5/7/03 3:47PM

I was born in St. Boniface hospital in 1961. I grew up in East Kildonan the youngest of five children. We were a working class family. Because of the lack of professional opportunities, I left Manitoba for Toronto in 1985. I frequently visit Winnipeg as both of my parents and my wife's parents live there today.

Winnipeg will always be home to me and my two children are growing tired of me telling them that the Guess Who were from Winnipeg and that The Crash Test Dummies are also from my home town. I have even taken my son to several football games at the Winnipeg stadium, making sure to tell him that real football has three downs.

I moved to the USA as my Toronto employer transferred me here approximately 6 years ago. That opportunity allowed my wife to stay home and be with our two children on a full time basis, a luxury that was not afforded to us in Canada.

I have had many political discussions with our American neighbors and am proud that depending on the region of the country, we have a three- and sometimes four-party political system.

I grew up in a political family and my father was a member of Winnipeg city council. In fact both of my parents ran unsuccessfully for the provincial legislature under the Liberal banner. At that time I was 20 and I was idealist who felt that the political system in Canada was obligated to provide for people that were less fortunate than myself. I still believe this, but realize that it is now time to consider modifying our system. Health care was viewed in our household as some what of a birthright. I believe that my parents share this view today.

Although I am not sure of the Manitoba statistics today, I am certain that the areas of health care, education and servicing of the provincial debt account for the majority of what is spent from every tax dollar collected. Although many programs are paid for with assistance from our national government, because of the level of service provided to the average Manitoban, we limit the amount of freedom that our politicians can exercise on key financial issues.

Here in the USA, I am employed with a fortune two hundred company which has an HMO that provides health care benefits. We have the right as employees to exercise our choices every couple of years and can opt for specific benefits based on our personal situation.

For example, since I am the sole breadwinner, I have elected to take out extra insurance which I pay for in the way of a monthly deduction. I want to say that I am in middle management, and am feeling certain pressures from being a one-income family. It is not like money is no object in our household.

One thing that works here is the fact that there is a deductible that we have to pay every time me or a member of my family visits the doctor. This fee was $10 when we moved here and has recently moved to $20 per visit due to spiraling health care costs. Emergency ward service is $75. In simple terms, if we have a simple headache, we do not see the doctor.

I watched with great interest when Premier Ralph Klein of Alberta tried to offer a health care option outside of the national program. Of course as predicted, Ottawa squashed it immediately. What Canadians really need is to realize that health care is not free and that they should be willing to pay a small deductible with every visit to the doctor. For those that can not afford it, have them be eligible for a rebate based on their ability to pay.

When my grandmother grew older, she used her weekly trip to the doctor for more of a social visit than anything else. By charging a deductible for each visit, most of this activity would have stopped.

By getting control of the health care system, Canadians could get back on their financial feet relative to where their budget dollars are spent. Spending less money on health care means having more money to use as a payment toward retiring the provincial and national debts.

My point is that regardless of who wins in this election, the politicians effectively have one hand tied behind their back, because of the fact that most of every tax dollar that is collected is already committed to be spent on education, healthcare or debt. As I said earlier, I am not sure what the exact ratio is, but I believe that healthcare represents the greatest single spend. For Manitobans and other Canadians to compete in our global economy, drastic measures are required, even with programs that are viewed to be birthrights.

I will continue to visit Winnipeg and take my son to Bomber games, but under the current tax situation in Canada, I have no immediate plans to come home. This does not make me love my country any less or stop cheering for our Canadian hockey teams, but is does frustrate me knowing that we have the human resources and talent to make a global impact and are restricted from doing so because of our fear of change.

Stand up and get noticed Canada! Take off your handcuffs and help our government get their financial house in order. Tell them you will accept change! Nothing made me prouder than when I heard that our government took a firm stance on the war and that the BC health care system was first in making a significant advancements in mapping several key elements in gaining a better understanding of SARS.

For all the talent that we possess, let's design a system that meets the needs of Canadians and remains affordable for us and our children. When we retire our government's debt, we can truly be the leader in the global economy.

Garth Stapon
Former Winnipeg Resident
Now living in New Milford, Connecticut
USA