Why Canada needs to improve residential care for aging populations, and why we aren’t doing it
Older people and their families often view long-term residential care as the last and worst resort for care, while policy makers see it as an expensive problem with a propensity for scandal. Provincial governments have been strategizing how to keep frail older persons out of residential care via a suite of programs such as home […]
Time to re-think health-care policy for the elderly
As the Canadian population continues to age, there is a need to revisit conventional thinking regarding the provision of health care services for seniors to ensure that the system is sustainable for all Canadians. There are a number of misperceptions in current thinking. First, there is a belief that a growing seniors’ population will result […]
Canada’s Aging Society
Medical technology marketplace too fragmented, forum hears
New medical technologies are here and ready to be adopted en masse by Canadians, but the marketplace is too fragmented and access too uneven for that to happen right away, said several speakers at an Ottawa forum on seniors. The spread of new technology like smartphones that are jam-packed with sensors is happening just as the […]
Taiwan has a role in ensuring global health security
OTTAWA—This year marks the eighth year that the Republic of China (Taiwan) has attended the annual assembly meeting of the World Health Organization as an observer. For most countries, invitations to this event are acquired without obstacles, but for Taiwan, participation in the WHO is often hard earned. In his speech at the World Health […]
Today in the House
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 The House will begin debating Liberal MP Geng Tan’s (Don Valley North, Ont.) Motion 38, that the government should each year proclaim the first day of the Lunar Year as the beginning of the 15-day “Spring Festival.” The House Agriculture Committee will meet at 3:30 p.m. in room 7-52 of 131 Queen St. […]
Better health is possible for Canada
Brooklyn-born, Ohio-raised surgeon and author Dr. Atul Gawande has eloquent and informed advice that we here in Canada must heed to renew our health-care system: “Better is possible. It does not take genius. It takes diligence. It takes moral clarity. It takes ingenuity. And above all, it takes a willingness to try.” The Canadian Medical […]
Time to take the high road for humanity
TORONTO—Médecins Sans Frontières’ recent decision to pull out of the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) has certainly garnered much public attention. The agency pulled away from the summit on the premise that the inaugural gathering would “not address the weaknesses in humanitarian action and emergency response, particularly in conflict areas or epidemic situations.” This was unquestionably, […]
Parliamentarians convene bi-partisan panel to address Lyme disease
Karen Ludwig heard it disturbingly frequently on the campaign trail last summer: constituents complaining of an obscure, little-understood illness that left painful and occasionally debilitating symptoms, and perplexed local health professionals struggling to pinpoint the cause. Lyme disease, the tick-borne illness first identified in New England, had migrated north and was sinking its teeth into […]
Foreign-aid policy review launches, outcome expected in fall
“Women, women, women.” International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau (Compton-Stanstead, Que.) has declared the focus of her portfolio loud and clear. It will be a highlight of the foreign aid policy review she’s undertaking over the next two months, which, after months of anticipation, was finally officially launched on May 18. It’s the first policy review to happen […]
