Beyond providing essential primary-care services, they take on a range of other roles, including research, teaching, and promoting awareness of the importance of cultural competency in their profession, writes Liberal MP Don Rusnak.

The auditor general found that the department didn’t bother to track literacy rates of First Nation students in comparison with students in the provincial systems, writes NDP MP Charlie Angus, the party's Indigenous affairs critic.

Senators’ approach in its study of the cannabis bill ought to be cautious, as opposed to restrictive, in our recommendations, writes Independent Senator Frances Lankin.

Clearly, provincial governments have no problem spending many additional billions on treating sickness. Maybe it’s time they started directing spending towards improving health.

Despite serious funding cuts, Ottawa's tobacco control strategy was successful in cutting the number of Canadians who smoke from 25 per cent in 2001 to 15 per cent today. Now, the goal is slashing another 10 per cent by 2035, which experts say will require more funding.

The narrative that bad prescribing practices is behind crisis is 'just wrong,' says opioid addiction expert.

Quebec is a world leader in suicide prevention, said academic Jack Hicks, but Canada is one of the only developed countries without a national suicide prevention strategy.

The government should be prioritizing public health responses specifically to the needs of Canadians. Essentially, what should become key priorities on this list are the health issues that are affecting us nationally.

Canada’s Food Guide is undergoing revisions and this is an opportunity to consult with Indigenous leaders to ensure it is culturally relevant and reflective of our First Nations, Inuit, and Métis teachings.

In an email Q&A, the health minister talks about preventing marketing abuses by prescription drug companies, the healthy eating strategy, suicide prevention, and changes to the assisted reproduction act.

Employers have been pushing the federal government to address what they see as legal uncertainty surrounding cannabis use by workers.

We frequently forget that Quebec has one hand tied behind its back, because the Canadian government holds onto health-care dollars it owes the provinces.

By introducing regulatory tools to allow those in safety-sensitive industries to enforce zero-tolerance policies, the government would demonstrate a proactive approach to ensuring workplaces in Canada remain safe.

There's a deficit in the public's understanding of obesity, which directly impacts the approach to treatment.

The Senate Social Affairs Committee is wrapping up its study of the cannabis legalization bill, and the House Environment Committee has made more than 135 changes to the environmental assessment bill.