I'm reposting a section of Chapter Nine dealing with the process we went
through to secure the adoption of this government drug plan in Ontario,
since there seems to be some interest in this type of advocacy by list
members. A few things to remember if you want to do this sort of thing:
1) take the time to prepare a first class report,making sure that your
data are beyond reproach
2) don't be prescriptive to government; rather, help them solve a
problem;
3) enlist the assistance, or at least the acquiescance, of other groups
like MS, AIDS, etc. A common front is much harder to resist .
4) set up a review committee to vet the report. This will give it
credibility
5) Be prepared tto lobby long and hard
6) Remember that politics is the art of the possible; don't propose a
plan that may be ideal, but would be unrealistic to expect passage of
One of my most cherished comments came from the Minister of Health in
the Ontario NDP - socialist - government at the formal lanching of the
Trillium Drug Plan: "Bill, its not often that a lifelong Tory -
conservative - like you is Godfather to an NDP plan"
