Lessons from the First Wave of COVID-19: Public Health and Emergency Measures Working Group
October 28, 2020 – Canada’s healthcare system must learn the lessons of the first wave of COVID-19 and make the changes required to improve our capacity to tackle infectious disease outbreaks in future, says a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute.
The Public Health and Emergency Measures Working Group notes as case numbers grow across Canada, insights from the first wave can be applied to better manage infection risks, while also minimizing social and economic disruption caused by public health and social distancing-related restrictions on activity.
The group of health academics, professionals and business leaders is co-chaired by Janet Davidson, Chair of the Board of the Canadian Institute for Health Information and C.…
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 […] Ian Irvine – Tobacco Harm Reduction (part One) – Guiding Principles
From: Ian Irvine To: Canadians Concerned About Vaping Date: September 2, 2020 Re: Tobacco Harm Reduction (Part One) – Guiding Principles The central challenge for governments in the area of e-cigarette use is to formulate policies that simultaneously encourage smokers to switch to vaping (or quit nicotine use entirely) and to discourage young people from starting. To […] Vivek Goel – A Population Health Approach To Covid-19
From: Vivek Goel To: Canada’s Health Policy Planners Date: August 28, 2020 Re: A Population Health Approach to COVID-19 Much of the initial attention, particularly from the media and public, to COVID-19 has been on the disease and its consequences. It is clearly a disease with devastating potential, as seen in Italy and New York […]