Any government that says it cares about the mental, physical and financial health of its people would maintain a robust justice system that provides timely and accessible services and results.
Jan GoddardToronto
Cancer response
Re “B.C. government to send cancer patients to the U.S. for treatment” (May 16): So, let me get this straight: The B.C. government fought doctor Brian Day tooth and nail, all the way to the Supreme Court, to deny his ability to provide private health care to the province’s underserved populations.
In the meantime, it will spend untold millions to send thousands of underserved cancer patients to for-profit medical centres in the United States for treatment, paying travel, food and lodging for them and their support persons.
Oh, Canada.
Morris SosnovitchToronto
Re “The earlier …” (Letters, May 16): There seem to be individual differences regarding mammograms in Ontario. Like a letter-writer, I’m over 74 with a family history of cancer. My mammogram is booked for July.
Felicity Pope Cobourg, Ont.
I echo a letter-writer’s plea to remove restrictions for mammograms to those over 74.
My mammograms every two years until 2015 were clear. In 2017, I was not called since I had reached 74.
If I had a mammogram then, I might have been able to avoid a double mastectomy in 2018.
Maria EdelmanSt. Catharines, Ont.
Better pay
Re “Nursing shift” (Letters, May 11): I could not agree more with a letter-writer’s plea: “Give our nurses decent pay and working conditions and stop this reliance on stopgap measures.”
I recently spent a few unexpected days at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto with my wife, who required emergency surgery. At every level, the staff was, without fail, superb.
Their compassion in the most stressful of circumstances; their communication; their patience as I processed and documented what was happening and possible outcomes; their good humour as my wife recovered. And this was not just with my wife – I saw it repeatedly with so many patients.
I cannot imagine the nightmare of challenges this position of care held in the midst of the pandemic. There are several professions that, until one sees it close up, one cannot fully appreciate the effort involved.
Treat these people with the respect that they treat their patients. Pay them accordingly.
Neil Phillips Toronto
Business of government
Re “Want to help businesses grow? Keep it simple, Ottawa” (Editorial, May 15): I spoke with the CEO of a Canadian charity that works in Africa and receives both private and Canadian federal funding. He estimated that projects funded by the government cost 40 per cent more than those funded privately because of red tape.
The less governments interfere in economic matters, the better off we would all be.
Tony WoodruffBurnaby, B.C.
A major deficiency is highlighted in the federal government’s administration of programs: little uptake, unspent funds and few results are characteristics of a failed program.
Most classes in policy development emphasize that a program should incorporate the ability to monitor efficiency and effectiveness. Last fall, the auditor-general reported that the government had no idea whether its program supporting homelessness was improving the situation or not (”Federal government unlikely to cut chronic homelessness by half in five years, warns auditor-general” – Nov. 16, 2022), noting that it had not collected any data for evaluation.
I find it likely that governments generally do not want to know how effective various programs are. If the news is bad, they are subject to criticism. If the program was effective, that might be good news – but not knowing serves just as well.
The Opposition and the auditor-general should be making more demands of government to evaluate programs, report results and build upon that knowledge to ensure better use of our money.
I hope that those responsible will devote the time and effort to make these programs meaningful and effective to raise awareness, help reduce stigma, provide practical evidence-based self-care tools that students can adopt and allow for dialogue in safe and non-judgmental environments. Most importantly, I hope students are included in designing courses that will be most helpful to them.
If these courses cause just one student struggling in silence to reach out for help, maybe there will be one less student who feels that death by suicide is the only available option.
Michael HermanToronto
Tune out
Re “Mental health group calls on Ontario to ban gambling advertising” (May 16): If the federal and provincial governments, the National Hockey League and Sportsnet are at all serious about lowering mental illness, they should immediately ban the advertising of sports gambling on television.
I am even turning off the TV instead of watching hockey, with only American teams remaining now and all those incessant gambling ads at every commercial break. My respect for formerly esteemed NHL players who appear in these ads, promoting an activity that causes multiple problems in society, is quickly fading.
As a retired clinical psychologist, I am aware of how gambling contributes to the mental illness epidemic, including an increase in suicides. I insist that these ads stop immediately, and that those who approved this despicable phenomenon be defeated in the next election for this highly irresponsible act.
Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Keep letters to 150 words or fewer. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here:letters@globeandmail.com
OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
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