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4 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, June 3, 1986 Editorial Comments Not Over-joyed With Doctors Dispute On Thursday and Friday of last week, a strange and troubling event took place in Ontario. . The doctors who work in this province went on strike. Well, most of them did. Some decided to defy the Ontario Medical Association and kept their offices open to their patients for the two days. The strike was the culmination of a year of haggling and bit- terness between the Liberal Government and the Medical Associa- tion over Bill 94, the legislation that will make it illegal for doctors to "opt out' of OHIP and extra-bill their patients. Labour problems and strikes are hardly a new thing in Ontario and Canada. But there is something very troubling when a group like physicians feel they have to withdraw their services in a squabble with the government. Even more troubling is the hint from the Medical Association that Ontario hasn't seen the last physicians strike. The Association warned last week that there may be an even longer strike in the future, along with other tactics such as physicians resigning from certain hospital committees, or attempts to disrupt hospital routines and schedules by slowing down such things as patient releases. The action last week and the threats of future action don't ap- pear to have changed the course of the Liberal Government. Debate on the controversial bill began this week in the Legislature. It appears at this late date as if neither side is prepared to give an inch. The Ontario Medical Association has said all along that money is not at the root of the adament opposition to this legislation. A he Association says, and we have to agree, that what Bill 94 will do is bring government intrusion into the practice of medicine. Doctors fear they will be stripped of a fundamental freedom: the freedom to deal exclusively with patients on a one-to-one basis, in- cluding how much the patient pays for services. The profession wants to retain the right to this freedom, even though nearly 80 per cent of Ontario's doctors are now working within the OHIP plan and do not extra-bill their patients. The Government's position is that nobody in Ontario should have to pay extra for any medical service, including the services of any physician. During the last provincial election, all three parties said they would like to see some kind of an end to extra billing. It was a catchy - way to get some votes. But how high a priority is it for the betterment of the Ontario Health Care system that has often been described as among the very best in the world? : ~The squabble with the doctors has occupied an enormous "amount of the government's time over the past 12 months. We can't help but wonder if the negative fall-out from the extra billing ban is going to be far heavier on the system than any benefits that will be derived. The system as it is, seemed to be working. The breakdowns, where they did occur, were not the fault of the doctors who extra- billed. They were the fault of crowded facilities, antiquated equipment, and in certain specialties, a shortage of doctors. Sadly, the positions on both sides in this dispute appear to have hardened. Backs have been pushed to the wall. The government is going to get its way, the OMA will continue to fight the Bill, and that fight will likely include "job action' in the future. The people of Ontario are not over-joyed to think that their govern- ment and their doctors have slammed each other against a brick wall. (*cCha the | eta - #0 801 90 PRY la | (4) 993-730) J. PETER WWI N_ Member of the Publisher ( . Canadian Community Newspaper Association Advertising Manager and Ontario Community Newspaper Association. Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Ltd, Port Perry, Ontario. J.B. McCLELLAND Editor Authorized as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, and for cash CATHY ROBB payment of postage in cash News & Features ' Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 A } N (Qe) of Subscription Rate: In Canada $15.00 per year. ios, JRL > Elsewhere $45.00 per year. Single Copy 35° ©COPYRIGHT -- All layout and composition of advertisements produced by the adver- tising department of the Port Perry Star Company Limited are protected under copyright and may not be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher RR Yoke lex, HE DOESVT BELONG SON TO THE OMA ping off on the raft, Chatterbox by Cathy Robb People often tilt their heads at earnest angles, open their eyes intelligently and ask me, "How in the world do you come up an idea for your Chat- terbox week after week?" I always slough off their inquiry with a modest, 'Oh, it's not that hard. Imagine the col- "umnist on big city papers that have to write a col- umn every day." Let me tell you, though, it is hard. Right now I'm staring at a blank piece of paper in my typewriter and nothing more in- telligent than "I can't think of a thing to say" is running through my head. In the first place, it's absolutely hot and beautiful outside. It is neither of the above in the office. I do not want to be here. That's probably the main reason why I can't come up with a Chat- terbox idea. I think, perhaps, I would be a much better writer if I was comfortably enconced in a poolside deck chair with a tall glass of iced tea and a bot- tle of suntan lotion by my side. Ooooh, summer. I swear there is nothing bet- ter in this whole wide world than having an en- tire summer at your fingertips with no job and no worries to spoil your fun. Thirteen year olds have it best, I'm sure. They're too young to have serious summer jobs, other than the odd babysitting trick or cut- ting the neighbour's grass routine. And yet they're old enough to explore each summer day at leisure, on their own or with their friends, filling Pio time with swimming or hiking or riding their bikes -- or absolutely nothing at all. I remember being thirteen, in the summer of 1973. My parents owned a cottage up in Haliburton at the time and even though my Dad worked on and off, Mom and her three offsprings settled in- to cottage life right from the moment school was out to the last hours of Labour Day. . What a life. If the weather was good, we spent all day in the lake, dipping in the cool water, hop- off and getting wet gain. We were as brown as peanuts and our big- t quandry was deciding whether or not to go aterskiing. I was a pretty fair waterskier in those days. And why not? We usually went once in the morn- ing and once at night, when the lake was as calm as glass. By the time my parents sold the cottage I could get up on one ski -- not just drop one because I could do that since I was 10, but actual- ly get up on one. And once up, it became a real competition to see who could touch their ear to the water most often while cut the wake. These days I probably 't even get up on SUMMER'S HERE, OH BOY! two skiis, never mind touch my ear to the lake, but in 1973 I had all the time in the world to prac- tise and by mid-August my arms and legs rippl- ed with muscle. Oh, the good old days. i year olds just don't realize how good they've got it. Once they hit 15 or 16 they're ex- pected to find summer jobs, and once they graduate, they're expected to find full time jobs. And once they've got a full time job, they're lucky to get two weeks off, not necessarily in the sum- mer either. I'm still going through culture shock about that. Most of my life my body has been accustom- ed to having two months or more of free time. Years later, the first sign of warm weather throws an automatic switch in my head that says SUM- MER VACATION STRAIGHT AHEAD. Trouble is, while my body is craving the rest and relaxation of a summer vacation, my head is saying, "Uh, uh, you have to work all summer." It's so depressing. Summer is no longer as fun as it used to be. Nowadays summer means sweating it out in a hot office, no tan, and a lackadaisical attitude towards - life. It means cars that overheat, bathing suits that don't fit anymore, June bugs splattered all over the back door, and rainy weekends. It means perspiration-flattened hair, streak- ed make-up and clothes that stick to your back. It means a lot of things, but mostly it brings back a lot of memories from a time when summer was just plain fun. NEAT CAST! What is this, anyways? Are the McClellands trying to outdo one another. First it was John B., breaking his arm at a Blue Jay game a year or so ago. And now it's his son Matthew, who gave his a good crack while hor- sing around in the backyard. With all these casts floating around, it's enough to make a castless person jealous. All my life I have envied people with casts. Especially when I was in school. Nobody gets more attention than a person with a broken arm or leg. Everybody wants to carry their books, sign their casts and ask the in- evitable question, "Howdidja do that?" Since I have never had a broken limb, I have always wondered what it's like to be wrapped up in plaster. People with casts always say it's a real drag, especially once it gets itchy, but in spite of their discomfort, they carry their cast around like a war medal, generally beaming from ear to ear. (Turn to page 6) TT EEE EN 1 inn The FO on Saad gi a L a on