Who cares: drop-in programs care for our most vulnerable, but can they afford to continue?
In the northwest corner of Toronto, every morning, seven days a week, two women, front-line staff at the Syme Woolner Neighbourhood Centre, enter through a side door and head towards their carefully organized kitchen. They sort through food items, donated or bought, and begin their daily task of preparing and serving delicious and nutritious meals […]
Health Policy Briefing
Pandemic heightens urgency for Canada Health Transfers reform
With the federal government having unveiled its spending plan for the coming year, the conversation between the federal government and the provincial and territorial governments over Canada Health Transfers (CHT) will be taking on a new urgency. The past two years of fighting the relentless COVID-19 pandemic have revealed real cracks in our health-care system […]
Ford gambling on Ontarians’ health in pre-election dice roll
OTTAWA—Whatever you can say about Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s handling of the pandemic, it clearly didn’t have anything to do with equal treatment of his province’s population. It emerged last year that private schools had been huge beneficiaries when the Ford government began handing out rapid tests (paid for by federal taxpayers) as Ontarians struggled with […]
Time to reduce unfair financial barriers to medical cannabis
Nearly 300,000 people in Canada use medical cannabis to manage various health issues, including chronic pain. And yet, despite medical cannabis adding much-needed benefit, choice, and positive outcomes to our health care system, unfair taxation means patients face a major barrier to accessing this effective treatment option. Cannabis products for both adult recreational use and […]
Canada should invest $1.2-billion in Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria: Sharafdin
The pandemic has directly affected millions of lives through the spread of the coronavirus, however at the same, the pandemic has compromised the progress in managing other diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria worldwide. Thanks to the Global Fund, millions of lives have been saved from these other deadly diseases for the past two […]
Put your masks back on
We’re in the sixth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that should still mean something. The higher the wave-count gets, the less our governments and politicians seem to want to do anything about it. They seem content to roll into the next one, and the next one, occasionally reinstating some public health protections, before removing […]
Death and dying are universal, but in Canada, palliative care is not
We don’t really think about palliative care until we or someone we know needs it. It’s an area of healthcare that is nuanced and often piecemeal—both in its availability and its delivery. Over the past two years of the pandemic, we have seen a drastic increase in our collective experience of grief, bereavement, death, and […]
Liberals live up to dental care promise and other key areas of NDP deal; NDP will support budget
The NDP will support the Liberal budget after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland delivered on the specific promises outlined in the confidence-and-supply agreement, including dental care. In crafting a pact with the NDP, the Liberals made specific promises to ensure the House of Commons’ fourth party would help them see their […]
‘There are still many unknowns,’ says epidemiologist, as MPs report public anxiety as mandates lift amid COVID sixth wave
As the sixth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic comes crashing down on Canadians across the country, MPs and epidemiologists are expressing concerns that mask and vaccine mandates were lifted too soon, and are emphasizing that the pandemic is nowhere near over—despite public fatigue after more than two years of lockdowns and mandates. Dr. Raywat Deonandan, […]
