Where is Poilievre on pharmacare?
This week’s edition of who is saying what about public health care is compiled by Pat Van Horne.
Why doesn’t Poilievre get on board with pharmacare?
“According to Statistics Canada, in 2022, drug manufacturing in Canada produced an average of only 33,000 jobs, a total that increased by 11 per cent over the previous five years. Investments in research and development have been static, at roughly around $922-million in 2021, the same they were at in 2012. Drug imports, meanwhile, have surged by 55 per cent between 2018 and 2022. . .Most Canadians think this is a giant rip-off. They support pharmacare. Some politicians, however, do not. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, for instance, is worried about costs . . . Like a lot of his like-minded think-tank friends, he seems to be driven dogmatically to cut taxes, not necessarily to get their best dollar value,” wrote Bhagwant Sandhu, a retired director general from the federal government, in The Hill Times, April 16, 2024
Letter writers call for access to meds for mental illness
“The first phase of the proposed National Universal Pharmacare legislation includes universal access to contraception and diabetes medications. Will the one in five Canadians currently living with mental illness continue to be marginalized and de-prioritized? We must entrench the critical intersection of mental health care and access to medications to address Canada’s current mental health-care crisis,” wrote Drs.Diane McIntosh (Vancouver) and Pierre Blier (Ottawa), Toronto Star Letters, April 16, 2024
Quebec health care workers reject tentative agreement
“I was disappointed because when we have an agreement in principal in our hands and we recommend it … it’s because we believe in it . . .We’re rolling up our sleeves, continuing this battle until there’s something for them that will make a difference,” said Julie Bouchard, Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ), to The Canadian Press, April 14, 2024
Safety Officers at Winnipeg hospital untrained – so far
“We were led to believe last week that the Institutional Safety Officers (ISOs) would be starting today at Health Sciences (Centre) and carrying pepper gel — with the ability to use it . . . It’s a bit disappointing to find out that they haven’t actually been trained and that there’s been no date given as to when they will be trained,” said Manitoba Nurses Union President Darlene Jackson, Winnipeg Free Press, April 15, 2024
Hygienists say dental care plan discriminates against them
“The word discrimination does cross our minds, it has entered our conversations. The hygienist workforce is 97 per cent women . . . “We believe that a dental hygienist in business for herself should be paid the same as a dental hygienist that’s working in a dental office for the same procedures.” said Donna Wells, Canadian Dental Hygienists Association manager of professional practice, to The Canadian Press, April 15, 2024
Ontario government dodging questions on hospital patient fines
“They should be telling everybody how many people are being charged, why they’re being charged, where they’re going, how many are being moved … 150 kilometers away,” said Wayne Gates, Ontario NDP critic for long-term care.
“The government, at the very least, if they’re going to coerce people into leaving the hospital and/or fine them, they need to be honest with the people of Ontario,” said Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner, The Canadian Press, April 12, 2024
Jane Philpott says she knows how to fix health care
“The transition to universal primary care will happen faster if there is a shared vision with loud public demand for and expectation of such a system. We will not be successful unless clinicians are on board. Most of all, we will need the unrelenting determination of political leaders in all orders of government, of all stripes, who will fight for this vision on behalf of Canadians and not stop until it is accomplished,” said former federal health minister Dr. Jane Philpott, in an excerpt from her book, Health for All: A Doctor’s Prescription for a Healthier Canada , Chatelaine Magazine, April 8, 2024
Nova Scotia asked health care workers for ideas to fix the system
“Our thought was, ‘Oh my God, they’re offering a $1,000 contest for people’s opinions on remedies for health care. And we’re like, ‘the government doesn’t know what they’re doing.’ . . Full time in Nova Scotia is really hard because depending what your schedule is, you’re doing days, your nights, your weekends, your holidays. . .To me, the respect for the profession has declined and a lot of older nurses are feeling it,” said Debbie Morris, RN, to CBC News, April 15, 2024
Study says people have lost connection and trust in local health authorities
“Local community members had a direct pipeline to the ministry, where they could say, ‘This is what’s happening in our community. This is what we think we need and these are the solutions we’ve come to.’ So a lot of people in the survey said, ‘Why don’t we go back to regional health boards?’ . . . We need way more transparency in reporting and decision-making so decisions don’t just come from above and nobody understands why. . . I’m not necessarily criticizing the decisions that are made, the health authorities have reasons for the decisions they make. In the communities, we just don’t know what they are,” said Dr. Jude Kornelsen, co-director of the Centre for Rural Health Research, University of British Columbia, Goldstream News Gazette, April 16, 2024
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