Some time ago I heard the following ad on the radio:
At some point this add was replaced by a follow up:
What I found interesting was some of the language used - there was no mention of cuts to hospitals, the usual target of government cuts to healthcare. Instead it was specifically cuts for doctor's services.
Going to the website mentioned in the ad took me here:
http://www.ontariosdoctors.com/search/putting-patients-first/
More language of "doctor funding", and heavy emphasis on the word "cutbacks".
And of course the fact they didn't bother to hide the URL under an alias, it's a direct link to the Ontario Doctor's website. The page also shows the logo of the OMA at the bottom of the page.
In the "sign up for updates" section, we are told that signing up means "yes, we want to put patients first", unlike those who hate sick people and want them the suffer.
Lets look at the four bullet points at the bottom of the page.
The first point talks about the strain on health care, and a limit by the Liberal government on how much it will spend. This hard cap is a specific thing - the max amount the province will pay for all doctor services for a year.
The second point lists a 7% cut. This number (6.9%) comes from the OMA, The government claims "that the imposed fee cuts were only 3.95 per cent, plus another one per cent for billings in excess of $1 million."
The third point is that the overall population is aging. This puts pressure on all parts of the health care system - and whether or not you agree with it, the government's point is that by freeing up money from doctor's pay (and being able to budget a maximum cost for the year for that pay, since in the past doctors have billed beyond the budgeted amount) will leave more fund for other parts of the health care system.
The fourth point is disingenuous on two levels. One is that it sounds like the government is making health decisions, when this is a fight over pay. Two, the OMA rejected the suggestion of a neutral conciliator, refused to return to negotiations, and is suing the government.
(http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/10/29/ontario-doctors-government_n_8427378.html)
Note that none of the points are attributed or cited, there are no links for more information, the only 'active' option is to sign their petition/mailing list, and lots of scare words with underlining.
On the other side of the issue, the government has said that 500 doctors each billed for over a million dollars, with one hitting 6.6 million. (http://www.680news.com/2016/04/22/500-doctors-billed-ontarios-health-insurance-plan-1m-each-one-billed-6-6m/)
Because doctors, while paid with public money, are not public employees, they have been exempt from being on the sunshine list - a list of public servants earning over $100,000 a year. A recent challenge may have changed that. (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-doctors-ohip-billing-information-privacy-1.3615347) While the government would have likely fought this ruling in the past, with the current fight with the OMA, they seem to be willing to let it lie.
So, without making a judgment on the correctness of the OMA, or the validity of their fight, I judge this campaign to be propaganda.
Now it's your turn - here is another radio ad I heard. Do an investigation as I did above. Follow the trail, and the money. Who made this, why, and what are the facts? Is it propaganda or unbiased truth?