Should Ontario Residents Be Allowed to Opt Out of Primary Care?

From: Will Falk and Rosalie WyonchTo: Canadian health policy watchers Date: February 27, 2025Re: Should Ontario residents be allowed to opt out of primary care? In healthcare discussions, a fundamental yet often overlooked question is: Should people have the option to go without a primary care provider? Canada prides itself on individual freedoms, yet other […]

Quebec’s Bill 83 Risks Worsening the Healthcare Crisis

To: Healthcare observersFrom: Tingting ZhangDate: February 21, 2025Re: Quebec’s Bill 83 Risks Worsening the Healthcare Crisis In response to the growing exodus of doctors from Quebec’s public healthcare system, the government has introduced Bill 83, which requires new physicians to work in public institutions for their first five years or face daily fines ranging from […]

Do Voters Still Care About Hallway Medicine?

 In 2018, Doug Ford promised to end overcrowding in hospitals so that patients aren’t relegated to hallways and other unconventional areas. Each party leader during this election has pledged considerable health care spending. Including more primary care doctors, and additional beds. But there may not be a one-size-fits-all solution.

Canada’s Happiness Decline Hits Young People the Hardest

Canada ranks 15th on the world happiness index in 2024, down 10 places from 2015. For those below age 30, Canada ranked 58th, while for those over age 60, it ranked 8th. The only countries with a worse decline in young people’s happiness – comparing 2006-2010 to 2021-2023 – are Jordan, Venezuela, Lebanon and Afghanistan. […]

The Kids Are Not All Right and Neither Is Anybody Else

To: Concerned CanadiansFrom: Rosalie Wyonch and Mawakina Bafale Date: February 10, 2025Re: The Kids Are Not All Right and Neither Is Anybody Else Canada ranks 15th on the world happiness index in 2024. This sounds pretty good until you compare it to 10 years ago when we were fifth. The results are more dismal for young people. For […]

The Choice Facing Canada’s Healthcare System

To: Healthcare watchersFrom: Tingting ZhangDate: February 6, 2025Re: The Choice Facing Canada’s Healthcare System Canada’s healthcare system is facing a sobering diagnosis. In a recent international comparison of 10 wealthy nations – Germany, Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Sweden – Canada ranked ninth, outperforming only the United […]

Healthcare System, Heal Thyself with Mark Holland and Rosalie Wyonch

Canada’s healthcare system must continue to evolve, according to Federal Minister of Health Mark Holland. On our latest episode, Minister Holland joins host Michael Hainsworth and the C.D. Howe Institute Associate Director of Research Rosalie Wyonch to discuss the Minister’s recent Canada Health Act interpretation letter and more.

Healthcare System, Heal Thyself with Mark Holland and Rosalie Wyonch

Canada’s healthcare system must continue to evolve, according to Federal Minister of Health Mark Holland. On our latest episode, Minister Holland joins host Michael Hainsworth and the C.D. Howe Institute Associate Director of Research Rosalie Wyonch to discuss the Minister’s recent Canada Health Act interpretation letter and more.

Troubling Diagnosis: Comparing Canada’s Healthcare with International Peers

A row of empty hospital bedsStudy in Brief In international comparisons with its peers, Canada ranks ninth out of 10 countries, performing below the international average in access to care, administrative efficiency and equity – and ranking last in timeliness. For those who can access care, the quality of care is relatively high. Canada performs above the average in the […]

Will Falk and Rosalie Wyonch – Conceptualizing Primary Care as a Public Education System

From: Will Falk and Rosalie Wyonch To: Canadian Healthcare Observers Date: January 8, 2025 Re: Conceptualizing Primary Care as a Public Education System Jane Philpott’s recent health policy book outlines a vision for providing primary care access to everyone using the metaphor of the public primary education system. The concept is seductive, but primary care and primary education have […]

Graph of the Week: Elective Surgery Wait Times Still Lag Behind Pre-Pandemic Levels

Note: According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the benchmark wait times are 16 weeks (112 days) for cataract surgeries and 26 weeks (182 days) for hip and knee replacements. Source: Canadian Institute for Health Information. Wait Times for Priority Procedures in Canada — Data Tables. Ottawa, ON: CIHI; 2024. In 2023, wait times […]

Intelligence Memos: 2024 in Review

To: Our Faithful Readers Date: January 2, 2025 Re: Intelligence Memos: 2024 in Review Intelligence memos are a key way C.D. Howe Institute researchers share their insights about current events. And 2024 had no shortage of material: Canada’s healthcare struggles, housing affordability, the Bank of Canada’s inflation fight, a host of questionable fiscal policies from Ottawa and the […]

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