Prevention

How Hollywood’s obsession with the ‘Dry Look’ harms men and boys

Increasingly distorted male beauty standards have come to celebrate visible dehydration as a physical ideal, posing a significant physiological and psychological danger for men and boys.

The MS treatment gap: How costs and outdated policies limit care in Canada

Early, aggressive treatment can significantly improve outcomes for people living with MS. But provinces have yet to implement coverage policies that would ensure patients receive optimal care.

Training more doctors is a start. Let’s make sure our health system is ready for them

If we want to build a resilient, equitable health-care system, we need to reimagine how we recruit, train and retain the next generation of doctors.

Aspiration alone is not adequate: Breast screening task force missing the mark

When it comes to the Canadian Task Force, health advocacy is an integral role for any medical professional. There is no desire to generate more “business.”

Health care’s domino effect: Turning challenges into building blocks

The very system meant to save our lives is quietly collapsing. This isn’t just a slow-motion crisis. It’s a domino chain already falling.

Fluoride IQ studies relying on individual urine measures are worthless

Despite claims from U.S. officials like RFK Jr., studies have found no relationship between IQ and community water fluoridation.

‘Disability’ glaringly absent from federal cabinet portfolios

On May 13, Prime Minister Carney announced his new cabinet of 28 cabinet ministers and 10 secretaries of states, yet incredibly left Canadians with disabilities without any overt representation.

Contraception isn’t just her job

The current contraceptive landscape places a disproportionate amount of physical and mental burden for pregnancy prevention on women. But what about men?

When care doesn’t translate

For South Asian communities, improved care means earlier screening, culturally relevant guidance and meaningful language access. Without these changes, we risk continuing a pattern of preventable harm.

Licence to kill: The pandemic on our roads

Many vehicular deaths are preventable. Traffic violence happens frequently but we don’t take these incidents seriously, judicially, socially nor traffic engineering-wise.

It’s not just the measles . . .

Many have forgotten how serious infections from Measules, Mumps, Rubella and Varicella can be because we have not seen them for many years. I am reminded every day by my mumps-induced deafness.

Let’s keep politics out of measles

No parent should have to bury their child because of measles. Unfortunately, politicizing public health by downplaying the risks of measles and normalizing vaccine hesitancy puts us on precisely this trajectory.

LifeLabs strike highlights risks of foreign ownership in Canadian health care

The months-long strike at British Columbia’s LifeLabs has raised questions about foreign ownership of medical services and Canadians’ health data.

Changes to the Canada Health Act could help address Ontario’s health system issues. Will the province be on board?

The successful implementation of the Canadian Health Act (CHA) reform due to take place in April 2026 will depend on provincial cooperation rather than competition between health-care professionals.

DEI dying: Why sex/gender in health research should matter to us all

As the U.S. disengages with sex differences research, Canada must double down on its own research program. Science takes years to bear fruit – the research we invest in today are the therapies we have tomorrow.

The simple metal box that could change the world

This quiet, repairable metal air cleaner is an inexpensive long-term disease prevention tool for public spaces.

Vaccine safety, politics and the nocebo effect

The nocebo effect has an important role to play in vaccine uptake and safety. We must vigorously counter the misinformation and political spin that helps to fuel the accelerating vaccine concern vortex.

Canada’s first Clade I mpox case a wake-up call for public health

Canada has an opportunity to prevent sustained Clade I mpox transmission, but only if decisive action is taken now.

‘We might die because you won’t wear a mask’: A plea to health-care workers

Yes, it’s time to mask again. We need to do better. We know how to do better. We can save so many lives and preserve the dignity of patients in the process.

The Innocents Aboard (a bike)

I imagine what it will be like for drivers when bike lanes are gone and seeing cyclists will be a surprise. As a physician, I worry I will be the first to see the aftermath of these decisions.