A great big thank you is owed to all the taxpayers in all the 'have' provinces, who have graciously agreed to ship billions and billions of dollars in transfer payments to Quebec. Yesterday, because of your extreme generosity, the province was able to unveil a new social program, one that will pay for fertility treatments for couples unable to conceive. The program goes way beyond Manitoba's stingy tax credit of up to $8000 per couple. Link
The fertility program, the first of its kind in North America will pay for up to three cycles of treatment, at a cost of between $10,000 and $30,000 per couple, or $25-$65 million in all, paid for by, ahem...the province.
This, according to the Minister of Health Yves Bolduc, but others disagree and see the program's cost ballooning up towards $200 million. Gaetan Barrette, the head of Quebec's doctor's professional order, pointed out that it takes just three months of residency to obtain a medicare card and he envisions women moving to Quebec expressly for the treatments, similar to those women who moved to Las Vegas in the fifties and sixties seeking a legal divorce.
At any rate it seem eminently fair, considering that it is taxpayers from other provinces that are really funding the program.
Now to those of you out of province taxpayers who are footing the bill, you should know that Quebec is doing you a favour by trailblazing social programs that your province will be pressured to match.
And so you can thank us for your $7.50 a day daycare, your gilded parental leave program and of course your ridiculously low college tuition fees.
"What's that you say? "
"You don't have these programs?"
Hmmmm......... Don't blame us, we've led the way. Tell your governments to get off their ass!"
And don't tell us you want to reduce transfer payments either, just because the economy is down and there's less money coming in.
Take solace in the old joke wherein a bum complains to his benefactor that his weekly gift is much smaller than usual?
"Business is down this week, what can I say?"
"So just because your business is down, I should suffer!!"......... HA! HA!
By the way, Quebec City needs a new arena.....
