Albertans Must Get Inventive in Healthcare as Price of Oil Slides Further

 As world oil prices and the Canadian dollar slide perilously, Albertans must become more inventive and rigorous in managing our costs – and our expectations – especially in high-cost areas like infrastructure, education and health care. Health care is the biggest challenge. We cannot turn off the population’s health care

How Doctors Can Tackle the Their Patients’ Poverty Without Leaving the Office

 Can a question asked in a doctor’s office contribute to ending poverty for patients and their families?  This is what we asked ourselves 10 years ago, as we set out to convince health providers to tackle poverty. There were two factors that pushed us into this work: first, the evidence

The YMCA’s Still Got It

 A shot from the YMCA-YWCA's annual cliffhanger event. Photo by John Enaje. The Capital’s YMCA-YWCA has a lot to offer locals. Founded in 1867, the Y works to advance the health and well being of children, youth and families. The Y provides services that tackle issues such as children’s health, unemployment,

What’s Missing from Ontario’s New In-Vitro Fertilization Funding Policy?

 Children of IVF deserve to know their genetic history After a week of uncertainty and some confusion, the Ontario Ministry of Health finally announced its policy on in-vitro fertilization (IVF) funding – but the details remain minimal.  What we know for certain so far, and what has been met with

Response to Refugee Crisis Must Include Expanding Refugee Healthcare

 The haunting image of Alan Kurdi’s lifeless body lying face down on a Turkish beach, and the subsequent revelation of the Kurdi family’s intention to seek asylum in Canada, have prompted many Canadians to ask what we can do as a country to help Syrian refugees. So far, our search

Is it Fair to Make a Public Appeal for a Live Organ Donor?

 The public response to the appeal on behalf of Eugene Melnyk, owner of the Ottawa Senators hockey team, for a liver donor has been a heart-warming demonstration of the generosity of our community. Fortunately, a donor was found and the transplant was performed in time to save his life. But

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Profile: Geraldine Heaney

 In honour of the Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame 2014 Induction Celebrations presented by Canadian Tire on October 22, 2015 OLM will be featuring inductees—recent and historic—in a weekly Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Profile piece. Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame aims to share the stories and achievements of Honoured

Where are the Accessible Toilets Ottawa? GottaGo!

 Nowadays, the most vulnerable members of our population—children, seniors and persons with disabilities—are in search for clean and safe public washrooms in Ottawa. But Rachel Canham, a Carleton University researcher, is steering the pursuit for public toilets in a whole new direction. “I feel like while the need for public

Must Visit: West End Well

 What do you get when you combine a co-operatively run grocery, café, meeting space and some of the friendliest personalities in Ottawa? The answer is West End Well Co-op in Hintonburg. The Well is a centre for the community to come together and share food and drink, connect with the

Nuit Blanche Takes Over Ottawa and Gatineau

 Get ready to sleep all day so you can be up all night—The third annual Nuit Blanche Ottawa+Gatineau is this Saturday, September 20, from 6:20 p.m. to September 21 at 4:21 a.m. This one night a year event celebrates local art and culture at its finest. Nuit Blanche aims to

Five Things Most People Get Wrong About Canada’s Health-Care System

 By Kathleen O’Grady and Noralou Roos A recent court challenge before the British Columbia Supreme Court threatened to change the rules of the game for the Canadian health-care system—should the challenge have made its way to the Supreme Court of Canada and found success there. Dr. Brian Day of the

The Law and You–Law Society Publishes Guide to Legal Information and Services

 Why would an organization that regulates lawyers and paralegals hand out a guide to free legal information and services? Thomas G. Conway, head of The Law Society of Upper Canada, answers this and other questions in the following Q & A: Why did the Law Society produce the guide Handling

A rural revolution: The farmers are revolting

 By Trevor Tucker Is cutting down a 200-year-old elm tree in the Glebe the same as felling one for firewood to heat a farmhouse in the winter? If the City of Ottawa expropriated the whole front yard of your home, wouldn't you expect some form of compensation? Would you still