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, […]
Back-to-workplace plans still in flux say public service union leaders, as PSAC files mandatory vaccination policy grievances
With yet another wave of COVID-19 coming down on Canadians, return-to-workplace plans for thousands of federal public service workers continue to stall, as the Treasury Board reviews policies around telework, as well as the government’s mandatory vaccination order for federal employees. Union leaders say the majority of employees are continuing to work from home. And […]
Low-income seniors complain of poor communication, hidden deadlines in GIS repayment rollout
Advocates and legal clinics say they are hearing from “panicked” seniors who have spent hours on the phone with Service Canada trying to register for early access to the government’s one-time payment to make up for clawbacks to federal income supports, only to find out they should have gone to their local MP first, or […]
Liberal-NDP deal promises nothing more than a pharmacare pantomime
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh stepped over broken promises about pharmacare walking down the aisle to join Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a confidence and supply agreement. The “marriage” vows included a new promise—not to implement pharmacare, but about “continuing progress” toward a national program by passing legislation next year and making a plan to bulk […]
Reform needed now for a health system on life support
What would happen if half of Canadian physicians suddenly cut back their clinical hours? What would that mean for Canadians trying to access health care? Or for patients who are waiting for surgeries and screenings delayed by the pandemic? Or to the remaining physicians and other health workers who are already struggling to provide timely […]
