Policy and Politics

1211 articles:
by Alykhan Abdulla

Ontario’s health care needs courageous leadership, not political appeasement

Ontario’s health-care system is crumbling. We can cling to outdated ideals and watch our system collapse under its own weight, or we can rewrite the playbook.

by Lara Fowler

Social media is damaging relationships in health care

For social media to be an effective tool in health care, there needs to be a balance between keyboard warriors and the rest of the population. The noise of some should not drown out the needs of many.

by Nicola Lacetera

We don’t pay donors for blood plasma. But is that the right approach?

Any debate about whether to enhance the domestic supply of blood plasma by allowing payments to donors should consider these five items and ensure that citizens are aware of them.

by Maddi Dellplain

New Year’s resolutions from health-care professionals: Advocate, avoid burnout and remember to love

At a time when the problems in Canadian health care can feel overwhelming and reaching our goals seems a daunting task, we wanted to know what health-care experts have on their personal resolutions list for 2025. 

by Max Binks-Collier

This Canadian cancer charity tells the public it spends most of its donations on charitable works. Financial records tell a different story

Breast Cancer Canada says its proceeds go towards funding medical research and raising awareness about a devastating disease. However, this IJB investigation found that most of the money raised bank rolls its own fundraising.

by Blair Bigham

Canada’s health charities must prioritize trust and transparency

An Investigative Journalism Bureau investigation has revealed questionable practices – and regulatory lapses – in Canada’s health charity community, raising questions about fundraising practices, administrative costs and government oversight.

by Alykhan Abdulla

How The Grinch stole family medicine: A tale of Ontario’s health crisis

Like a green, scheming miser, the Grinch of health care – festooned in a slew of government mismanagement and shortsighted policies – descended upon family medicine, stealing its spirit one policy at a time.

by Maddi Dellplain

And under the tree, a family doctor for all

As we look toward the new year, we asked our experts what they considered to be the most crucial areas of focus for our system: If they could gift our health-care system with a little holiday magic, what would they wish for?

by Rita McCracken

Boutique primary care clinics are making the family doctor shortage worse

Boutique clinics are not the future of health care. They are a step backward and are making primary care access worse.

by Kathleen Ross

Productivity in health care doesn’t mean doing ‘more with less’

Canada can build a health-care system that is not only more efficient but also more compassionate and sustainable.

by Michael Heenan

Health-care workers are under attack. We must do more to ensure their safety

Every day, healthy-care workers document a spectrum of abusive behaviour they experience in providing care. More needs to be done stop it.

by Ayman Wehbe Alaa Mourad

International Medical Graduates: An untapped resource for Canada’s alarming doctor shortage 

We must reform residency quotas, prioritize Canadian International Medical Graduates, and create accessible pathways for practice in underserved areas to transform this health-care crisis into an opportunity for growth.

by Adamo Anthony Donovan

The false and confusing narrative against bike lanes

The short-sighted rhetoric of “I’m not anti-bike lanes… I’m against the way they’re implemented," is ultimately detrimental from health, environmental, economic and equity perspectives.

by Eberechukwu Peace Akadinma Breanna Barker

‘Your body, my choice’: American politics and the looming threat to reproductive freedoms in Canada

It is incumbent on us to engage with and defend reproductive rights, because of and despite what is happening in the United States.

by Joss Reimer

More than a nuisance: It’s time to scrap sick notes – for good

In one year alone doctors spend an estimated 1.5 million hours on sick notes. The Canadian Medical Association is calling for their elimination for short-term minor illnesses.

by Dylan Marando

Canadian health care’s biggest ailment? Tidy narratives

Canadians are plagued by a reluctance to poke at the complexities of our health care. The public vs. private dichotomy that we have built up in our popular policy discourse is absolute fiction.

by Maddi Dellplain

‘We have to be very cautious’: Experts speak out on dangers of avian flu outbreak

We asked a group of experts how concerned we need to be in light of the recent H5N1 infection in B.C., and what – if anything – we should do about it. 

by Megan Werger Neha Shah Gillian Grant-Allen

Ontario’s physician wage-gap: Myth vs. fact

Through further research and advocacy efforts, we are hopeful that physician compensation will eventually reflect merit and services rendered.

by The Disabled Ginger

A plea to maskless health-care workers from vulnerable patients

Health-care workers have a responsibility to protect their vulnerable patients. Our lives are in your hands.

by Our Kids’ Health Network

We must tackle misinformation. Our youth’s health depends on it

It's time to treat misinformation as the public health crisis it truly is, particularly among youth in marginalized Black, Indigenous and People of Colour communities.

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