Policy Brainstorming Session – October 16th 2013

Proceedings opened at 6pm

Attendees: Brian, Andrew, Joshua, CT
Tabled Documents:

• CBC – 6 themes to watch at the Speech from the Throne
• Romanow Report, 2002. Executive Summary, healthcare in Canada

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Policy Discussion and Idea-Bouncing Results

Healthcare

• focus on chronic illnesses/long term care
• develop home care into a full-fledged and fully insured domain/industry
• Renew federal-provincial transfer agreements
  • actually enforce the Canada Health Act
  • ensure money is spent specifically on health care – discontinue the practice of depositing funds into general revenue streams of provinces
• update stipulations of the Canada Health Act to actually follow the recommendations of the numerous health care study commissions on health care insurance coverage
• reform medical licensing to streamline and regulate physician practices and establishments
• tiered healthcare packages?
  • Currently privately insured services could be offered in a second-tier public insurance

Energy Efficiency

• Air conditionning and heating overusage; usage should be capped depending on temperature
• establish window regulations, either uniform insulation regulations, instructions on opening and closing times for windows with associated fines, or both
• Such measure would save energy as well as money through the reduced technical strains in AC and heating units, with their associated maintenance costs.

Aboriginal Issues

• economic development on reserves
  • create employment opportunities through infrastructure investments and business incentives
  • create skilled aboriginal labour to match demand created by the previous point
• current practice is to regularly throw money at band councils and ignore them
• serious sovereignty issue could hamper development

Tobacco

• promotion of a more « consumer friendly » approach, rather than a collective guilt-trip
• sponsor companies that don’t add deadly chemicals in the making of their cigarettes
• list cigarettes’ additives and chemicals on the packages
  • instead of the current pictures that are inevitably ignored and thus fail their purpose
  • perhaps instead display pictures of the chemicals listed on the package

Peacekeeping

• military reform for the UN
• less temporary military structure to improve cohesiveness and efficiency
• perhaps with a core force that would constitute a permanent leadership

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Meeting adjourned, 7:45pm