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Death of a mutual

Anthony Piscitelli

The following article by Anthony Piscitelli and Liam McHugh-Russell was published in Policy Options:

In the 1990s and 2000s, four major Canadian life insurance companies demutualized, ending their status as mutuals to become publicly traded corporations. Economical Mutual Insurance has spent much of the last decade laying the groundwork to be the first property and casual insurer in Canada to do the same. The stated purpose of this process has been to improve the competitive edge of these companies in economic and regulatory conditions that have changed since they were founded – although more direct financial interests certainly provided some impetus.

In May, Economical received final policy-holder approval to sell off ownership of the company via an initial public offering (IPO). All that remains to finalize the demutualization is approval from Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. There is little doubt this approval will be received; the process has been overseen by the federal government, the regulator and the courts. Although demutualization will be a financial bonanza for a handful of policy holders, the sell-off is unfortunate. The loss of Economical’s mutual status will cause a further drift from the company’s values, to the detriment of broader Canadian society.

Continue reading at https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/august-2021/death-of-a-mutual-and-the-drift-away-from-neighbours-helping-neighbours/

Uncovering the Truth About the First-Past-The-Post Electoral System

Student

By Jason Kalbfleisch

The Current System in Canada

Since its conception, Canada has modelled its electoral system after the British system of governance. Even though Canada’s system has deep historical roots, its blatant disregard for Canadian voters means that it needs to change.

Canada uses a first-past-the-post electoral system that sees candidates with the highest number of votes win an election. The system of ridings ensures that candidates are elected from across Canada and considers the wide variety within Canada’s unique political landscape. But the current electoral system encourages the creation of one ruling party and one opposition party by suppressing its citizens’ diversity of thought and diminishing the value of our vote.

Diminishing the Value of our Vote

By its nature, the first-past-the-post system encourages two-party dominance and suppresses smaller parties’ success. Through a phenomenon known as tactical voting, voters are often discouraged from voting with their true political beliefs and give their votes to a larger party with views most similar to theirs to prevent opposition parties’ from being elected.

Alarmingly, studies suggest that 42% of Ontarians’ votes cast in the 2018 Provincial Election were not cast to elect the candidate of their choice but to prevent a less desirable candidate’s election. Those who cast these “strategic” votes discard their political expression to compensate for the electoral system’s deficiencies.

Looking at Alternatives- Proportional Representation

To ensure accurate electoral representation and expression, Canada should look for an alternative electoral system. One proposed solution is Proportional Representation. Under a system of Proportional Representation, the proportion of the votes cast for a party in an election would directly translate into the representation of those parties in the House’s composition. An election that resulted in 30% of votes being cast for the Liberals would result in the Liberals making up 30% of the House.

Additionally, Proportional Representation would result in creating more political parties that would allow voters to vote according to their beliefs without the fear of having their vote wasted.

A System that Fits Canada’s Needs

Any alternative system needs to consider the unique factors that define Canada’s political system. For example, one of the challenges that Proportional Representation would need to overcome is how it would address Canada’s immense geography, political differences, and riding system.

The model that works best for Canada is the Single-Transferable Vote. Under a Single-Transferable Vote, voters would elect their representatives under a preferential ballot. In this system, voters would vote for multiple members from multiple ridings, under a preferential system, voting for as many or as few candidates they would like. Candidates must receive a predetermined number of votes to get elected, and votes cast for a candidate after going over this number will be given to the second choice listed on the ballot. This process continues until the required number of candidates is elected.

This way, every vote would impact an election, and Canada’s political differences would be accurately represented. This transition would provide an incentive for all voters to vote for candidates who genuinely represent their political opinions.

Weaknesses as Opportunities

Critics of Proportional Representation often note that the system’s biggest weakness is its creation of relatively unstable coalition governments. By enabling voters to vote for what they believe in, rather than the largest parties, there will inevitably be fewer majority governments, and more political parties will have a seat at the table.

Instead, this perceived weakness could provide Canada with a new opportunity. Coalition governments could become the new normal, and there could be increased collaboration between political parties. With the House truly representing an election’s outcome, policy coming out of these collaborative governments would consider multiple parties’ agendas, creating more conclusive and effective policy. Under this system, environmental concerns, social concerns, and economic concerns would have to meet and work towards Canada’s future.

What is the Next Step?

The topic of electoral reform is not new in Canada. Justin Trudeau ran an election with the promise of it being the last under the first-past-the-post electoral system. Yet when electoral reform is proposed with a formal vote, it fails. The next step for Canadians is to educate themselves on Proportional Representation to remove any fears that come with this change. The next time it comes to a referendum, Canadians need to take the opportunity to embrace an electoral system that restores their votes’ value.

Ontario’s Health Care System needs to improve

Student

By: Humera Inam

The people of Ontario do not have equitable access to proper health care. Long-term care beds are not always available for patients who need urgent services. Public funding is not being spent in a way that improves the overall physical health, mental health, and well-being of Ontarians. 

Everyday thousands of people receive high-quality medical services in Ontario. Unfortunately, at the same time, many Ontarians do not have proper, timely and appropriate access to clinically essential health care.

“According to the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario, almost all health care program areas have seen increased funding in the last five year. The most significant increase in funding have been for Ontario drug programs, hospitals, long-term care homes and community programs”.

Despite these increases in funding, Ontario’s Health System is facing several challenges. One of the biggest problems is overcrowding in emergency rooms. According to Hallway Health care report, 41% of Ontarians who visited an emergency room, and 93% who went to a walk-in clinic, were seen for conditions that could have been treated by their family doctor.

There are problems with wait times: patients who are admitted to emergency rooms wait an average of 16 hours in the ER before getting a hospital bed. Patients’ conditions become worse while waiting for a bed.

  • Lack of access to proper health services, supervision and follow-up causes enormous stress to patients and their caregivers.
  • Patients with mental health and addiction services are often denied support when it is urgently required. 
  • Overcrowding in emergency rooms increases during flu season. However, about 3,000 beds are used by patients who are discharged from the hospitals but still wait for an alternative level of care, such as a long-term care space, or arrangements for home care. But home care and community-based health care currently doesn’t meet the health needs of the Ontarians.  

To overcome these challenges, the government should more focus on digital health and virtual appointment system. Patients who visit their family physicians in-person for a routine check-up or follow-up should be encouraged to use a virtual platform instead. The government should hire more doctors, nurses and staff, and provide more beds in those hospitals where the capacity challenges are greatest.  The government should update the rules over access to long-term care beds to ensure these beds are available for patients who are in urgent need of services.  Ontarians must be engaged in the planning and decision-making processes.

The government should also include private payers as a major stakeholder in an ongoing discussion about health care issues to improve the quality of the health care system.