August 12, 2010
Progressive Detective: Is it safe to use the Pill to skip my period?
Dear Progressive Detective: I’ve heard of a new birth control pill, Seasonale, that reduces your period to four times a year instead of 12. I see the appeal, but messing with my cycle just seems like a bad idea. How safe are these kinds of contraceptives? Extended-use hormonal contraceptives like Seasonale boost estrogen to levels that some experts link to increased risk of cancers, blood clots,... [More >>]
May 31, 2010
What Stephen Harper should really do to support global maternal health
G8 Leaders meet in L'Aquila, Italy, July 8, 2009. Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced on January 26 that he was going to use Canada’s Group of Eight presidency to push for an annual G8 summit agenda focused on women’s and children’s health. Former UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis said it best when he called the announcement an act of “chutzpah.” First of all,... [More >>]
May 27, 2010
Pro-pot lawyer Alan Young preps to fight the next round of drug laws
Creative Commons photo by Flickr user Neeta Lind. “This is about the complete failure of democracy,” Alan Young says, munching on his strawberry-jam toast at Sunnybrook Restaurant in Toronto. Young, a criminal lawyer, has been Canada’s forerunning pot reformist since he got a judge to declare that “marijuana is relatively harmless compared to the so-called hard drugs, and including tobacco... [More >>]
April 9, 2010
Are there health risks of radiation from cellphone towers?
Q: Dear Progressive Detective: I’m worried about radiation from the cellphone tower that was just installed on my building’s roof. What can I do about it? A: Everyone and their grandma is on a cellphone these days, and because we believe nothing should impede us from updating everybody on everything, cellular service companies are rushing to expand and improve the reliability of their network... [More >>]
April 6, 2010
Six visionary designers who are planning for our post-oil future
A new generation of designers propose products and buildings that are energy efficient and elegant MIT Professor Sheila Kennedy's solar-energy-producing textiles. Courtesy Sheila Kennedy. Rick Mercer’s quip during the Copenhagen climate conference last December summed it up best: “So [Stephen] Harper flew to Copenhagen to have a club sandwich and hide in his room?” The post-Copenhagen doldrums... [More >>]
March 1, 2010
Supervised injection sites work—but the feds still don’t get it
The evidence in favour of safe-injection sites is overwhelming, but the federal government appears determined to shut Insite down. Despite ongoing efforts by the Harper government to shut it down, Insite, the Vancouver-based supervised-injection site, is alive and thriving, with over 10,000 registered users and around 800 daily visitors. To Mark Townsend, an Insite representative, it’s a success... [More >>]
February 24, 2010
Review: Dr. Bonnie Henry’s Soap and Water & Common Sense
As the world prepares for H1N1’s much-touted fall resurgence, Dr. Bonnie Henry’s approachable, non-technical guide to flu preparedness fails to deliver on its promise, offering neither protection nor peace of mind. Readers in search of preventative measures won’t find much insight beyond the obvious: wash your hands. True to her title, Dr. Henry, the director of Public Health Emergency Management... [More >>]
February 16, 2010
Midwifery is ready for delivery, but mainstream public health lags
Providing midwifery in a public health system presents challenges, but they're worth it. Creative Commons photo by Flickr user limaoscarjuliet. In March 2009, Nova Scotia became the seventh province to incorporate midwifery into the public health care system. Instead of paying and arranging for the service privately, residents now have it covered and regulated by the provincial government. Midwifery... [More >>]
January 27, 2010
Banned at home, Canada continues exporting deadly asbestos worldwide
Microscopic image of Asbestos. Despite being banned here, Canada remains the West's biggest exporter of the deadly mineral. Over the past two decades, Canada has spent millions stripping asbestos from the walls and ceilings of schools, the Parliament Buildings, and hospitals. The national outcry against asbestos has led to some government restrictions on its use and production, causing many Canadians... [More >>]
December 1, 2009
“Give a Day” campaign makes fighting HIV-AIDS all in a day’s work
Dr. Jane Philpott, founder of the Give a Day to World AIDS campaign. Photo by Molly Crealock. One day’s salary might not mean much to most of us, but to Dr. Jane Philpott, founder of the Give a Day to World AIDS campaign, it might be just enough to save a life. In 2004, the Markham, Ont.-based family physician gave a presentation to her colleagues about the AIDS epidemic. Knowing that she couldn’t... [More >>]
