A version of this commentary appeared in the Toronto Star, Ottawa Life and the Huffington Post A “modernized NAFTA” has significant implications for many sectors of the economy — and health care is one of them. What’s at stake? Canadians’ right to universal access to affordable medicines. When negotiating with the U.S. and Mexico, Canadian […]
A version of this commentary appeared in the Ottawa Citizen, Windsor Star and the Huffington Post Ontario has been the site of dueling pharmacare proposals and Canadians are the victors. At the end of April, the opposition NDP promised universal drug coverage for a list of essential medicines. Not to be outdone, the ruling Liberal party […]
A version of this commentary appeared in the Globe & Mail, the Huffington Post and the Victoria Times Colonist. Australia and Canada share many characteristics, but Canadians may not know one of them is that Australia’s universal health insurance scheme, Medicare, was modelled on Canada’s — albeit adapted to account for constitutional differences between the two countries. […]
From Ontario’s lips to the feds’ ears A version of this commentary appeared in the Hill Times and the Huffington Post. The Ontario government’s decision to invest in universal drug coverage for those under 25 is a long-needed policy commitment that will help ensure the health of our next generation. As a pediatric oncologist, I see children […]
A version of this commentary appeared in the Toronto Star Ontario has just announced that they will offer a publicly funded pharmacare system for children and youth in Ontario. This is a small step in the right direction, one that is arguably most important for its symbolism in a national debate. Why just a small […]
A version of this commentary appeared in the Montreal Gazette, the Hill Times and Victoria Times Colonist There’s nothing like an American health care debate to make Canadians feel lucky. As his first act in office, Donald Trump signed an executive order, taking the first step to repeal the Affordable Care Act. With the stroke […]
You are the parent of a sick child. You have a limited budget and you must decide to buy the medicine the doctor prescribed for your child or provide food and shelter for your family instead. What do you do?
The newest report from Canada’s brand name drug makers on access to new drugs has one key message: compared to other countries, Canada goes slow and low. New drugs are slower to be covered by our provincial drug plans and the numbers of people who get access to new drugs are lower than in other countries.
Amalgamation always seems like a good idea. Greater Victoria has 13 municipalities, 13 councils, oodles of separate fire and police departments and multiple separate teams of garbage-persons, road fixers, parks maintainers and others that you need to keep our cities humming.
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.
