Our COVID-19 journey seems infinite, but remember to check in on the mental health of others
OTTAWA—How are you doing? Thankfully, that’s a question I believe people are genuinely asking as they do a check on the mental health of others during this pandemic. Perhaps, for the first time in a global crisis, people are embracing the importance of speaking openly about the previously invisible struggles they’re having. The stiff upper […]
Why does Shell pay oil and gas lobby to do its anti-climate action dirty work?
Royal Dutch Shell is the world’s second-largest oil and gas company and likes to assure its investors, regulators, the media, and the public that it is making strides towards addressing the serious threats posed by climate change. But can this be true when Shell says in its Industry Associations Review Update that it gives between […]
de Adder’s Take: 10-05-2020
Improved mental health access tied to workforce capacity
Canadians’ mental health has faced significant challenges during the pandemic. Stress has gone up, whether from uncertainty or from very serious problems such as job loss and the dramatic rise in violence against women, which the UN has called the shadow pandemic. Canadians are drinking more and the opioid crisis has gotten worse despite the […]
Failure and success in Indigenous health
OTTAWA—On Monday, Sept. 28, Joyce Echaquan from Atikamekw died in the Joliette Hospital while nurses taunted her with racism. Joyce was expecting to experience racism; that is why she took the video. Systemic racism across provincial ministries has already been documented in the Public Inquiry Commission on relations between Indigenous Peoples and certain public services […]
Canada has opportunity to restore hope worldwide, says reader
“We are all in this together” and “leave no one behind” have been commonly used phrases during the ongoing pandemic. In Canada, we will navigate the second wave through long wait times at COVID-19 testing centres, adapting to online learning, and hoarding of disinfectants and non-perishable items. However, we forget we are not the only […]
Twists and turns in upcoming U.S. election never ending
OTTAWA—The twists and turns in the upcoming American election are never ending. Just when we thought we had seen everything, the president, his spouse and high-ranking staffer, Hope Hicks, have all tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Not only will this stop the Trump campaign in its tracks, it will return COVID-19 front and centre […]
How Ottawa can help small businesses digitize, grow amid economic recovery
The federal government’s Speech from the Throne rightly recognized small businesses as the lifeblood of communities and the backbone of the economy. While the ripple effects of pandemic-related shutdowns in local, regional, and national economies have been devastating—particularly for small businesses—these businesses will attest that e-commerce has been essential to their survival. Canadian companies are […]
Addressing mental illness: what is to be done for our youth?
Mental Illness Awareness Week is a time to reflect on achievements in improving outcomes for young people experiencing a mental illness and committing to improvements yet to be done. The last decades have successfully built awareness about mental illnesses. However, this awareness has not transformed into addressing where needs continue to be the greatest. We […]
Germany’s quite possibly best major country right now
LONDON, U.K.—I have just spent two weeks driving around Germany interviewing people (mostly climate scientists, since you ask), and I have come to the conclusion that it is the best-run—and quite possibly just the best—major country in the world right now. Some small countries are absolute jewels, of course, but it’s easier if you’re small. […]
