After many years of success, EvidenceNetwork.ca is no longer in operation. We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the organization over the past decade including our dedicated researchers, newspaper editors, readers and funders. However, now it is time to move onto new ways of looking at knowledge mobilization and policy. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Shannon Sampert at s.sampert@uwinnipeg.ca.

How proposed user fees for health services in Quebec threaten the Canadian health system

With a federal campaign in full force grabbing the majority of the headlines, a significant threat to Canada’s most treasured national program is going largely unnoticed.

Quebec’s outdated drug coverage policies should not be a model for the rest of Canada

In spite of very high expenditures for drug coverage, one in 10 Canadians cannot afford to fill their prescriptions. The current patchwork of public and private plans across the country means that Canadians are covered for their prescription drugs based on where they live or work, rather than on their medical needs.

The other drug problem in Canada’s cities

Canada’s cities face a number of problems: traffic, housing, crime, infrastructure – the list goes on. Prescription drugs are one of these problems – one that is costing local governments as much as $500-million every year.

Pharmacare is good for business

Repeatedly over the past 50 years, national commissions and inquiries have recommended that Canadian medicare include universal, public coverage of prescription drugs. So far, no government has acted on this, creating profound inequities and inefficiencies in our health care system. But more than that: the lack of universal pharmacare is bad for Canadian businesses, large and small.

Is it finally time for a national drug plan?

A new study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal with health economist Steve Morgan as lead author argues a national universal care drug program would not result in substantial tax increases. Indeed, such a plan reduces public and private spending on prescription drugs by $7.3 billion annually – or by 32 percent.

Why Canadian medicare should neither ‘go Dutch’ or ‘to the dogs’

First was Sarah Boston’s new book, Lucky Dog, in which she details her personal experience with thyroid cancer and navigating the Canadian health system. Boston, a veterinary oncologist, claims that Canadian dogs often have better access to health care than their human counterparts.

Why can’t we fix health care? Blame self-interest

Almost continuously since the second half of the 1990s, Canadians have pointed to health care as their largest national concern and the issue that should receive the greatest attention from Canada’s leaders. Polls taken over the last decade or so have found that health care is typically the highest priority among voters.