PEI joins Manitoba and BC for pharmacare
This week’s edition of who is saying what about public health care is compiled by Pat Van Horne.
PEI joins Manitoba and BC for pharmacare, adds rare diseases
“We know when people get the medicine they need, they don’t get sick. . .That’s the health system we need. . . When it comes to drugs for rare diseases, it’s not something that many Islanders have to deal with. But for those who do, it can be devastating to get a diagnosis. . . P.E.I. is really ground zero for national pharmacare,” said Federal Health Minister Mark Holland after announcing the deal at an event in Charlottetown, CBC News, March 7, 2025.
Manitoba health care strike ‘postponed’ as of March 7, result of vote in coming weeks
“Last month, the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals (MAHCP) issued a strike deadline of 12:01 a.m. March 7, following a January vote by members in which 96 per cent favoured a strike mandate. Members have now been without a contract for 11 months. Negotiations started in April 2024. The union represents a wide range of health-care professionals, including rural paramedics and emergency dispatchers, respiratory therapists, lab and diagnostic technologists, social workers and pharmacists . . .Lower wages have resulted in several vacancies as workers go to other jurisdictions for employment, and the MAHCP has more than 1,000 positions vacant,” said a report by CBC News, March 7, 2025.
Manitoba to fast-track nurses from U.K., U.S., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand – still not enough, says union president
“I think that everyone is just trying to look at ways of how do we do something positively to try and affect this nursing shortage. . .This is definitely a step forward, but I’m not positive that it’s going to garner us the number of nurses we need to solve our nursing shortage,” said Darlene Jackson, Manitoba Nurses Union president, to Winnipeg Free Press, March 10, 2025.
Minister announces Indigenous survivors of abuse at Indian hospitals eligible for $200K in settlement
“It’s a meaningful day. . . I was admitted because I had TB and I was supposed to heal. But instead, I experienced fear, isolation and trauma that has stayed with me for decades,” said Ann Hardy, who was admitted to the federally-run Charles Cansell Indian Hospital in Edmonton for several months in 1969, to CBC News, March 6, 2025.
Contracting allegations by Alberta health agency probed by RCMP
“These allegations of bloated contracts are incredibly serious, and we’re glad to see them being treated as such,” said Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi, adding that the Official Opposition has faith in the RCMP’s investigation, The Globe and Mail, March 6, 2025.
Get your measles shot up to date, says Canada’s top public health officer
“There seem to be measles popping up no matter where you’re going, so I think everyone needs to pay attention to that . . Even domestically travelling, you may actually encounter people with measles at this point,” said Dr. Theresa Tam, in The Globe and Mail, March 6, 2025.
Rise in accidents while receiving healthcare in Quebec, says report
“It’s really political decisions that have created the situation that we’re in right now . . . I still have nightmares about (COVID) and that’s one of the reasons also a lot of people left long-term care homes, we had no psychological support. . . I had one shift where 10 people died on the same day and they all died the same. . . from Covid-19. We never had any mental health support and we came out of that profoundly damaged . . . If you don’t have a pilot and a copilot, the plane does not take off and yet, in healthcare, where people’s lives are at risk as well, people’s wellbeing, psychological, physical wellbeing are also at risk, we pay very little attention to the actual staffing,” said Natalie Stake-Doucet, an assistant professor at the Universite de Montreal, to CityNews, March 6, 2025.
Federal government pledges $675 million for vaccination programs aimed at children in developing countries
“With this investment, Canada will help save lives of millions of women, young girls, and children around the world . . . It shows that Canada is, and is willing to remain, a reliable partner in global development,” said Elise Legault, director of The One Campaign, which specializes in health systems and economic opportunities in Africa, to The Canadian Press, March 7, 2025.
Statistics Canada releases 2023 study results on health care access among children
“The vast majority of youngsters had a regular health care provider, but the share of those who did fell as children aged. . . Children in high income and better-educated households were more likely to have a regular health care provider,” said report released by Statistics Canada, March 10, 2025.
Trade war could drive up health care costs; disrupt medical device supply chain
The national association, which represents about 120 Canadian companies in the medical technology industry, worries vital health care tools such as pacemakers, diagnostic imaging, and orthopedic implants could all see drastic increases in prices and disruptions in supply chains. “We are already experiencing those issues, and anything that disrupts the supply chain and medical devices is going to exacerbate that. So, cost will definitely go up – more concerning is our health care system’s access to critical medical devices,” said Nicole DeKort, president and CEO Medtech Canada, which represents 120 Canadian companies in the medical technology industry, to CTV News, March 10, 2025.
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