Public Health

Manitoba slashes private nursing agencies: The path forward or a policy stumble?

Last month, Manitoba took the bold step in cutting nearly all its private nursing agency contracts. Was it the right move? Experts weigh in.

From harm reduction to harm production: A frontline physician on the closure of safe consumption sites

The closure of safe consumption sites in Ontario flies in the face of scientific evidence and my experiences as a physician on the frontlines.

Going beyond ‘allied:’ The critical role of physiotherapists in Ontario’s primary care system

As our health system continues to buckle under multiple demands, we need more physiotherapists working to full scope of practice.

U.S. dietary guidelines spark confusion and apprehension among food and nutrition experts

The recently released U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans has drawn concern from many nutritionists and sparked potential confusion among the public, both within and outside of the country.

Canadians deserve up to date health guidance on alcohol

Despite a mountain of evidence, the federal government’s guidance on alcohol has not been updated since 2011. Canadians deserve clear guidance on alcohol and health, and there is a simple path forward.

Alberta has restricted access to gender based medical care for trans youth. Will the rest of Canada soon follow?

If clinicians cannot demonstrate who is most likely to benefit from pediatric gender-based care, governments may do it for them, with young people paying the price.

‘It made everything worse’: Nurses say WorkSafeBC delays recovery after violent incidents

Nurses reporting workplace violence say they face long waits, complex rules and rigid treatment pathways from WorkSafeBC.

Getting a flu shot is a small yet deeply profound act of Canadian community care

Canadians know the flu is here. We know that anyone, even those who seem healthy, can get it. And we know that getting a seasonal flu vaccination is one of the best ways to protect ourselves and the wider community from illness.

Where two worlds meet: The importance of cultural sensitivity in medicine

"I felt not like a physician but more like an interpreter – not of language, but of the space between two worlds: Western medicine and the cultural practices that shaped Lakshmi and Prakash’s life."

‘When doctors stop talking, patients fall apart’

When care is fragmented, patients become the glue holding the system together. We carry test results from one office to another, retell our histories again and again, and hope that someone will connect the dots before something important is missed.

The colonial wounds on Indigenous women’s health

To improve Indigenous women’s health, there must be a drastic change to the health-care system and how we view health.

Technology is deepening economic abuse: Canada’s health system can’t afford to ignore it

Addressing economic and digital safety is no longer optional for health policy. It is a core component of patient wellbeing.

Entschuldigung, ich spreche kein Deutsch! A reflection on my clinical exchange

One medical student's exchange in Berlin taught her not only about German culture, but how language and other support services can be offered in Canadian hospitals.

‘A lot of work to do, one conversation at a time’: New Year’s resolutions for 2026

With changes reverberating throughout our health-care system, we wanted to know what health-care experts planned to focus on for themselves in the year ahead.

Dreaming of a bold and courageous health-care system for all

It's that special time of year again: The time when Healthy Debate asks health-care experts to share their one holiday wish for our health-care system.

Medicine can be better: A wish list for our health-care system

Health Debate editor-in-chief, Dr. Seema Marwaha, shares her wishes for Canada's health-care system as a general internist, educator, journalist and incoming president-elect of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada.

Why Canada needs a ready-to-run adaptive platform trial before the next pandemic hits

When the next pandemic arrives (and it will!) Canada will once again face urgent questions: Which treatments work? For whom? At what dose? And how quickly should we act?

Leadership lessons from a pot of flowers: Reawakening health-care leadership

Health care collapse is only one story. The deeper story lives underground, in the quiet places where resilience begins.

Smith has kept doctors and dollars in Alberta – but it doesn’t change access to care 

Alberta’s model may offer useful insight into whether a province can strengthen its public system by formally incorporating private activity rather than resisting it.

‘The war against dogs continues’: How 150 years of policy denied animal control to Indigenous communities

Unequal access to pet care in rural and Indigenous communities has led to dogs being shot when they pose a risk to the public. A century and a half of policies that have left these communities without animal-control systems are to blame.