Health Care « Public Policy and Governance Review

Posts Tagged ‘Health Care’

Dalton McGuinty, Health Care, Liberal Party, Ontario, Tim Hudak, Value

Is Ontario’s Ensuing Fiscal Squeeze Salvageable?

In Andrew Perez on January 11, 2012 at 10:00 am

Andrew Perez

The Backdrop

Ontario just can’t get a break. Once the economic backbone of Canada, the province was paralyzed by the global economic crisis that ravished the globe three years ago. Fast forward to January 2012: the province is saddled with a $16-billion dollar deficit and a rate of growth that is slower than that of some other provinces. With scarce natural resources to draw upon and a deep reliance on the U.S. economy, Ontario’s fiscal outlook is more severe than that of other provinces.

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Canada, Canada 2020, Health Care

Setting the Agenda for the Canada We Want in 2020

In Mark Stabile, Public Policy on November 24, 2011 at 12:30 pm

Mark Stabile

Today, Canada 2020 will launch a book called “The Canada We Want in 2020: A Strategic Policy Roadmap for the Federal Government.” The publication highlights some key challenges for Canada over the next decade, and provides strategic policy advice specifically for the federal government on how to tackle them. A series of five chapters on productivity, Asia, carbon, income disparities, and health care provides some clear policy advice for a majority federal government that is now in a position to provide strong leadership for the country and aims to raise the level of public debate around these key issues. If the federal government is going to act boldly, regardless of its majority standing, it will need the public to understand and support its actions. Each topic is supported by pieces from various authors, and I was privileged to write one of the chapters on health care. Read the rest of this entry »

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Canada, Health Care, Two-tier

Why Canadians Should Fear Two-Tier

In Brianne Kirkpatrick, Public Policy on November 10, 2011 at 10:00 am

Brianne Kirkpatrick

Over the past few months we, as a city, a province, a state, and a people, have been distracted. We have been busied by an economic crisis. Keeping up with Rob Ford’s vision for Toronto. Swept up in the largest social movement our generation has seen in support of Occupy Wall Street. But there are other interests at work and other dialogues to which to listen. Health care, I argue, is an issue deserving constant vigilance. To look away from it for a moment is to relinquish that moment to another interested party – one that, if left unchecked, could seriously damage the quality of health care we receive in this country.

Universal health care is a symbol of Canada, both to its citizens and to its global audience. ‘Universal’ is an assumption that has become natural to Canadians. But what does universal really mean? How is the Canadian health care system universal? Read the rest of this entry »

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Canada, Health Care, Ontario, Public Policy

More Can be Done to Reduce Medical Errors

In Matt Warwick, Public Policy on November 4, 2011 at 10:00 am

Matt Warwick

Four-year-old Courtney Braund, a recovering leukemia patient in a Halifax hospital, was set to receive her last chemotherapy treatment.

On this particular April day in 1992, she was also scheduled to receive dental surgery due to side effects from the treatment. Her usual chemotherapy drug, vincristine, was a potent medication that is deadly if injected into the spinal cord.

That night, Courtney was very restless while sleeping in her parents bed. She screamed and vomited the next morning, prompting her parents to take her back to the hospital. Although the error was identified immediately, nothing could be done to change the outcome. Courtney died a week later. Read the rest of this entry »

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Health Care, Ontario Election, Population Growth, Public Policy, Unemployment, Urbanization

Hard Choices for Ontario in Election 2011 and Long After

In Meaghan Coker, Public Policy on September 30, 2011 at 10:00 am

Meaghan Coker

Just days away from the provincial election on October 6^th and most are projecting it to be the closest election in Ontario since 1985. As new polls are released on a close-to daily basis, the most recent results show the gap between the two leading parties having narrowed to a statistical tie, along with the third place party taking a considerable chunk, close to 25%, of the popular vote.

While the polls can be considered with varying levels of accuracy, it demonstrates that Ontarians (or at least those polled) are having some difficulty deciding as a majority where we fall within the political spectrum and who we want to entrust with the next four years.

Regardless of the presence of an election, Ontario has some significant trends that are shaping how policy makers and politicians plan out the next steps for our province. Read the rest of this entry »