to the chai- Don't leave homewithout your health- card Effective March lst, patients visiting their doctors or heading to a hospital emer- gency department. lncluding Memorial Hospital Bowmanvilie, must show their health card or be pre- pared to pay for their treat- ment. The Ontario Ministry of Health is eliminating its 'good faith' payment policy, s0 that after March 1lst, doctors, hos- pitals. medical labs and other healthcare providers, xiii be required to validate the health card of each'patient they treat. "We'll swipe the card and if lenge he xiii have missed bis opportunity to have a future impact on the nation. Then there are ail the down sides'. What if you don't win and your sentence is purga- tory in Quebec City. Like everything it is easy for oth- ers, including myseif, to, make these suggestions. After ail we have no responsibility if the suggestions go wrong. It's clear that over the long haul Mr. Charest could make a major dent in m.y Party. Let me say that if (ail the ifs!) Mr. Charest is successful (note that over 10 per cent of Parti Quebecois supporters would vote for anyone else to ensure that there are no more refer- endums) I stili don't believe we have solved the problems of the separatists. What has been accom- plished is that Canadians have a tremendous opportu- nity to build new bridges with fellow Canadians in Quebec. Opportunities, I mlght add, which separatists have destroyed over the last 20 years. How strange it is that Bilan Mulroney gave political birth to both Lucien Bouchard and Jean Charest. I sat with Intergovernmental AMfairs Minister Stephane Dion and watched on TV Quebec Liberal Party leader Daniel Johnson reslgn. Our discussion tumned to other things, especially Chicoutimi, Que., since we have a school in this ridlng that has an exchange pro- grain wlth a school there. The last time Dion addressed a CEGEP (commu- nity college) inx Chicoutimi no one came because th eir teachers told them not to go. Ironically, this very saine area is one of the federal seats Charest helped wln for the Progressive Conservatives in the last federal election. TI-is gives you an idea of what has to be done In that province to reduce the sllly barriers that some small- minded people have erected. In any case, I thlnk the fate of Mr. Charest lies In his going to Quebec City to flght the separatlsts In that province. I wish hlm weIi. it Is rejected,- patients may have to pick up the bill," explains Dr. Benjamin Fuller, physician liaison for the Criticai Care Program at Memorial Hospital. "We xiii give people 24 hours to get back to us with a valid card."I After that time, he says, there may be a fee charged to patients, although the amount that Memorial Hospital may charge has notý yet been flnalized. "We will treat anyone need- ing urgent care," explains Dr. Fuller. "Patients xii not be refused treatment if they arrive at the hospital in a cnit- ical state or by ambulance. Once the emergency is over, however, we will still need to deal with the health card issue." One of the main reasons for this action is because of the large number of people showing Up without a valid card. The card crackdown is one of several measures announced by the province last fail to cut down on healthcare fraud. Another reason is that without a valid health card, doctors cannot bill the Ontario, Health Insurance Plan to coilect their fee for treatlng a patient. The Ministry has also set up a toll-free line for p eople to eall if they suspect health card fraud. That number is 1-800-268-1153. People can also contact the Ministry's internet web, site at www.gov.on.ca/health. î&9edicny1 Sinvotïi/afrns / "e! !em /e'e ca! !$'e JIR2es/ Infroducing,.-.. Michael* &Liam** Brown - Your Orono Real Estate Team! Liam says: VI can take care of ail your real estate needs - afier ail, I'm turning 3 this month. My Dad helps out too. You know, with the technical stuf He's really good at it!" If you are thinking about selling your home, or you're thinking about buying a new home and need to find out about buyer's agency, contact: MICHAEL BROWN at Re/Max Reflection Realty Inc. (905) 434-52222 (24 hr), at home in Orono 983-5756 or e-mail cehart@netcom.ca- *Sales Representative **Sa les PRep's Son and one major incentîve