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Canadian ISP Shoulder Surfing
1nfamous writes "Canada's Largest ISP, Bell Sympatico, has informed its customers that it intends to 'monitor or investigate content or your use of your service provider's networks and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy any laws, regulations or other governmental request.' The new customer service agreement is effective June 15, 2006."
They're just the RIAA/CRIA's buttmonkey!
If you are eligible for medicare coverage it is illegal to pay for a covered service.
This was challenged in the Province of Quebec before the Supreme Court of Canada, and found unconstitutional, primarily because of extreme delays in the providing of covered services resulting in protracted suffering and often death.
IIRC, the court stayed it's verdict on notice that Quebec would apply the Notwithstanding Clause to overrule it anyway.
One of the reasonable limits, in many Canadian's view, is the prohibition on trying to act both inside and outside the medicare act.
You don't even have that choice. If you are eligible for coverage, you must obtain care from the state run system. This applies to citizens and landed immigrants. You can't chose to not get a "health card" and "pay your own way". Furthermore, if you are eligible, you can't go "outside". And, if you apply for a "health card", being eligible, you might find onerous restrictions. Ontario, in 2003, for example, required agreeing to live in the province "permanently". I checked: they indeed meant "forever". I could not agree to this as I wanted to escape Canada as soon as possible.
This is wholely unacceptable in this Canadian's view, and is one of several reasons why I have left Canada and am in the process of obtaining citizenship elsewhere, at which time I shall renounce my Canadian citizenship.
There are a lot of services that aren't deemed essential, and as such, aren't covered, so you're free to spend your money however you want. Breast implants, tummy tucks, dentistry, for example.
No, I am not free to spend my money as I want. I can not spend it to get faster medical service, unless I feign not being a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant. My son, of course, being an American, and never having a CCC (Canadian citizenship certificate), was better off, and didn't have to wait for a thing.
It would be one thing to require tax-support national healthcare. However, having paid the taxes to do so, one should be free to spend the rest of one's income as one wishes. Yes, this means a two-tier healthcare system, one that is the norm in almost all socialized countries in the world.
The exceptions, which follow Canada's model, are Cuba, and North Korea.
Damn fine company you commies are in, eh?
You could've hired me.
It was easier to find a doctor outside of the country.
Doctors can't "opt out" of the system, practically speaking, since 95% of their potential patients are "in it" (being taxed so heavily to pay for it and other social services that they'd have insufficient income to pay for private care, and it being illegal to sell health insurance for covered services). Furthermore, though I might be mistaken on this, I was under the impression that doctors couldn't get licensed unless the quota for doctors "in" the system was met. In any case, you know, and I know, that practicing medicine outside the medicare system in Canada is, almost certainly economically impossible: the laws are stacked against it.
I just got sick and tired of the whole Canadian socialist ethos. Political action within the Canadian Libertarian party was about as close to tilting at windmills as one could get, so I figured the best way I could help myself and simultaneously fight the system was simply to leave and not be subject to Canadian tax on my income.
What most Canadians appear to celebrate, I find downright evil and disgusting. It would not be an understatement to say that I hate Canada and typical Canadians for their attitudes. I hear that's a crime over there.
You could've hired me.
There is a profound difference between Canada and the U.S.A. and one just has to compare the constitutions of the two countries.
The U.S. constitution may be figuratively in tatters at the moment, but Bush too, will pass. At least it's a worthwhile document, unlike the Canadian equivalent, what with a notwithstanding clause, and stuff about the colour of butter in P.E.I.
One can believe in the founding framework of the U.S.A., at least, even if present day practice departs disappointingly from noble principles.
It is sad though, that so many Americans take their liberty for granted: they should kiss the ground they walk upon, IMHO.
You could've hired me.