Search results for “site/Pat Armstrong”

  • 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…

  • 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.

  • Stack of papers with a magnifying glass resting on them

    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…

  • 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.…

  • Beyond Recovery

    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…

  • 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…

  • BC doctors need unbiased info on prescription drugs

    As a family physician, I need to be sure that each medication I prescribe has good evidence behind its use for my patient’s diagnosis, concurrent medical conditions, and demographic. This isn’t as straightforward as it sounds, because good evidence isn’t always easy to find. In an often polarized culture of…

  • COVID-19 drug and vaccine patents are putting profit before people

    Our content is fiercely open source and we never paywall our website. The support of our community makes this possible.

  • Time to end profit-making in seniors’ care

    The coronavirus pandemic has shone a light on serious problems in Canada’s seniors’ care system, as nursing homes quickly became the epicenters of the outbreak. These problems are not only due to the greater vulnerability of seniors to the disease, but also to how care is organized and staffed.  In…

  • Why the federal throne speech must blaze a bold new path

    The Speech from the Throne is only weeks away. Moments like these—pandemics, depressions, wars—are historical turning points, often marking when fundamental change toward social and economic equality become possible.Unlike the apparently failed state south of the border that seems to be trudging toward a dystopian future, the federal government has…

  • Closeup of stressed teenage girl talking to mental health therapist in session

    A Critical Assessment of Virtual Mental Health Care for Rural Nova Scotians

    Download 1.17 MB8 pages The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating impacts on mental health and healthcare systems across Nova Scotia and the country. While demand for mental health services escalated in response to the pandemic, many in-person services were shut down (MacIvor 2021; government of Nova Scotia 2022b; Pulok et…

  • BC Hydro’s Integrated Resource Plan and The Case Against Site C

    It could have been me taking time off during the short Vancouver summer, or perhaps that the news release got dropped on the Friday before the August long weekend, but I totally missed the release of BC Hydro’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). It is an important document for the province,…