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Search results for: “site/Pat Armstrong”
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Canada’s Carbon Conundrum and the Difficult Path Forward
Since the first oil well was drilled in 1859 humans have been on a roll. Global population has increased more than six-fold and energy use per capita has grown more than nine-fold. Accompanying this explosive growth in energy use was unprecedented economic expansion— since 1965 global GDP has grown 6.8-fold…
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Fast Facts: The Pallister Government and the Path to Reconciliation Act
First published in the Winnipeg Free Press, Thursday June 8th. On Friday May 26, I attended an impromptu event organized by supporters of the North Point Douglas Women’s Centre. The event was held to show support for the Centre, which was reeling from the news that it would not receive…
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Time to end information hide-and-seek games: Public deserves more prompt government disclosure of basic data
No one should be told to file a Freedom of Information request simply to learn who works for them. Government must give members of the public access to up-to-date and useful information on who is there to serve them and quit obfuscating and abusing access to information laws, Ben Parfitt…
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Manitoba is worse off thanks to the new federal budget
A synopsis of the new federal budget implications for the middle province
The budget tabled by the federal government on November 4 sets out a path that will worsen income inequality in Manitoba and squeezes the provincial government’s finances. The federal budget is focused on attracting $500 billion in private investment with only a handful of initiatives to help those most impacted…
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Budget 2023/24 Does not Make Up for Seven Years of Health Care Cuts and Privatization
Manitoba health care is at a crossroads. From emergency care to home care, the entire system is at a breaking point caused by Pallister-era decisions to close emergency rooms and privatize services. Instead of stepping up to fix these problems, Premier Stefanson has carried on the same agenda of cuts…
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How Doctors are Paid in BC
[A version of this piece was posted on the Tyee] Health care is the biggest, most expensive and most important thing that government does. Hospital care swallows up a large proportion of the health care budget, but primary care in the community takes care of most patient needs and…
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Mosquito Wars: Politics, Economics or Science?
Heated debates are going on again in Brandon and Winnipeg about the most effective way to deal with mosquitoes. In thinking about this issue it is useful to begin with the broad historical context of mosquito control, and then to follow with a look at some recent and current research…
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From the pandemic response, a collaborative path to a just recovery
In 25 years of Alternative Federal Budgets, this edition of the AFB stands out: reflecting a chapter of history as it is unfolding, in real time, in the middle of a global pandemic. Future generations will look back at 2020 as a critical turning point, a year in which the…
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Why my dad and I will vote for health
As a family physician, the most important way I can help (and not harm) my patients, is to vote for healthcare in this election.
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Anti-poverty movement, meet the culture of medicine.
The evidence for the burden of income inequality on health is plentiful and convincing, with inequity and its health impact both increasing in British Columbia in recent years. Many voices are calling for attention to poverty reduction and a living wage. But what happens when you add doctors into this conversation? Progress and challenges both.…
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Potential profits big enough to justify a massive lawsuit: 6 things you should know about the Cambie trial
The biggest constitutional trial “perhaps ever” in Canada is now in court. The future of our publicly funded health care system is at stake. Putting Canadian Medicare on trial is complex, and vulnerable to the blatantly false and simplistic messaging that increasing “private care” will take the pressure off public…
