Walkom: NDP would sacrifice even medicare for Quebec votes [View all]

[CHIMO]

Desperate to maintain seats in Quebec, New Democrats — like the Liberals and Conservatives before them — are going through a familiar round of ideological contortions.

Is the party of Tommy Douglas still a stout defender of national medicare? Absolutely yes when New Democrats are speaking to audiences outside Quebec.

But inside that province, as NDP leadership candidate and Toronto MP Peggy Nash made clear Sunday, matters are more complicated.

During a debate with fellow contenders in Quebec City, Nash was asked how she would react if the Quebec government decided to charge patients user fees every time they went to a doctor or hospital.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1131276--walkom-ndp-would-sacrifice-even-medicare-for-quebec-votes