Private pay is no cure — fixing wait times is

 By Colleen M. Flood and Dr. Jane Philpott The Cambie decision was recently released by Justice Steeves of the British Columbia Supreme Court after 93 days of argument and 101 witnesses. In a whopping 880-page decision, Justice Steeves found that BC laws putting limits on a two-tier health system do

Using the Emergencies Act to ramp up testing and track COVID-19

 By Colleen M. Flood, Teresa Scassa The Prime Minister is called upon almost daily to explain why the federal government has not invoked the Emergency Act. Canadians perceive the COVID-19 pandemic to be an emergency and rightly so. The problem is that the Act can only be employed when an

Why Aren’t Governments and Medical Associations Doing More About Superbugs and Over-Prescribing?

 In 1928, a petri dish in Alexander Fleming’s lab was accidentally contaminated by a mold spore, leading to the discovery of penicillin and, in time, a revolution in medicine. Deadly infectious diseases like pneumonia, meningitis and tuberculosis could now be reliably treated.  Everything from childbirth, to transplant surgery, to chemotherapy

Canadians Should Modernize not Privatize Medicare

 National Medicare Week has just passed, buoyed with optimism as a fresh-faced government takes the reins in Ottawa – elected partly on a promise of renewed federal leadership on health care.  Yet these “sunny ways” are overcast by recent developments at the provincial level that entrench and legitimize two-tier care. Saskatchewan

Dear Health Minister Philpott — We Need Leadership In Medicare Restored

 Dear Minister Philpott, It is fantastic news that as a family doctor you are our next federal health minister.  You will know very well that our healthcare system shows its age.  Born in the middle of the 20th century, its primary focus on doctors and hospitals is outmoded as technology