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
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was higher in late-morning trading, helped by strength in energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also moved up.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 34.91 points at 23,736.98.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 178.05 points at 41,800.13. The S&P 500 index was up 28.38 points at 5,661.47, while the Nasdaq composite was up 133.17 points at 17,725.30.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.56 cents US compared with 73.57 cents US on Monday.
The November crude oil contract was up 68 cents at US$69.70 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up three cents at US$2.40 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$7.80 at US$2,601.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.28 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
OTTAWA – Canada’s inflation rate fell to two per cent last month, finally hitting the Bank of Canada’s target after a tumultuous battle with skyrocketing price growth.
The annual inflation rate fell from 2.5 per cent in July to reach the lowest level since February 2021.
Statistics Canada’s consumer price index report on Tuesday attributed the slowdown in part to lower gasoline prices.
Clothing and footwear prices also decreased on a month-over-month basis, marking the first decline in the month of August since 1971 as retailers offered larger discounts to entice shoppers amid slowing demand.
The Bank of Canada’s preferred core measures of inflation, which strip out volatility in prices, also edged down in August.
The marked slowdown in price growth last month was steeper than the 2.1 per cent annual increase forecasters were expecting ahead of Tuesday’s release and will likely spark speculation of a larger interest rate cut next month from the Bank of Canada.
“Inflation remains unthreatening and the Bank of Canada should now focus on trying to stimulate the economy and halting the upward climb in the unemployment rate,” wrote CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham.
Benjamin Reitzes, managing director of Canadian rates and macro strategist at BMO, said Tuesday’s figures “tilt the scales” slightly in favour of more aggressive cuts, though he noted the Bank of Canada will have one more inflation reading before its October rate announcement.
“If we get another big downside surprise, calls for a 50 basis-point cut will only grow louder,” wrote Reitzes in a client note.
The central bank began rapidly hiking interest rates in March 2022 in response to runaway inflation, which peaked at a whopping 8.1 per cent that summer.
The central bank increased its key lending rate to five per cent and held it at that level until June 2024, when it delivered its first rate cut in four years.
A combination of recovered global supply chains and high interest rates have helped cool price growth in Canada and around the world.
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem recently signalled that the central bank is ready to increase the size of its interest rate cuts, if inflation or the economy slow by more than expected.
Its key lending rate currently stands at 4.25 per cent.
CIBC is forecasting the central bank will cut its key rate by two percentage points between now and the middle of next year.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is also expected on Wednesday to deliver its first interest rate cut in four years.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
FREDERICTON – New Brunswick‘s finance minister says the province recorded a surplus of $500.8 million for the fiscal year that ended in March.
Ernie Steeves says the amount — more than 10 times higher than the province’s original $40.3-million budget projection for the 2023-24 fiscal year — was largely the result of a strong economy and population growth.
The report of a big surplus comes as the province prepares for an election campaign, which will officially start on Thursday and end with a vote on Oct. 21.
Steeves says growth of the surplus was fed by revenue from the Harmonized Sales Tax and federal money, especially for health-care funding.
Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs has promised to reduce the HST by two percentage points to 13 per cent if the party is elected to govern next month.
Meanwhile, the province’s net debt, according to the audited consolidated financial statements, has dropped from $12.3 billion in 2022-23 to $11.8 billion in the most recent fiscal year.
Liberal critic René Legacy says having a stronger balance sheet does not eliminate issues in health care, housing and education.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tgam/NNGDOANT2NNQHBXH3AA7QUNOUE.jpg)
