The government of Quebec is caught in an endless cycle, spewing nonsense, committing blunders, spreading disinformation and back again.

It’s a bit scary, to tell you the truth.

Who is paying for health care in Quebec?
This controversy started last month when the good Minister of Finance, M. Raymond Bachand declared at a press conference that “If my child has cancer, everyone will help pay for it… But at the opposite extreme, if you are injured riding a motorcycle, it’s not everyone’s responsibility to help pay for that.”

Photo: Philippe Champoux/Moto123.com

By the way, Minister, if according to you motorcycle riders have to pay for their medical care, shouldn’t skiers, snowboarders, amateur hockey players, cyclists and even rollerbladers have to as well?

Ignorance, demagogy or lies, Mr Bachand? Either way, you are not worthy of the function you hold. Out with you!

The SAAQ – Independent entity or just another provincial tax accumulation agency?

The Minister of Transport is responsible for road safety. Yet, the cost of the road safety programs is funded solely by the SAAQ, an independent government insurance company that is required to generate profits and reinvest those profits for the good of the contributors, those that paid their license and insurance fees(because that’s the law).

In actual fact, the government is continually raiding the SAAQ piggy bank, for instance to pay the people who issue the driver’s licenses or by charging a more or less random amount for the ambulance services provided to road accident victims, and not necessarily related to actual usage. What’s more, the SAAQ seems to buckle before the government’s will, increasing various fees in a more or less arbitrary fashion in order to boost its profits, which it then hands over to the government – illegally, according to the law that created the SAAQ.

What’s more, the very same government trumpets the SAAQ’s independence when fingers are pointed at the torturous policies inflicted on motorcycle riders, like the unjustifiable extra costs to sport bike riders.

Operation Escargot a success!

Early April was a time of rejoicing for me. After the announcement that SAAQ executives were to receive nice bonuses, every major Quebec media drew a parallel between the motorcyclists’ denouncement of their insurance premium increases and the bonuses given to SAAQ management.

Personally, I’m not surprised in the slightest by the behaviour of our government officials, who benefit from luxury social assistance programs and bleed tax payers like leeches, lining their personal coffers with hard-earned taxpayer money.

In addition, the media’s positive response to the motorcyclists’ plight shows that 2009’s Opération Escargot traffic slow-down initiative had some impact on public opinion.