Health Policy Briefing
How Canada can ensure workplaces remain safe before marijuana becomes legal
Senators will vote next week on Bill C-45, the government’s proposed cannabis law. If the bill receives royal assent, recreational marijuana use will be legalized by this summer. When the government introduced Bill C-45 and Bill C-46–a companion piece of legislation aimed at cracking down on impaired driving–some industries raised concerns that the laws fail […]
Why we need to rethink the way we treat obesity
In my over 20-year career managing obesity, I’ve seen it all. I can tell you that it is clear that obesity is not simply a person’s failure to eat less and move more. Decades of scientific research support the notion that obesity is a chronic disease, and we need to start treating it as such. […]
We need access to medication now, a national drug plan would save lives
Many Canadians with rare and life-threatening diseases need access to life-saving medications that are unaffordable to them. Our son Eric had cystic fibrosis and we were fortunate to live in Nova Scotia, where his medication was covered. We thanked all the legislators who made that possible. Now, new medications are becoming available that are literally […]
Senate committee likely to amend C-45 on home pot cultivation, says sponsor
The Senate Social Affairs Committee will likely recommend a change to the cannabis legalization bill’s terms for growing pot at home, says its sponsor in the Red Chamber. “I suspect there will be something in home cultivation. It has been probably one of the most-discussed issues,” said Ontario Independent Senator Tony Dean. “I would be […]
More than 700 were hoppin’ and poppin’ at The Hill Times’ Party on the Hill
You better believe it: word on the street was that The Hill Times put on a fantastic party that was boppin’, hoppin’, poppin’, and more than 700 people were schmoozing at the Sir John A. Macdonald Building last Wednesday evening. The party’s hashtag #partyonthehill was trending all night. About 30 MPs, a few Senators, one […]
Note to Senators: home pot growth not worth sweating over
The Senate is now into the last two weeks of its study of the government’s cannabis legalization Bill C-45, and one of the top areas of concern for Canadian politicians with a stake in the outcome seems to be whether Canadians should be allowed to grow a small number of pot plants for their own […]
Tory Senators fed alternative facts in U.S. cannabis field trip
The Liberal government’s Cannabis Act recently survived the unanimous opposition of 29 current and former Conservative Senators and is now in committee. This appears to have prompted three Conservative Senators to travel south to meet with United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Trump administration officials, and the anti-cannabis organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana. The stated […]
Canada should help to recognize Taiwan at global health summit
Re: “Canada and the world need Taiwan at the World Health Assembly,” (The Hill Times, May 9, p. 8). Following on from Frank Lin’s letter, I am writing to further encourage support of Taiwan’s inclusion, as an observer, at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) forthcoming 71st World Health Assembly (WHA), in Geneva, Switzerland between May […]
Plan to scrap TB in North will need Inuit trust, collaboration, says Philpott
Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott says that treating Inuit tuberculosis patients within their own communities with an Indigenous-led plan will help to rebuild trust in the health-care system and allow the government to eradicate the disease in the North by 2030, but opposition critics say the plan is unrealistic based on the government’s timeline and […]
