The glass tipped over

by Brandon Mayer

What a snowy winter this has been so far! Compared to the last few years, with only my own memory as a source, I believe this winter takes the cake. If thinking back decades rather than years, most will remember snowier winters than this one, as do I. But in recent memory, the dumping of snow this season, and particularly in the last few weeks, has been astounding. When standing in my own driveway I feel like I am in a lonely crater, unable to see in any direction besides out into the street.

Opinions regarding the white fluffy stuff vary greatly depending on who you ask. Some hate it, and some love it. I often chuckle at social media posts in the summer months that feature a picture of a snow-covered street with a caption reading something like “this is coming in only four months”. The humour comes in the form of comments from people who see the photo and act as though their life is coming to a bitter end, as though we weren’t already keenly aware that we live in Canada and that it snows in Canada, prior to the unsolicited guidance of social media.

Snow has its ups and downs. It can be a pain to clear out of the way, but it’s fun for kids to jump, play, and build in. It is a sign of colder, uncomfortable weather, but is also a symbol of winter fun such as sledding, skiing, and tubing. It reminds us of the January blues, but it’s also associated with Christmas and Valentine’s Day. One could say that the “good or bad” debate when it comes to snow is a perfect example of a classic “glass half full or glass half empty” scenario. For those not familiar with this old bit of philosophy, it’s quite simple. In any given situation, even as the facts remain the same, there will be those who evaluate it in a positive way, and others who see it in a negative way. This leads to the analogy that if a glass is filled to the halfway point with water, optimists will see it as a glass half full, while pessimists will see it as a glass half empty. Un-

Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Have to reply to Colin Creasey's letter about health care.

All his reasons for the extra cost of private care are incorrect.

Higher costs will not be an issue because clients will use their health card like a debit card, but the money comes from the province. Standard fee for a standard procedure.

Extra billing? I don't think there are a lot of options when it comes to having cataracts removed, or a hip joint replaced. Private clinics might do things differently to save money? Innovation is a good thing.

The public would not pay for capital assets, that's the definition of private, it comes from private money.

Duplicate administration? The Ottawa hospital has 11 Vice Presidents, and fortunately, I can’t help but notice that people seem to be getting increasingly negative lately. Forget about “glass half empty or glass half full”, it seems that we have just collectively decided that the glass has tipped over. And no, it didn’t have a lid. When it comes to mental health, a positive attitude really does go a long way. Being positive is therefore not just about putting on a persona for those around you – it can be an act of self-care as well.

I have as much reason to complain about the snow as anyone else. Sometime before the last snowstorm, my snowblower stopped working. It’s a minor issue and I refuse to get a new one because I know that “one of these days” I will just fix it, but in the meantime I have been shoveling by hand. It seems that the snow scoop I use is now having to slide up and over hills 5 feet in height in order to dump each load. There is just so much snow that I am running out of places to put it without being able to blow it somewhere! Despite this annoyance, I do enjoy snow. It feels so

Canadian. It reminds me of childhood. It’s great to see kids’ creativity when they manage to make forts and tunnels and other frozen architecture with it. Why hate something that is out of our control, particularly when it’s here for at least a quarter of the year each and every year?

While snow is my current example because… well, look out your window – it is only an example. This isn’t really about snow. It’s about negativity and what it does to us. One psychological study showed that optimistic people can actually live 15% longer than pessimistic people. That’s a significant number. To illustrate, if a pessimistic person had a lifespan of 60 years, this study suggests that an optimistic person could live for 69 years. Nine extra years!

It's time to take back positivity. It’s too cold to take a walk? Put on jacket! There are too many chores to do? Tackle a couple today and a couple tomorrow! Christmas is over? No big deal because Valentines Day and Easter are coming! Shovelling the snow is too hard? At least it means you can make snow angels with your kids and this weekend will be easy to plan with snowy activities!

The snow example remains a good one, particularly insofar as kids can teach us what positivity means. When is the last time you heard a kid complain about too much snow? Sure, it may be because they are usually not the ones shovelling or driving in it, but it could also be because they are so naturally good at making the most of things. Take your family on a snowy hike, or on a ski trip, or tubing, or sledding, or skating. Don’t see snow as a burden, see it as an opportunity.

None of this is meant to convey that any mental illness can be resolved sim- ply by “thinking positive”. Instead, I want to implore people to once again assume the responsibility for their own happiness. Yes things are expensive, yes there are problems in the world, yes it feels like we must work longer hours for the same amount of money and have less time for recreation. However, none of these things are a barrier to making the most out of what we have. We must play with the hand we are dealt, and perhaps that means not only seeing the glass as half full, but also working to fill it up the rest of the way. Stay safe and warm this winter, but above all else – have fun! all the support staff and office space that goes with it.

Staffing shortages? Maybe people wouldn't quit the system if they had 9 to 5 jobs and weren't forced to work overtime.

All operating rooms in hospitals need to be fully equipped to handle anything. A private operating room could be equipped with just what is needed.

There are lots of ways private health care can help without causing the end of the world. Let's give it a try to see what can be done.

Bob Swaren

Dear Editor,

As usual, I was quite disappointed in Mr. Creasy’s lament in the NGT Feb 2/23.

He has lamented the Conservative level of support for public health care and the outsourcing of certain procedures. Canada has just come through a pandemic that has severely stressed the system, operationally and economically. This is common to almost every public health care system in the western world (Britain, Germany, Netherlands, France etc.). In addition, the western industrialized world is in the midst of the largest labor shortage since WW2. The boomers (post war babies) have been the largest worker contingent in history and have reached the retirement age, many heading for the exits during COVID due to the stresses of coping at work, as well as age. This worker shortage was inevitable. And the public health system was not spared. Has Mr. Creasy noticed that we have experienced inflation since February 2022? He demands that the government increase spending on health care and at the same time increase wages. At this point we have not faced, as yet, rounds of strikes and protests as in most European nations. But it may soon come. Mr. Creasy asserts that in BC the private health clinics are “poaching” staff from the public health system. I would doubt his assertion! Last week I was at a local lab for tests and that lab had been closed for 3 days of the week. Why? Because of insufficient workers, so they share opening hours with the Winchester clinic. And where are the workers?

As soon as they are trained they go to the public health system as the wages are better by $10/hr. with benefits and pension and union. I also know of hospital RN’s that have joined private clinics. Why? They wished to work closer to home, not pay parking, face traffic daily and not work shifts and week- ends, as hospitals require. I have a daughter that worked in a private clinic as support staff. She soon moved to the Ottawa hospital for increased wages and benefits. So Mr. Creasy, people do move about for their own reasons. I suppose Mr. Creasy begrudges individual freedom to make choices for themselves, everything being caused by ideologues like Doug Ford!!!

As for higher costs in BC due to the grounds mentioned, would you not be glad you could get a cataract surgery in a private clinic in Ontario, that Mr. Ford will pay for, and get on with life, or would Mr. Creasy prefer that people lose their job because they cannot see well enough to drive to work?

Incidentally, the suggested increase in health care funding of $591/person in Ontario with a population of

14.95 million (2022) would come to 8.835 billion, not 7 billion. Also, Mr. Mayer pointed out that, contrary to Mr. Creasy’s claim, New Brunswick pays the least for its health care system, but no numbers. New Brunswick health care budget for 2022-2023 is 3.2 billion for a population of 812,061 or $3,941 per capita. Ontario 2022 health care budget is 75.2 billion for a population of 14.95 million or $5,030 per capita. Alberta 2022 health care budget is 15.1 billion for a population of 4.6 million (2022) for a per capita amount of $3260. And no one mentions that BC, Alberta and Ontario are the only provinces that pay more into Confederation than they receive. Namely, Ontario (2019) paid $2,000 per capita more out than they cont'd on page 6 received, more than enough to fund our health system. It is yet worse than that.

Ontario has 7.185 million wage, salary and commission workers, approximately half of the total population. So Ontarians pay over $4,000 per worker into Confederation, (28.740 billion) than Ontario receives from the Feds, perhaps to support other “have not” provincial health care systems. Perhaps Ontario is not as wealthy as you think! And how must budgets be strained when Ontario saw a population increase of 300,000 and New Brunswick 25,000 in 2022 (both government estimates).

Willem Van Dam