The proven determinants of scientific progress – collaboration, a plan, guaranteed funding, transparency – are nowhere to be found
The Human Genome Project (HGP) stands as one of mankind’s most remarkable achievements. Its significance is easily equal to, or even eclipses, James Watson and Francis Crick’s discovery of DNA’s helical structure, or Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon. The goal was to determine the position and function of the more than 100,000 genes…
12 months in, health-care system still can't provide Canadians with timely care while dealing with COVID-19
It has been a year since the world was brought to its knees by a microscopic particle known as COVID-19. Since then, the virus has taken the lives of more than 22,000 Canadians and infected another 940,000. But those are just the numbers that show up on media screens and government paperwork. The real human…
While we wait for science to put a stop to COVID-19, we can all do our part in the simplest of ways
Modern medicine has at its disposal a vast array of technologies that can be used to identify, track and predict the risk and potential impact of emerging infectious diseases. Bioassays, genome sequencing and molecular technology can identify a novel pathogen. Computer modelling (in real-time) can provide us with an instant status report showing how much…
Decisions made at the national level have not been driven by science, but by politics and a deference to WHO and China
There are those who believe we shouldn’t criticize our political (and other) leaders during a crisis. The Canadian way is to get through it first, then hold inquiries and, many years and millions of dollars later, we will know who failed in their leadership tasks and who should be held accountable. Maybe. Alternatively, since the…
There’s a difference between what Ottawa says about its preparedness and the reality. The results in the face of COVID-19 could be tragic
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finally says Canada is moving aggressively to procure diagnostic test kits, ventilators, and the personal protective equipment (masks, face shields, gloves, gowns) that front-line health-care workers require to carry out their duties during a pandemic. Without adequate quantities of those supplies, it’s impossible for doctors to determine who is infected, to…
For weeks, the government told us that we’re prepared for COVID-19. Its early actions demonstrated something entirely different
Provide a timely response. Ensure transparency. Tell the truth. These are just some of the basic tenets of crisis communications, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his crisis response team would do well to take them to heart because, so far during the COVID-19 crisis, their statements and actions have missed the mark in every…
Thousands of patients are on wait lists. Meanwhile, the human and economic costs of mental illness keep rising
For the past decade, Bell Canada has used the month of January to support awareness of mental health issues. Its extensive media campaigns have encouraged Canadians to talk openly about mental health and break the uncomfortable stigma that still tends to hover over such conversations. There’s plenty of data to document the prevalence of Canada’s…
Idyllic descriptions of medicare do not fairly represent the challenging realities that are the day-to-day experiences of many Canadians
As the title suggests, The American Prospect article What Medicare for All Really Looks Like claims to describe the realities of Canadian medicare to our southern neighbours. So, it is both ironic – and disappointing – that a careful reading reveals it to be remarkable only in its unwillingness to examine these realities in any meaningful…
The B.C. government’s claim in the court challenge to medicare that waiting lists don’t harm patients is nothing short of ridiculous
After years of political debate and public frustration, it seems the future of Canadian health care may now depend on the outcome of a decade-long legal battle that’s now in the hands of a B.C. Supreme Court justice. The plaintiffs are Dr. Brian Day, the private Cambie Surgery Centre and four British Columbians who have…
Free prescription drugs won’t mean a thing if Canadians can’t access the drugs they need. There has to be a better way to manage our supply
The Liberal federal government made a pre-election promise to establish a single, universal pharmacare program that would cover all, or most, of the costs of prescription drugs for Canadians. The idea has been discussed for decades, but the public conversation has rarely gone beyond unproven hopes that it will save billions of dollars and that…
The Human Genome Project (HGP) stands as one of mankind’s most remarkable achievements. Its significance is easily equal to, or even eclipses, James Watson and Francis Crick’s discovery of DNA’s helical structure, or Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon. The goal was to determine the position and function of the more than 100,000 genes…
