Investment
B.C. investing $440M in cancer care as population continues to age | CTV News – CTV News Vancouver
The B.C. government has announced a new 10-year plan to expand cancer care as the province’s population continues to grow and age.
“Our commitment remains to ensure everyone in B.C. gets the care and support they need when they receive that difficult diagnosis,” said Health Minister Adrian Dix at a news conference with Premier David Eby on Friday.
The province will make a $440-million investment that will go towards improving cancer care, as well as research. It’s money that cancer patient Laura Malo hopes will speed up the process in getting her an appointment with an oncologist.
“Yes you had four tumours, yes you have pre-cancer cells, but you know what, you could wait up to 11 months before we start ringing alarm bells, and I went ‘you’ve got be kidding me,’” said Malo describing her conversation with a nurse last fall.
Malo thought she was cancer free nine years ago, but last year she was diagnosed once again.
“It’s really hard. It came back, it wasn’t supposed to,” she said.
She had surgery in September to remove four tumours after being told she had hormone cancer.
Her next step is to wait for an appointment with an oncologist to be prescribed life-saving medication.
“You’re giving me a death sentence by making me wait,” she said. “I have a good support system with my husband and my family and my friends, but I get nothing, absolutely nothing, from our health system and I’m not the only one.”
“It’s unacceptable to be in a situation in our province where someone is waiting for screening or waiting for treatment to the point where it’s compromising their cancer care,” said premier Eby during the news conference.
The new plan will roll out in three phases.
Eby said $270 million will be used to expand the hours for cancer care to allow for faster access to screening, treatment, and radiation appointments.
The funding will also be used to introduce revised pay structures for oncologists and cancer-care professionals, as well as Indigenous support positions, and additional supports for patients who need to travel from rural communities for care.
Eby said $170 million of the investment will go towards the BC Cancer Foundation to provide research grants, more clinical trials and new treatments.
“It’s investments like these that will have long-lasting impacts for British Columbians,” said Eby.
According to the province, one in two British Columbians will be faced with a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime.
Kim Chi the Chief Medical Officer for BC Cancer said the goal is that 90 per cent of people are seen by their oncologist within four weeks of their referral.
For chemotherapy, the target is that 90 per cent of patients will receive the treatment within two weeks, and radiations within four weeks.
According to radiologist Dr. Paula Gordon, the targets are bold.
“There’s not enough places that do the procedure there’s not enough individuals, there’s not enough professionals who do the procedure so the waiting lists are intolerably long right now,” said Dr. Gordon.
The wait for biopsy appointments in her office are backlogged, she added.
“We do save spots for the really urgent cases but otherwise we’re booking at the end of April and early May,” she said.
In 2021, more than 30,000 people in B.C. were newly diagnosed with cancer and more than 11,000 died from the disease.
“In the coming months, we will build off this investment with additional funding to support our goals and to deliver care,” Eby added.
The province said the 10-year plan will focus on 70 key actions, which including recruiting, training and retaining health-care workers.
Since 2017, the province said, it has invested over $1 billion to strengthen cancer care.
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A new committee of Greater Sudbury city council is being set up to find the “best way of streamlining and of encouraging investment in Sudbury.”
So described Mayor Paul Lefebvre, who used Thursday’s Fireside Chat event with the Northeastern Ontario Construction Association to announce the new five-member committee.
“It’s a big exercise, but I think it’s a positive way of affecting change,” he told Sudbury.com after delivering his address at Verdicchio Ristorante, adding that his goal is for the committee to present recommended changes to municipal bylaws by the end of the year.
The committee would host five to seven meetings this year to learn from local industry leaders, with priority given to those with experience working for other municipalities.
“What is going on elsewhere?” Lefebvre asked. “How are they doing things different from what’s going on here, and why is that the case, so we have a better understanding.”
Lefebvre said that with many regulations provincially mandated, he wants the committee to narrow in on what the municipality can actually accomplish.
In concert with the committee’s work, Lefebvre said an internal team at city hall will work with their counterparts in other municipalities to dig out best practices for Greater Sudbury to adopt.
Reflecting on Lefebvre’s address, Northeastern Ontario Construction Association executive director Mark Kivinen told Sudbury.com he is “very optimistic,” and that Lefebvre has “hit the ground running” since he was elected to head city council on Oct. 24, 2022.
“He is so engaged with the community and understands what the community wants and needs, and also has the ability to not stay stagnant, to open up and don’t be just locked in your little bubble,” Kivinen said, adding that the upcoming committee should aid in this effort.
“There are other municipalities that are doing things better than us, and we are doing some things better than them,” he said. “I think we understand now that if we’re going to promote growth, we’ve got to open up the city a little more.”
Thursday night’s speech and subsequent question and answer period highlighted an ongoing concern within the local construction industry of so-called “red tape” at city hall, which Lefebvre said city council’s upcoming committee will strive to suss out.
Ward 5 Coun. Mike Parent has also addressed “red tape” in a motion greenlit by city council in February, which will see the city partner with the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce to investigate ways of streamlining processes for businesses.
During his speech, Lefebvre cited recent progress on the Employment Land Strategy and a $1.25-million interim fix approved for Fielding Road, which services one of the city’s industrial hubs, as recent signs of city council support for tackling economic growth.
“We’re serious about this,” Lefebvre said, adding that the work on Fielding Road is a solid investment that will help ensure clients and those working in the area won’t have to wear a mouthguard while navigating the pothole-filled road.
Earlier this week, city council approved a public consultation plan for a new tax incentive called the Employment Land Community Improvement Plan, which Lefebvre cited as another recent move toward spurring economic activity. Sudbury.com will be publishing an in-depth report on the proposal soon.
Tapping into the value-added market when it comes to battery-electric vehicles, the city’s infrastructure deficit, its collection of aging facilities, a need for housing across the continuum, and a need for employees in a local economy in which there are approximately 3,500 unfilled jobs right now, were also hot topics during tonight’s speaking engagement.
Lefebvre said all of these issues and more will need to be dealt with to help meet his ultimate goal of increasing Greater Sudbury’s population to 200,000 within 20 years.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
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The Canadian Press
Gold breaking above 2000 is likely a 2023 event: CEO
VIDEO SIGN OUT
The precious metals sector could stand to benefit from renewed exploration, particularly at a time when investors are undervaluing several companies within the space, one financial expert says.
In a Thursday interview with BNN Bloomberg’s Amber Kanwar, David McAlvany, chief executive officer of McAlvany Financial Companies, said precious metals companies that specialize in mining commodities such as gold and silver are well-positioned to capture new growth through exploration, and are showing sustainable cost production.
He recommended Orla Mining Ltd. (ORLA), I-80 Gold Corp. (IAU) and MAG Silver Corp. (MAG) as his top picks in the precious metals sector.
McAlvany, his family and his firm own shares of all three companies mentioned above, however his investment banking clients do not.
Check out the full video at the top of the article to learn more.
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MONTREAL, Québec — BRAVO READY, creator of BR1: INFINITE, the world’s first pay to spawn, kill to earn shooting game, today announced a new strategic investment from Magic Eden, adding to its expanding list of investors, which includes Krafton (owners of PUBG), 6th Man Ventures, and Solana Ventures. The funding provided by this investment will be directed towards the further development and mass adoption of BR1: INFINITE.
“With the support of Magic Eden, BRAVO READY is now better positioned to provide liquidity to gamers,” said CEO and Co-Founder, Evan Ryer. “Delivering innovative and exciting gameplay experiences that leverage a risk-based model is what keeps players coming back – we are excited to keep onboarding strategic partners like Magic Eden.”
“We are excited to support BRAVO READY and their vision to bring intense competitive gameplay to Web3.” said Chris Akhavan, Chief Gaming Officer, Magic Eden. “We believe the combination of Web3 technology and skill-based player economics will create thrilling experiences for gamers.”
About BRAVO READY
BRAVO READY is a Montreal-based game publisher. In addition to producing AAA and WebGL titles like BR1:INFINITE & Mini Arena, BRAVO READY offers a range of products & services to help align games and game companies for success.
About Magic Eden
Magic Eden is the leading cross-chain NFT platform driving the next billion users to web3. Led by former crypto, tech, and hospitality leaders, Magic Eden is building a user-friendly platform powered by market-leading minting and trading solutions. Magic Eden brings dynamic cultural moments onto the blockchain, empowering users across thousands of digital communities to create, discover and collect unique NFTs. For more information, please visit www.magiceden.io
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230330005710/en/
Contacts
Corey Herscu for BRAVO READY
corey@herscu.ca
+14163003030
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