I watched Jack Layton on CBC’s The National tonight and I was really struck by how the questions he was asked, closely match my own questions. If a Liberal candidate is ahead in one’s riding, isn’t a vote for NDP just a vote for the Conservatives? Why does the NDP keep attacking the Liberals (who were vindicated to a degree in the Gomry inquiry), while leaving the Conservatives — the greater threat to NDP values — largely alone?
A swing-voter myself, and someone considering a strategic vote against the Conservatives in the upcoming election, I have to admit that the NDP probably more closely matches my personal values, moreso than any of the other parties. Then he started talking about Healthcare 
From my perspective as the son of a doctor, it doesn’t seem like Jack Layton understands modern healthcare. When an audience member said that he didn’t agree with the NDP stand on private healthcare (an absolute block of any public funds to it), Mr. Layton went into his common argument that all we need to do to fix healthcare is train more nurses and doctors and “janitors”, and pay them a good wage. He said that the money that a private clinic would use to pay dividends, was extra money that could be given to the healthcare workers.
His plan seems reasonable for a Canada of the mid-20th century, but modern medicine requires a massive investment in technology with costs well beyond the wages of janitors, or nurses, or even doctors. (more…)
