CCPA’s S.O.S Medicare 2: Looking Forward, Online Video Links

June 11, 2007

To access all sessions listed below, go to the CPAC website’s Public Record Archive, and scroll down to the SOS Medicare 2 conference. Direct links to each session are also listed below.

SESSION #1: Tommy Douglas’ Vision and the Future of Medicare
http://www.cpac.ca/asx/showprmedicaremay3-07-1eng.asx

Introduction: Shirley Douglas, OC, Actress, daughter of Tommy Douglas

Keynote Address: Greg Marchildon, PhD, Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Regina, former Executive Director of the Romanow Commission, "The Douglas Legacy and the Future of Medicare", and Colleen Flood, SJD, LLM, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto

Panelists: Hon. Allan Blakeney, Former Saskatchewan Premier and Minister of Health, Monique Bégin, Minister of Health and Welfare in the Trudeau Government, Tom Kent, Principle Secretary to Prime Minister Pearson, "Forward First for Children", and Judith Shamian, RN, PhD, Victoria Order of Nurses, "Home Care in Canada: The Unfinished Policy"

Panel Moderator: Bruce Campbell, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

SESSION #2: International Perspective
http://www.cpac.ca/asx/showprmedicaremay3-07-2eng.asx

Keynote Address: Uwe Reinhardt, PhD, Professor of Political Economy, Princeton University

Panelists: May Tsung-Mei Cheng, LLB, MA, Princeton University, "Administrative and economic efficiencies of single payer systems", Josep Figueras, PhD, European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, "Currents and Cross-Currents in Europe", Alan Maynard, PhD, University of York, UK, "How to Defend a Public Health Care System: Lessons from Abroad", Marcia Angell, MD, Harvard Medical School’s Department of Social Medicine, "The Truth About the Drug Companies", Arnold Relman, MD, Professor Emeritus, Harvard Medical School, "Market-Based Health Care in the U.S and Lessons for Canada", and Scott Sinclair, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, "Protecting Medicare from Foreign Commercial Interests"

Panel Moderator: Patricia Martens, PhD, Manitoba Centre for Health Policy

SESSION #3: Financing to Achieve Greater Equity
http://www.cpac.ca/asx/showprmedicaremay3-07-3eng.asx

Keynote Address: Robert G. Evans, PhD, Professor of Economics, University of British Columbia, "The Real Anti-Medicare Redistributive Agenda"

Panelists: Michael Mendelson, Caledon Institute of Social Policy, "The Federal Role in Financing Medicare", Colleen Flood, SJD, LLM, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, "Equity and the Supreme Court post-Chaoulli", Diana Gibson, Parkland Institute, "Expanding Medicare: Universal, Accessible and Affordable", and Marie-Claude Prémont, PhD, Faculté de droit, McGill University, "The Impact on Equity of Quebec’s Bill 33"

Panel Moderator: Jack Boan, PhD, Professor of Economics, University of Regina

SESSION #4: Health Care Reforms - Pharmacare, Home Care & Primary Care
http://www.cpac.ca/asx/showprmedicaremay4-07-1eng.asx

Keynote Address: Michael Rachlis, MD, Author of Prescription for Excellence, "Tommy Douglas and the Next Phase of Medicare"

Panelists: Linda Silas, RN, Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, "A Human Health Resources Strategy", Steven Lewis, Health Policy Consultant, "Overcoming Barriers to Health Care Reform", Pat Armstrong, PhD, York University, "Women and Health Care Reform", Joel Lexchin, MD, York University, "The Case for Pharmacare: Equity, Economic Efficiency and Improved Prescribing", Patricia Martens, PhD, Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, "A Strategy for Mental Health", and France Gélinas BSc PT, MBA, Francophone Community Health Centre (Sudbury), "Completing the vision: The second stage of Medicare"

Panel Moderator: Barbara Byers, Executive Vice-President, Canadian Labour Congress

SESSION #5: Social Determinants of Health
http://www.cpac.ca/asx/showprmedicaremay4-07-2eng.asx

Keynote Address: Monique Bégin, Minister of Health and Welfare in the Trudeau Government, "It’s About Equity and Going Upstream: Health for All in Canada"

Panelists: Carolyn Bennett, MD, Former Minister of State for Public Health, Armine Yalnizyan, Social Planning Council of Toronto and CCPA, Cathy Crowe, RN, Street Nurse, Atkinson Economic Justice Fellow, "Dying for a Home", Eber Hampton, EdD, Indigenous Peoples Health Research Centre, "Miyo-M*hcihowin: Self-determination, social determinates and ethical space", and Robert McMurtry, MD, University of Western Ontario, "The Canadian Index of Well-Being"

Panel Moderator: Murray Knuttila, PhD, Professor of Sociology, University of Regina and Chair of the Board, Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region

Stephen Lewis Luncheon Speech
http://www.cpac.ca/asx/PDlewismay4-07eng.asx

SESSION #6: Getting There From Here
http://www.cpac.ca/asx/show
prmedicaremay4-07-3_eng.asx

Keynote Address: Roy Romanow, Former Premier of Saskatchewan, Chair, Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada, Atkinson Economic Justice Fellow, "Canada’s Shared Destiny and the Future of Medicare"

Panelists: Danielle Martin, MD, Canadian Doctors for Medicare, Andrew Petter, QC, Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, former British Columbia Minister of Health, Elisabeth Ballermann, LLB, President, Health Sciences Association of Alberta/NUPGE, "It’s all about People", Maude Barlow, Chairperson, The Council of Canadians, "Profit is not the Cure, Committing to Health Care for All", Marcy Cohen, British Columbia Hospitals Employees’ Union, "Talking Solutions", and Doris Grinspun, RN, MSN, PhD (cand), O.ONT, Registered Nurses Association of Ontario

Panel Moderator: Kathleen Connors, Chairperson, Canadian Health Coalition

CCPA’s new report: “No Bang for the Buck: Military contracting and public accountability,” by Steven Staples

Dear CCPA subscriber,

Today we released the latest in our Foreign Policy Series — a report called "No Bang for the Buck: Military contracting and public accountability," by Steven Staples. The news release follows below, and as always, you can download the report free from our website at www.policyalternatives.ca.

I am also pleased to let you know that video footage from the SOS Medicare conference is now available online, including a speech by Stephen Lewis. See below for a list of all the sessions you can watch. Thank you to CPAC for making this available.

Finally, for those of you who received a message in the last few days dated December 6, 2006, please accept our apologies. A programming error in our newsletter system caused the archived message to be sent out. The problem has been fixed, and your should not receive any more repeats of old messages.

Sincerely,
Bruce Campbell, Executive Director

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives l News Release
For immediate release: June 11, 2007

"No Bang for the Buck" report finds that forty percent of military contracts are "non-competitive"

(Ottawa) Federal spending on multi-billion dollar military contracts has been mired in complaints of improper conduct as the government embarks on its $17 billion build-up of aircraft, helicopters, warships and vehicles.

A study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives called "No Bang for the Buck: Military contracting and public accountability" supports the frequently heard charges of unfair competitions. It found that the government itself has classified more than 40 percent of the nearly 20,000 National Defence contracts awarded in FY2006-07 as "non-competitive."

Even more, the percentage of public dollars spent on "non-competitive" military contracts has doubled in the last two years, according to the study which examined thousands of federal contracts reported in the Business Access Canada’s publicly available Contract History database.

"This report raises the alarm on the use of public dollars, and the need for greater transparency and federal accountability in military contracting," said Bruce Campbell, Executive Director of the CCPA.

The report has four main conclusions:

  • The government should not sign any new major military contracts pending reports by the Auditor General and the Commons Standing Committee on National Defence, expected by the end of the year.
  • Ministers involved in defence procurement, especially the Defence Minister, should have at least a five-year separation from the employ of any government contractors.
  • The Defence Minister should be given clear responsibility for defence procurement.
  • A new parliamentary standing committee should be established with responsibility for defence procurement and monitoring programs.

"This study shows that when fair competition and Parliamentary oversight are exercised, soldiers get better, more effective equipment, sooner and cheaper," said Steven Staples, the author of the report and Director of the Rideau Institute on International Affairs.

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For media interviews, contact Bruce Campbell, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives t. (613) 563-1341 x302, or Steven Staples, report author and Director of the Rideau Institute on International Affairs, t. (613) 565-9449 c. (613) 290-2695

Download the report at www.policyalternatives.ca