Active transportation needs a federal champion
TORONTO—Canada needs a federal champion for active modes of transportation such as cycling and walking. At present, no federal minister has been assigned responsibility for supporting active transportation in this country. Mandate letters, used to set priorities for federal ministers, make no mention of active transportation. This is a problem for so many reasons. Active […]
Taxing medical cannabis hurts vulnerable patients
With so much attention focused on the Trudeau government’s plans to legalize recreational cannabis, it is important to not forget the thousands of Canadians currently benefiting from treatment with medical cannabis. Unfortunately, some of the decisions the government is making today are disadvantaging those patients. In order to legally purchase medical cannabis, patients require the […]
Lessons from a Calgary kitchen floor
Donna Sharman learned a vital lesson when she collapsed on her kitchen floor in Calgary four years ago: health research saves lives, including hers. Then 59, she hit the floor without warning because of a blood clot in her brain, causing a stroke. That was the unlucky part of her day. Her luck turned when […]
What gets measured gets done
CALGARY—“The true measure of a nation’s standing is how well it attends to its children, including their health, safety, material security, education and socialization and their sense of being loved, valued and included in the families and societies into which they are born,” according to UNICEF. Yet how can we measure our nation’s standing when […]
The nervous, joyless journey to legalize marijuana
GATINEAU, QUE.—The adults of Canada are deeply conflicted about marijuana. By “adults,” I mean most politicians over 30 years old. By “conflicted” I mean that our leaders are in the process of legalizing recreational pot, but they don’t want anyone to think they approve. The grudging message seems to be: you can smoke, as long […]
An open letter to the Honourable Commissioner Judge Horace Krever
Justice Krever, On behalf of all of our employees at Canadian Blood Services, as well as the many donors, volunteers and countless individuals whose lives have been touched by Canada’s national blood system, it’s my privilege to offer you our collective thanks. Your remarkable contribution to health care in this country is felt to this […]
Pot bill sponsor wants to shake up Senate schedule, but Tories push for status quo
The man who’s set to sponsor the Liberals’ priority cannabis legalization bill in the Senate wants to shake up the normal legislative process, even proposing a field trip to a pot-production facility, but opposition Senators are pouring cold water over his ideas. The Senate should tackle the bill in the same way it approached the […]
City bends rules to burden struggling area near the Hill with huge homeless shelter
OTTAWA—The House of Commons regularly reverberates with paeans to equality, the aspirations of Canadians seeking to better themselves, and fairness for all. Yet only a few miles down the street in Ottawa, these values are being largely ignored in an effort to stick the city’s poorest neighbourhood with an enormous institutional shelter so that tourists […]
Cannabis Act, finance minister’s ethics controversy to be front-and-centre for last sitting stretch of 2017
The House is back for the final four-week legislative stretch of the year and while the government is looking to make progress on its Cannabis Act, Bill C-45, opposition House leaders say they will continue to hammer away at Finance Minister Bill Morneau in the daily 45-minute drama Question Period. “We have a prime minister […]
Better to be done right than on time: Senate, opposition concerned about marijuana legalization deadline
The Liberals are sticking to their July 2018 marijuana legalization deadline, but the opposition, Senators, and other stakeholders say their push-it-through approach risks setting the policy up to fail. NDP health critic Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway, B.C.) said he sees the bill as too restrictive when compared to alcohol regulations. “It’s changing a hundred years […]
