We often hear that, in Canada, health is a provincial responsibility. This is understood as the provinces having autonomy over, and responsibility for, a large portion of the funding and delivery of health care services. But the influence of provincial policies on health outcomes goes far beyond doctors and hospitals, physiotherapists and pharmacies.
Au début des années 1980, plus de 2000 Canadiens ayant reçu des transfusions de sang ont été infectés par le VIH et 30 000 ont contracté l’hépatite C. Ce tragique scandale, et la commission Krever qui a suivi, ont donné lieu à une refonte de notre système de don de sang afin d’assurer la sécurité de tous les produits sanguins.
Health care is but one element of what makes the biggest difference in health outcomes — social factors play a far more significant role. Income and its distribution, education, employment, social supports, housing, nutrition, and the wider environment — what we have come to know as the social determinants of health — are the most powerful predictors of wellness and longevity.
In the early 1980s, over 2000 Canadians who received blood transfusions were infected with HIV and as many as 30,000 contracted Hepatitis C. This tragic scandal, and the Krever inquiry that followed, resulted in the overhaul of our blood donation system to ensure the safety of any blood products. This made Canada one of the safest countries for blood transfusion in the world.
In a recent media article, Nova Scotia’s Health Minister, Leo Glavine, floated the idea that people should have to demonstrate healthy lifestyles before accessing our health care system, much like a bank assesses a customer for a loan.
A disturbing but fleeting fact graced the news of the day on January second this year. As of 1:11 PM on January 2nd, top CEO compensation had exceeded what the average Canadian worker would earn all year. That average Canadian earned just under $47,000 in 2012.
Surrounded as we are by the tunes and decorations of the holiday season, Industry Minister James Moore’s recent uncharitable comments about child poverty and hunger invoke inevitable comparisons to Charles Dickens’ famed miser Ebenezer Scrooge. One could easily imagine Scrooge haughtily asking his nephew, “Is it my job to feed my neighbour’s child? I think not.”
Every year, Campaign 2000, a non-partisan public education movement to build awareness around poverty issues in Canada, releases a report on the state of our country’s children. It doesn’t paint a rosy picture.
An intriguing idea was recently put forward by the Government of Saskatchewan, that of addressing medical hot spots. It has been reported that just five people were responsible for visiting Saskatchewan emergency rooms over 500 times in the last year.
Monday, November 18th at 7:30 pm
McNally Robinson, 1120 Grant Avenue
