The things you need to do to get heart surgery in Canada

A New Brunswick man who told police that a friendly dog scuttled his plan for a bloody shooting rampage was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison after admitting it was all a ploy to get life-saving surgery while in jail. Ontario Court Justice Brent Knazan described James Stanson as a "manipulative, duplicitous, entitled con-man" who headed east to Toronto last June "to hatch a plan that would lead to his detention (and) the medical treatment he needed." "It is important that I give a sentence that denounces (Stanson's) conduct and deters anyone else from doing the same," Knazan said, rejecting the defence's request for a sentence of one year less a day.

Stanson, who was found with a veritable arsenal of firearms and ammunition in his car, originally told police he'd been planning a mass murder in an east Toronto neighbourhood, but changed his mind after meeting a friendly dog. The 44-year-old former jail guard has since told court he invented the story because he wanted to be detained so he could receive heart surgery -- surgery he got last November, while in custody. Stanson changed his story three times during his trial, eventually pleading guilty to eight weapons charges.

In his ruling, Knazan said he could not be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Stanson had the intent to kill, but did find enough corroborating evidence to suggest Stanson had threatened to carry out the plan. The court also heard that Stanson's self-serving lies were consistent with a psychiatrist's diagnosis of a personality disorder with narcissistic, manipulative and anti-social features. Stanson was sentenced to three years in prison minus 13 months for timed served, followed by three years of probation.

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For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL hospitals and health insurance schemes should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the very poor and minimal regulation.

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