At the beginning of the last century, illnesses due to bacterial infections ranked as the most common cause of death in Canada. By the latter third of the century, the diagnosis, prevention and management of infectious diseases had advanced dramatically, raising hopes that many of these infections would be consigned to history. The dramatic improvements […]
AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez Far too many products on store shelves are giving us lots of calories but little nutrition A version of this commentary appeared in the Toronto Star, Hamilton Spectator and Vancouver Province In the 1960s, the biggest supermarkets only carried 10,000 items or fewer. Big supermarkets today offer almost 40,000 products. To be sure, among […]
Canada’s Food Guide revamp is good for people and the planet What is a healthy diet? New Year’s diet conversations still abound around water coolers Canada-wide as people debate the various merits and shortcomings of sugar, gluten, meat, dairy, tofu and other edibles. Scientific articles, shiny celebrities and representatives of various groups who produce, […]
The use of management consultants to design reforms for Canada’s health systems has become increasingly popular by both provincial and federal governments over the past several decades – but it’s not always been good value for money spent. So why do we do it? In my home province of Manitoba, the newly installed Conservative government […]
A version of this commentary appeared in the Ottawa Citizen, the Vancouver Province and the Hill Times It all started when the two of us sat down over a cup of coffee. As a family physician and endocrinologist, we stand on opposite sides of a large chasm called patient wait times, and we both started […]
Why Change Day is a step in the right direction A version of this commentary appeared in Ottawa Life, the Hamilton Spectator and the Waterloo Chronicle Over the past few months, patients and healthcare providers alike have been encouraged to make pledges to improve compassionate quality care in Ontario as part of an inaugural movement […]
A version of this commentary appeared in the Toronto Star, Winnipeg Free Press and the Huffington Post As the snow begins to fall and the mercury begins to drop, Health Canada has found itself in some hot water. The trouble has been years in the making — since at least 2013. That was when Canadian Plasma […]
On the same day that the Minister of Finance, Bill Morneau, clarified the federal government’s proposals to limit “income sprinkling” as a way for high income owners of private companies to reduce their taxes, the Senate Finance Committee released its report recommending that it all be scrapped. Instead, the Senate Committee recommended that the government […]
There’s no denying that the food environment influences the diets of Canadian families, and that food industry marketing is part of that environment. Canadian children are now developing chronic diseases that were almost exclusively seen in adults when I went to medical school a few decades back. There has been a big shift in our […]
On World AIDS Day, we are seeing red. The red ribbon has long been a potent symbol of HIV/AIDS activism, signifying anger at the bureaucratic red tape that, in the 1980s, delayed release of life-saving treatments to people living with HIV/AIDS. Treatment access and effectiveness have since improved for some living with HIV/AIDS (at least […]
