I'm fine with free healthcare until you're 21, then get a job and start paying up to $5K/year. It might encourage some to stay fit and to take care of themselves. I'm sick of people who don't give a shit about being 100 pounds over weight and want me to pay for their triple bypasses, including you Dix.

Canada is one of the few countries in the world that has no private healthcare whatsoever, forcing our wealthy to spend their money in other countries. It couldn't hurt us to allow private healthcare as well as a guaranteed public healthcare system like every country that has better healthcare than us (france, sweden, norway, luxembourg, germany,finland, germany)

To the above comment "go get a job". People like your self should go live down the states for a life time and see what happens when you get cancer or have a major operation that impedes your health for life. When your insurance company jacks your rates so high because your are such a hi risk that it drives you into bankruptcy and you louse just about everything and put out onto the street . Is that what you want for health care in B.C. That what happened to a friend of mine and he wasn't over weight my friend. Sounds like you are just another off the wall uneducated red neck into your self nut.

While I realize there are other lifestyle choices that also adversely affect health, anyone who smokes and/or has a history of heavy drinking should have to pay a very large deductible for medical treatment associated with drinking or smoking. If they are in a financial position to do so they should be required to pay all the costs.

With all the evidence of sickness and disease and massive health costs associated with these two completely unnecessary indulgences it is unreasonable to expect the rest of us to subsidize the consequences of them.

Adrian, your dodging and weaving on issues is getting a little tired. Always trying to frame an issue to ridicule existing governments without telling us what you would do differently to make things better. Your "us good", "them bad" BS will only carry you so far, I'm looking forward to the day when you have to articulate your policies, and how you're going to pay for them.

Adrian Dix is right. Neocon governments-- Liberals in BC and Conservatives federally-- are ideologically opposed to socialized medicine and, basically, anything public. Ultimately, in true Chicago school economics fashion, they would like to see as many government services and assets as possible privatized. Why the public--who overwhelmingly believe in government services like public education and healthcare-- would continue to vote for governments fundamentally opposed to these concepts is beyond me.

Socialism failed. We need to deregulate. The rich should not pay any tax. We need to get rid of minimum wage and let the market decide. We need to get over all this moralizing nonsense and legalize slavery. This whole socialism nonsense and human rights and gay people and whatnot has gone too far. Democracy is overrated. We need a shitkickin army and cops with urban tanks. Sorry NDP, you'll never get my vote.

No political party with an eye on the next election will ever touch Healthcare. Period. NDP should find a different scare tactic. BC Libs are just a moderate centrist party- even Alberta PCs don't touch healthcare at all.

Steve Y- private health care does not help the system if operators can access public health monies.

McPhee-to some extent unhealthy people are not seen as priorities in circumstances involving high risk and high dollars - ie a younger woman with a severe drug problem I witnessed who required operation but was ultimately refused air transport to another jurisdiction on this basis - she died.

Steve Walker--same as Steve Y.

Neocon4ever-We have already clearly legalized slavery - we certainly don't call it that - but we have it - without question - and everyone in the biz knows it.

DDSS- Mr. Dix is correct to raise this - based on agreement coming - BC needs to negotiate tough - lest the federal government becomes lax - Conservatives are coming in Ontario. However, I don't know how Quebec comes into question - the public there are supporters of public health--there is likely a greater chance Quebec will separate than there is they will support private health care like the United States - imo

Glen p:

If Friedmanomics-style empower the rich and punish the poor free market economics is the basis upon which you define "legalized slavery", then yes, deregulation and privatization of universal healthcare was the way to go. Not only will B.C. still have the lowest minimum wage by 2014, but we can expect the two-tiered healthcare system to disintegrate and benefit the U.S.A. even more, and private health insurance companies in B.C., especially when the $15.7 billion dollar budget involves more cuts to a system which allows a Tim Hortons to double as an emergency room, seniors to wait for life-saving heart surgeries, and hospital beds to be slashed in a draconian fashion. Don't forget that if it wasn't for Tommy Douglas, there wouldn't be a medicare system.
So we'll remind you all to remember to vote N.D.P. in the next provincial election if you want fair representation in Ottawa to preserve Medicare. Furthermore, since Premier Clark was not given a mandate to rule by the people of British Columbia, I say now is the time to call a provincial election. For once, Christy, stop hiding behind your "families first" logo, and give the reign to someone who really cares about us, someone who is truly democratic, Adrian Dix.