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Prime Minister Stephen Harper is travelling to Labrador(Nov.30th.) to unveil details of what is expected to be the loan guarantee that he pledged during the 2011 federal election campaign. Interprovincial politics have played a key role in Muskrat Falls, as Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia have partnered to find a way deliver power to other markets while bypassing Quebec . Newfoundland and Labrador has had a strained relationship with Quebec for decades, due largely to the 65-year contract with Hydro-Quebec over the Churchill Falls generating station. Under that deal, which expires in 2041, Newfoundland and Labrador sells power at a flat, inexpensive rate to Quebec, which has been able to resell the power to other markets while keeping all the profits. Today, Hydro Quebec pays only about 1/4 of a cent for a kilowatt hour and then resells it for up to 6 cents. That's like buying oil at $1.65 a barrel and re-selling it at the world price of over $30 (Canadian) a barrel....

From: Martyn & Steph -NZ The Trans-Pacific Partnership is the most secretive and "least transparent" trade negotiations in history The Council of Canadians and OpenMedia, major campaigners for Internet freedom, have warned that the TPP would "criminalize some everyday uses of the Internet," including music downloads as well as the combining of different media works. OpenMedia warned that the TPP would "force service providers to collect and hand over your private data without privacy safeguards, and give media conglomerates more power to send you fines in the mail, remove online content - including entire websites - and even terminate your access to the Internet." Pharmaceutical corporations are major proponents of these rights and are likely to be among the major beneficiaries of the intellectual property chapter of the TPP. The pharmaceutical industry ensured that strong patent rules were included in the 1995 World Trade Organization agreement, but u...

How long can a Canadian Snowbird stay out of the Country How long you can stay out of the country depends on two things: your own provincial rules on medicare eligibility, and how long your host country (for most snowbirds that’s the United States) allows you to stay as a visitor.  These are two separate sets or rules, and they don’t necessarily coincide. Let’s deal with the provincial rules first. All provinces, except Ontario and Newfoundland, require you to actually live in your home province for at least six months plus a day (183 days in most years) in order to be considered a permanent resident of that province, and therefore qualified for provincial health insurance (medicare) benefits. That means actually residing in your home province and being able to prove it, if necessary, not simply owning a residence there and living in Portugal, Mexico or California for eight or nine months. That means you are allowed to be out-of-the province for half a year less a day—182 days. (Ca...

Health Care Reform - USA Emergency-room care is available to all by law, but treating an emergency medical condition is not comprehensive care. There is no follow-up after most injuries and illnesses. Enough treatment is provided to stabilize the patient A broken bone will be splinted or cast, but cast removal and therapy puts the uninsured on his own. A prescription may be written, but the meds are not commonly provided. Also, preventive care is not available at ERs. Uninsured patients receive care, and even though the treatment is delivered without regard to ability to pay, those uninsured patients are responsible for the costs and will be billed. Even Medicaid requires a co-pay, and unpaid charges will be reported to the credit bureaus. Those black marks on a credit report can adversely affect the uninsured's ability to secure student loans,find employment and purchase all types of insurance. The Affordable Care Act does more than provide emergency care. It allows so many people...

Time to make way for health reform in Florida After months of digging in against federal health care reform, Florida's Republican leaders seem to be yielding to today's realities. It's about time. The election is over, the voters have spoken and the hope that a court ruling or the presidential election would change the fate of Obama Care — is gone. A majority of Florida voters didn't support the candidate who promised to repeal the law. Neither did they back a state constitutional amendment that purported to exempt state residents from having to buy health insurance, the law's individual mandate. And as we all know, elections have consequences. Immediately after the election, a disappointed GOP Gov.  Scott, who helped lead the nation's charge against reform, said he was still not ready to implement the law a position that would force the federal government to do it for him. By contrast, a more reasonable state Senate President Don Gaetz said, "I don't l...

4/ Some plans offer a hotline to a nurse or doctor, price checks on tests ordered by a doctor, or where to find the best deal on a prescription. 5/ Set aside pre-tax dollars. Use a flexible-spending account from your employer or a third party, such as a bank, to deposit pre-tax money for health costs' not covered by your insurance, such as deductibles and co-pays. Note that the maxiumum contribution to a flexible-spending account next year has been lowered to $2,500, from $5,000. Employers offering high-deductible plans may also offer a health savings account, in which pre-tax dollars can also be socked away — but while money in an FSA must be used by year's end, money in an HSA rolls over from year to year. 6/ Mix and match coverage. Your spouse or domestic partner may be offered less-expensive coverage by his or her employer. Or it maybe less expensive for certain family members to be insured through an individually purchased health plan. Note that employer-based plans are mo...

Here are seven tips when choosing health insurance: 1/ Make sure you enroll If you don't re-enroll in your benefits or choose a new option, you could end up with no coverage next year. Check your enrollment dates, often in November or the spring, and make sure you sign up. Most people offered employer-sponsored health insurance should take it, said Keith Mendonsa, a consumer-insurance specialist for eHealthInsurance.com. And people with pre-existing conditions should definitely take it, because they could be turned away shopping on their own, he said. 2/ Pay attention to costs. Look at your premium contributions this year versus last; your maximum "out-of-pocket" expenses, which are your financial obligation for a catastrophic health issue; and your annual deductible "If my deductible is $2,500 and my out-of-pocket max is $5,000,1 know I'm going to have to pay $2,500 if I go into the hospital Can I afford that?" 3/ Compare types of plans. More employers are ...

Medicare payroll taxes: Increases Medicare payroll tax on couples' income above $250,000 and individuals' income over $200,000. Adds a new tax of 3.8 percent on income from investments for high-income taxpayers. Pre-existing conditions: Prohibits insurers from denying or limiting coverage based on pre-existing conditions. Insurance exchanges: States create health insurance exchanges — supermarkets for individuals and small businesses to buy coverage — and provides income-based tax credits for most consumers in them. Low-income access to care: Expands Medicaid to cover families and individuals with income up to 133 percent of the poverty line. Mandatory insurance: Requires most citizens and legal residents to have health insurance or pay a fine. Penalties for employers: Penalizes employers with more than 50 workers if insurance is not offered or if their workers get coverage through the exchange and receive a tax credit. High-cost policies: Levies a tax on so-called Cadillac hea...

Health care overhaul shifts to the fast track After long battle, implementation is a reality; states face key decisions soon for ObamaCare. President Barack Obama's election victory Tuesday all but assures that his landmark health care overhaul will be implemented, effectively putting an end to the Republican campaign to derail the law. Starting in 2014 , millions of Americans should be able to obtain health insurance for the first time. "It's all over but the shouting," said Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack, an influential consumer advocate and champion of the law. "What was very questionable at the start of the year has been settled.... The Affordable Care Act will be a permanent fixture of the American health care system" That outcome puts pressure on many Republican state leaders who fought it. They must decide within days whether to implement it or have the federal government- do it for them. Tuesday's results also present Obama with a ne...

Medicare, Social Security Florida, a retirement haven, is especially dependent on these big entitlement programs, and Obama has acknowledged they must be  changed to keep them solvent If s going to require all of us to work  together and tell the American people just how serious the current crisis is. Medicare in its current form is unsustainable The same goes with Social Security. The issue could come up as early as this month when Obama and congressional leaders explore ways to avoid falling off the "fiscal cliff" Thafs Washington shorthand for a draconian set of tax hikes and spending cuts that kick in at the end of the year unless the president and Congress agree on a better way to reduce the federal deficit. Cutting Medicare spending is one option that may be thrown on the bargaining table, as is raising taxes on the rich. The eligibility age for Medicare may need to be raised beyond 65 to keep the program solvent Other options also require painful choices, such as raisi...