2025
Ottawa marks 5 years since 1st COVID-19 case, start of pandemic
March 11, 2025
Misinformation can spread just as quickly as an airborne virus — and prove just as deadly, expert says
Alcohol-use surged in the pandemic. So did related deaths
February 3, 2025
The study released by the Canadian Medical Association Journal partly attributes the rise in alcohol-related harm during the early years of the pandemic to factors such as stress, boredom and easier access to alcohol.
2024
28% of kindergarten students in N.B. fail to meet immunization requirements
November 28, 2024
More than a quarter of New Brunswick kindergarten students did not meet the immunization requirements to enter public school in 2023-24, the latest figures from the Department of Health show.
Ontario lacks a health-care plan for alcohol harms as sales expand: health coalition
October 31, 2024
The Canadian Mental Health Association, the Canadian Public Health Association and the Canadian Cancer Society say the province has not responded to their request to work together on a plan to deal with possible harms.
Ban on safe consumption sites will increase risk of preventable deaths and illnesses, experts warn
October 17, 2024
Advocates are calling on the Ontario government to reverse its decision to shutter all supervised consumption sites (SCS), warning the move will significantly increase the risk of viral and bacterial disease transmission.
Healthcare leadership for a climate resilient future
October 14, 2024
The Lancet Countdown, which tracks the health impacts of climate across 47 indicators, has had a global impact, spurring national organisations to speak out on the risks of climate change. For example, the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Nurses Association, and the Canadian Public Health Association responded to the 2023 countdown with a policy brief that warns in plain language how “climate change will continue to have devastating impacts on health and human lives, further straining health systems and nullifying any possibility for adaptation, unless ambitious climate action is…
Closing supervised consumption sites will not solve the drug crisis, but it will take lives
October 14, 2024
The closure of several SCSs is so life-threatening that it prompted the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) to share a media release urging the government to reconsider their actions. The scathing title of the release, “dead people don’t need recovery beds,” powerfully sums up the CPHA’s warnings.
A British tech company and liquor giant are collaborating on bringing accessible QR codes to alcohol packaging
October 3, 2024
While one tech firm and a liquor giant are raising a glass to universal design in accessibility, a public health expert is warning of the dangers of allowing easier access to unhealthy products like alcohol. CBC accessibility reporter Luke Williams explains.
Alcohol at corner stores is coming, is Ontario prepared for the health cost of convenience?
August 25, 2024
For the health experts watching, the expectation couldn’t be more simple: More alcohol means more harm. The question is, are we prepared?
Canadian Public Health Association: Closure of consumption sites will cost lives
August 23, 2024
The province is closing the sites that are within 200 metres of schools and child-care centres. Culbert contends safety can be increased with bigger budgets and full-time security guards. He says the closure of these sites will do more harm than good to users looking for help.