Thread by @sunnshiiny

To demonstrate the use of counter propaganda, I’m using Moe’s egregious lie about health transfers.

Moe is attempting to place blame on the federal government for underfunding healthcare.

But really it’s the provinces themselves that have created the problem.

Now the premiers are working in unison to transfer blame and responsibility to PMJT and the sitting government to avoid responsibility & accountability.

And it’s not just con premiers, it includes left libertarian BC NDP and Francophone centre right libertarian CAQ.

Premiers have decided they want the money with no strings attached.

PMJT has offered plenty of transfers, but all the offers include reporting requirements and limitations on what those transfers can be spent on.

There is no debate that provinces need larger health budgets.

No debate at all.

The debate is over who gets to decide how or if federal health transfers are spent on our healthcare. Because the transfers belong collectively to taxpayers. Not to the PM or premiers.

That’s our universal healthcare investment through paying taxes.

Our tax dollars fund our healthcare system.

So it should concern the average Canadian when premiers are obstructing the funding of targeted issues identified during Covid which receiving mass support in the last election.

What hubris for premiers to presume they know better.

Moe correctly identifies that federal healthcare transfers were set at 50%, in the 1960’s when universal single payer health insurance was adopted. But it hasn’t been 50% since premiers fought for and won the ability to tax provincially to pay for increasing costs of healthcare.

That was 1977. I was 10 years old in 1977. So it was a while ago. I’m 54 now.

Provinces have the ability to increase taxes to pay for healthcare, since 1977. Instead most have reduced taxes, severely reducing their revenue.

Provinces transferred the burden of taxes by replacing some corporate and wealth taxes with provincial sales taxes.

Alberta remains the only province without a provincial sales tax, but we have oil. Instead of an Alberta Trust Fund, we got healthcare, while the rich got richer.

1977 was several decades ago & much has changed since universal health insurance was adopted in Canada.

What hasn’t changed is the Liberal federal govt’s expectation for P/T to be accountable for the federal tax transfers and to uphold the 1984 enacted Canada Health Act.

Every major change in health transfers has included “strings” and targeted spending.

Even Stephen Harper expected results of increased spending to be reported to Ottawa. So it’s not just Liberal govts who demand accountability for federal tax dollars transfers.

The expectation has NOT changed that healthcare would meet identified targets and that provinces would report their outcomes & expenses to the federal government.

Strings have ALWAYS been attached. From the very beginning.

What’s NEW is the demand to hand over cash without strings.

Moe lies egregiously by creating the incorrect assumption that reporting and accountability for the outcomes is a new addition.

It’s ALWAYS been expected to report expenditures. By Liberal AND Cinsercative govts.

So why would premiers want to DUPE the public into believing “strings” are a new addition?

So they can put transfers into general revenue. Like many of them did with Covid specific transfers.

BC, AB, SK, MB, ON & QC all clawed back P/T benefits when feds sent financial help.

This reduced provincial expenses and provided zero increased support to the people they govern. What an insult. People were left to suffer so premiers could better balance their budgets. Some premiers were worse than others. AB & ON come to mind.

What prevents them from doing the same with increased general health transfers?

The “strings” they want removed.

The Canada Health Act provides the federal government the ability to reduce or cease transfers if provinces don’t comply.

That’s what Moe is targeting.

The Canada Health Act.

This has nothing to do with the willingness and responsibility for renegotiating federal health transfers and everything to do with removing legitimate federal authority to decide how they’re spent and the accountability framework.

Premiers are demanding feds increase transfers for healthcare so they can then decrease the equivalent amount from their provincial budget. With no benefit to healthcare systems or increased services for the people they govern.

Well, except for the wealthy citizens planning on using private healthcare funded by public tax dollars. While under funding the public system everyone else uses.

It’s a scam.

Privatization of healthcare for the wealthy is the intended outcome; partially subsidized by you.

The intent is to smear PMJT for having the audacity to be responsible and prudent and to deprive taxpayers of the health services they pay for through taxes. While subsidizing the wealthy, with public tax dollars.

We’ve seen this dynamic before from libertarian charlatans.

Private school tuition rebates made with public tax dollars. That was a Scheer policy offered in 2019 election.

Subsidization of private education with public funds. It’s occurring in BC, AB and ON already.

It’s fairly easy to determine how unreliable premiers are regarding federal transfers distribution to the general public provincially. People who rely on social benefits to survive have been living on benefits below subsistence.

Premiers already remove provincial social benefit budgeted amounts equal to federal transfers from their provincial expenses and redistribute those funds to the wealthy as subsidies for private services.

Pretty slick huh?

It’s classic bait and switch.

Now they want to do the same with federal healthcare transfers.

By blaming PMJT for underfunding healthcare, while simultaneously CPC criticizes the billions in debt that LPC used to pay CERB and top up social benefits for provinces. Most of those transfers were clawed back.

The sheer abundance of people with disabilities, the profoundly poor, and the aged who are suffering right now is testament to how effective pointing the finger at PMJT has been.

But the problem lies with the premiers demanding unmitigated control of tax dollars.

Though Moe and his P/T counterparts are doing their best to get you to believe otherwise.

They just want to help the people. You may want to ask yourself, “which people?”

The wealthy of course. Not you and me. We don’t matter to libertarians.

We just pay the tab (tax).

A more succinct counter propaganda narrative would be, “Hey Saskatchewan, why doesn’t your premier want to account for the extra tax dollars he’s demanding? You may want to inquire what makes him exempt from accountability.”

Same narrative in a succinct package.

@threadreaderapp please compile