Long-term care deaths ‘potentially criminal’
This week’s edition of who is saying what about public health care is compiled by Pat Van Horne.
Residents in Toronto long-term care homes died from dehydration and neglect
“The allegation of deaths because of dehydration is ‘not only troubling but potentially criminal,’ Amber Irwin, a spokeswoman for Long-Term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton, said in an email to the Globe and Mail, July 17, 2025. “Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath wrote to the Ontario Provincial Police last week, asking it to review whether the commission’s findings ‘constitute a case for criminal charges.’”
Carney needs to put seniors’ lives ahead of corporate profits and introduce a Safe Long-Term Care Act: NDP
“The Liberals promised long-term care workers, residents, and their families that they would improve funding for long-term and seniors’ care. Instead, they have failed—by underfunding health care and protecting the profits of large corporations and wealthy shareholders. . . New Democrats are calling on Mark Carney to change course: to put seniors’ lives ahead of corporate profits and to introduce a Safe Long-Term Care Act so we can finally deliver the care seniors deserve,” said NDP health critic Gord Johns, The Hill Times, July 22, 2025
Good health is good policy – everywhere
“Good health outcomes enable education, foster inclusive economic growth, reduce inequality, and help build peaceful societies. With the UN General Assembly and other multilateral gatherings on the horizon this fall, the timing is right to align G7 leadership with the ambition of the 17 sustainable development goals. . . Canada has an opportunity to close that gap. That includes expanding support for comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care, and ensuring that adolescent health needs are no longer an afterthought. These are not fringe issues. They are central to the well-being of communities and the resilience of systems,” said Charmaine Crockett, Interim CEO of the Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health, The Hill Times, July 14, 2025
BC racking up health care recruitment from US and elsewhere
“More than 2,250 doctors, nurses and other health professionals have signed up for webinars and expressed interest in working in BC since March. . .Bylaw changes implemented by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. (in July) mean U.S.-trained doctors can become fully licensed in BC, without further assessment if they hold certifications from various American medical boards. . .The college is also considering more changes that would give internationally-trained physicians a pathway to practise, if they completed a minimum of two years of postgraduate training in family medicine in the United States, Australia, United Kingdom or Ireland,” said a report by Winnipeg Free Press, July 16, 2025
Patented Medicines Prices Review Board clarifies new mandate
Q: The guidelines have streamlined the process for the pharmaceutical sector, but how does it strike the balance of protecting Canadians from excessive prices versus making pharma companies’ lives easier?
A: “The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board’s mandate is to monitor price. It’s not to set prices, it’s not to regulate; it’s to monitor pricing and intervene only where there’s potentially a problem. … So, in establishing triggers through the Highest International Price (HIP) or the Consumer Price Index(CPI), it enables the PMPRB to focus its resources only where there’s potentially a problem,” said Guillaume Couillard, PMPRB Director General, The Hill Times, July 20, 2025
Mental health care should reflect cultural realities
“Immigrant and refugee populations are significantly less likely to seek mental health services compared to their Canadian-born counterparts. Cultural barriers including stigma, language and unfamiliarity with Western mental health frameworks are key deterrents from seeking care,” said Imeth Illamperuma, researcher at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), McMaster University’s Department of Medicine and Boston University’s Department of Medicine, Healthy Debate, July 14, 2025. For more, read Chapter 2 Culture Counts: The Influence of Culture and Society on Mental Health – Mental Health: Culture, Race, and Ethnicity – NCBI Bookshelf
Health care costs six times higher for the ‘unhoused’
“The health-care costs for unhoused people are six times higher than those of housed individuals, even after accounting for health history. Clearing encampments only increases the risk that medications and other belongings will be lost or thrown out. . .It’s no wonder that people living without a home die far sooner. A woman typically perishes five decades earlier, succumbing at the age 36 instead of 85. Men typically die at 50 instead of 78. It’s unclear how many are “deaths of despair” — fatalities resulting from suicide, drug overdose or substance use. A Toronto study found that homelessness raised the risk of suicide tenfold over the housed population,” said Dr. Iris Gorfinkel, family physician and clinical researcher, Toronto Star, July 17, 2025
