Thread by @JeffRybak

This pandemic is a chance to consider the delivery of healthcare in Canada, as it has become both more difficult and more urgent to access care. Erin O'Toole is on record favoring expansion of private options. I'd like to share some recent personal experiences. #cdnpoli 1/13

My right knee is messed up. I don't really know why, but it swells easily and I can't walk long distances. My doctor ordered x-rays and ultrasounds I got locally very quickly. That worked great. Now I need an MRI and I'm totally stalled. No idea when I'll get one. #cdnpoli 2/13

Someone pointed me at a private option where I could pay my way in. The loophole is that an employer can pay for the service if required, but I'm self-employed so arguably I could order one for my most critical employee - me. Gotta be honest, I thought about it. #cdnpoli 3/13

I believe in public healthcare. I really do, and I'll talk more about why in a moment. But pain is a powerful motivator. Pretending otherwise is just blind to reality. Thankfully I work seated, at a desk. So I can get through this with minimal disruption to my life. #cdnpoli 4/13

Also recently, my infant son was running a fever and coughing. Was sent for a Covid test. The good folks at St. Joseph's saw him right away at their clinic, as they see every kid referred, and thankfully he's negative. They say 3-4 days but we got next-day results. #cdnpoli 5/13

Now I'll limp around on my bad knee as long as I have to. But when it's my son? If I had to buy my way to the front of the line you damn well better believe I would have. And to anyone who wants to be outraged by that, go screw yourself. Because I'm human too. #cdnpoli 6/13

Here's where I acknowledge my privilege. If I had to buy my way to the front of the line I could have, because I have money. It's that simple. And thankfully, I wouldn't be choosing between my son's urgent healthcare needs and feeding the rest of my family properly. #cdnpoli 7/13

Back to public healthcare. St. Joseph's was great. What keeps them great is that they serve people with money and influence along with everyone else. Pretending otherwise is a lie. They could neglect the poor and powerless easily. But not my family. I'll nail them. #cdnpoli 8/13

This is what advocates for private "options" are aiming towards. A system where everyone with money and influence inevitably opts out of public healthcare, and leaves it to serve the poor and vulnerable only. They say it will create more capacity. At what cost? #cdnpoli 9/13

Inevitably, once the wealthy and powerful don't need our public healthcare (or any other public service, for that matter) they stop caring about it. And stop funding it. And it declines. And we wring our hands and say "how sad" but it never really gets fixed again. #cdnpoli 10/13

We keep saying "we're all in this together." It's not really true and never has been. But at least when we rely on the same services we all have an incentive to maintain them. To quote The Boss, "nobody wins unless everybody wins." It's that simple. #cdnpoli 11/13

So I limp around on my messed up knee, but my son got a same day Covid test and a next day result. And more importantly, everyone else's kid has access to the same. I can live with that. Quite literally - I can LIVE with that. And so can you and your family. #cdnpoli 12/13

We must maintain public healthcare and exclude public "options" not only because it's what good people do, but also because despite being good, we're still human. We'll buy our way in when we need to, and turn our eyes from those who cannot, if allowed that option. #cdnpoli 13/13