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Welcome plan for home care
Thursday, October 7th, 2010
Oct 07 2010
We should be grateful when people choose to care for ailing relatives. Not only does that choice allow the sick person to remain in more comfortable surroundings, it also alleviates the burden on hospitals, nursing homes and an inadequate home-care system… Ignatieff’s two-pronged policy, announced Tuesday, would cost $1 billion. The Conservatives immediately pounced on this price tag and called it “reckless” spending. But the Liberals have costed it out: their plan would be funded by cancelling the Conservative government’s planned corporate tax cuts.
Tags: disabilities, Health, ideology, pensions, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
PM prefers to look away
Sunday, October 3rd, 2010
Oct 02 2010
There is ample evidence that far too many Canadians are falling through the cracks of existing income support and housing programs; yet Harper’s government evidently prefers not to think about new ways to help the 3.4 million Canadians the report identified as still living in poverty. Worse still, the Senate report concluded that, far from lifting people out of poverty, many of our existing programs are so badly designed that they hold people down.
Tags: featured, ideology, poverty, Senate, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
EI program: Reform plan is needed
Friday, October 1st, 2010
Oct 01 2010.
… EI needs more than an ad hoc intervention on the premium side. It needs a complete overhaul. The last comprehensive makeover was in 1971, when Pierre Trudeau was prime minister. Since then, the EI program has been gradually whittled down by both Liberal and Conservative governments, so that now a majority of the jobless are not even covered by it… The issue should be handed to a royal commission or some other panel of experts to study and report back within a year with recommendations of how to reform EI to make it both more accessible and sustainable.
Tags: budget
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Census debate: It just won’t go away
Wednesday, September 29th, 2010
Sep 29 2010
… for the Conservatives, this debate isn’t about reason and logic. Rather, they are scrapping the mandatory long-form census to appeal to their ideological base. In pursuing this wedge issue, they have succeeded in galvanizing an unprecedented coalition of business, union, academic, religious, and other leaders into defending the long-form census. The Conservatives’ refusal to listen to their appeals suggests a remarkably closed-minded approach to governing
Tags: ideology
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Don’t blame our doctors
Wednesday, September 29th, 2010
Sept. 28, 2010
Ultimately, we get the optimum use of drugs when it’s the suffering individuals bearing the costs, since only they can know how much trying or continuing a particular treatment is truly worth to them given their situations and conditions… While over-prescribing is a legitimate concern, it’s important to be mindful of the fact that even the widespread and expensive use of medication can actually be a hidden cost-saver, reducing even more expensive treatments such as hospitalizations and emergency room visits.
Tags: Health, ideology, pharmaceutical
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Computerized records:Essential tool for health care
Tuesday, September 28th, 2010
Sep 28 2010
… electronic records can help doctors treat patients more effectively and efficiently by reducing duplication. The Health Council says electronic records can also link prescribed medications and tests with patient outcomes to determine what works and what doesn’t.
Tags: budget, Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Explode the mental illness stigma
Monday, September 27th, 2010
September 27, 2010
… corporate Canada can make a difference. Companies need to attend their employees’ own mental health. They can also be part of public-private partnerships that can expand community services and supports for sufferers of mental-health related diseases and conditions. And they can help support research into prevention and treatment… The silence around mental illness as a business issue is beginning to break up.
Tags: mental Health, poverty
Posted in Health Debates | 1 Comment »
Mental health: Footdragging by prisons
Monday, September 27th, 2010
Sep 27 2010.
We know that an increasing portion of Canada’s prison population has a mental health disorder. We also know that the federal government has given correctional services more than $50 million to provide programs and services for mentally ill offenders. What we don’t know is what they’re doing with the money. Despite launching its “mental health strategy” six years ago, the Correctional Service of Canada still cannot produce an official document that outlines standards to meet.
Tags: crime prevention, mental Health, Senate
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Wrong prescription [user fees]
Sunday, September 26th, 2010
Sep 25 2010
In Canada’s health-care wars, user fees refuse to die. Almost since the dawn of medicare, a bitter (and often sterile) ideological battle has been waged between two rival visions: health care that is barrier-free versus user fees that would discourage alleged patient abuse… User fees don’t save money. But by discouraging the poor from seeking early treatment or follow-up care, they can exacerbate illnesses. The health-care system needs to achieve greater efficiencies, not false economies.
Tags: featured, ideology, mental Health, poverty
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Two views of what families want
Sunday, September 19th, 2010
Sep 18 2010
[Hudak] “Premier, why don’t you just call it off on all these tax grabs and give families a chance to catch a breath?”… [McGuinty] “We understand that costs and family budgeting are very important to our families and that’s why we’ve moved ahead with a number of tax cuts. But… We’re going to continue to invest in the future of this province by investing in our children.”
Tags: child care, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
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