Daniel Schwanen – Containing Covid-19 In Ontario: Skate To Where The Virus Is Going
To: Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott From: Daniel Schwanen Date: November 18, 2020 Subject: Containing COVID-19 in Ontario – Skate to Where the Virus is Going Ontario’s lower case thresholds for triggering stages of progressively tighter socio-economic restrictions, announced Friday, recalibrate its framework to at least bring it more in line […] Climbing Out of COVID
New C.D. Howe Institute Book Chronicles COVID-19 Policy Insights A new book from the C.D. Howe Institute provides an overview of the Institute’s critical policy recommendations made in response to the developing COVID-19 pandemic. “Climbing Out of COVID” compiles communiqués from the Institute’s Crisis Working Groups, as well as Intelligence Memos and op-eds, published up […] Testing Gaps: Prevalence Of Covid-19 And Antibodies
At the outset of COVID-19, access to diagnostic testing was inconsistent and provinces employed different testing strategies to direct limited testing resources. Since the beginning of the outbreak, testing rates and access to testing have been improved across the country. Most COVID-19 testing has been for diagnostic purposes – to determine whether or not someone is […] Åke Blomqvist – The Cambie Case And Efficient Healthcare
From: Åke Blomqvist To: Canada’s Ministers of Health Date: October 23, 2020 Re: The Cambie Case and Efficient Healthcare Privately funded healthcare was back in the news this fall as a BC Supreme Court judge ruled against Dr. Brian Day’s challenge of the province’s Medicare Protection Act. The case has had the unfortunate consequence of focusing the public debate on […] Schwanen, Wyonch – What’s The Covid-19 Plan?
From: Daniel Schwanen and Rosalie Wyonch To: Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott Date: October 22, 2020 Subject: What’s the COVID-19 plan? The resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Ontario since mid-August has so far not been as severe as in other jurisdictions that have recently imposed sweeping restrictive measures to control their second […] Daniel Schwanen – Covid-19: We Have Met The Enemy, And It Is (in) Us
From: Daniel Schwanen To: Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott Date: October 15, 2020 Subject: COVID-19: We have met the enemy, and it is (in) us “The numbers are unforgiving.” With that statement, Quebec Premier François Legault closed down bars and restaurants and imposed additional restrictions on activities in group settings, in a […] COVID-19: A Catalyst for Change in Health and Healthcare?
October 15, 2020—Healthcare is approaching a critical juncture. Will it follow the path of yesteryear where fiscal expediencies drive a cost-cutting agenda regardless of outcomes, effectiveness and efficiency? Or will Canada come together and develop a consensus on a more sensible way to promote the health of the population and take better care of vulnerable […] Jenkins, Kronick – Health And The Economy – With Numbers
From: Paul Jenkins and Jeremy M. Kronick To: Canadian policymakers Date: October 5, 2020 Re: Health and the Economy – With Numbers When the pandemic nature of the COVID-19 virus was finally recognized, Canada acted boldly to contain and control its spread. We didn’t know as much as we know now, and as such we were forced into unmeasurable […] Åke Blomqvist – Bc Ruling Should Spark A Real Conversation About Private Healthcare
From: Åke Blomqvist To: Canadians Concerned about Healthcare Date: October 2, 2020 Re: BC ruling should spark a real conversation about private healthcare The long-awaited ruling in the Cambie case, Dr. Brian Day’s challenge to British Columbia’s Medicare Protection Act, has upheld the rules that effectively bar private provision of publicly covered medical services. But it does not say whether suppressing privately […] Competition In Health Care: Let’s Have A Serious Debate – Financial Post Op-ed
The long-awaited ruling in the Cambie case, Dr. Brian Day’s challenge to British Columbia’s Medicare Protection Act, has upheld the rules that effectively bar private provision of publicly covered medical services. But it does not say whether suppressing privately funded care, as the act seeks to do, is good policy. It is not. Absent some degree of competition from private care, the Canadian health-care system will continue to be both expensive and mediocre in comparison with those in peer countries other than the United States.
Like the courts in the 2002 Chaoulli case, the judge in this case found that long wait times for care could be considered inconsistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ guarantee of “the right to…
Ian Irvine – Tobacco Harm Reduction (part Three) – Regulatory Policy
From: Ian Irvine To: Canadians Concerned About Vaping Date: September 4, 2020 Re: Tobacco Harm Reduction (Part Three) – Regulatory Policy The purpose of regulatory policy is to limit harmful outcomes and promote positive outcomes. How does this apply to e-cigarettes and other harm reduction products? Advertising and information. Governments should consider how much messaging on reduced […] Ian Irvine – Tobacco Harm Reduction (part Two) – Nicotine Use In Canada
From: Ian Irvine To: Canadians Concerned About Vaping Date: September 3, 2020 Re: Tobacco Harm Reduction (Part Two) – Nicotine Use in Canada Statistics Canada released data on smoking prevalence in Canada last month. It was great news for the health community in that it signalled the biggest decline in smoking prevalence experienced in a lifetime. Current […]