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November - December 2023

How TV podcasts helped me regain my memory after Long COVID

Nisa Malli

When my girlfriend of six years broke up with me by text, followed by a short call, I couldn’t comprehend it. It wasn’t grief, shock, or denial. My brain, damaged from 16 months of Long COVID, couldn’t read or write, splice voices from background noise, or parse words said fast enough to react. When our friends […] More »
November-December 2017

The best and worst of Canadian happenings: November/December 2017

Abortion pills, aging populations, and more

Carine Abouseif

THE GOOD NEWS A First Nations-led initiative in Manitoba will receive $19 million from the federal government to set up much-needed diabetes-related foot care services in the communities. The initiative is vital considering numbers showing that First Nations experience diabetes at a rate 4.2 times higher than the general population, but 34 of the 63 […] More »
July-August 2017

P.E.I. continues to struggle with access to health care

Islanders now have improved reproductive services. But health care in the province still needs work

Madi Haslam@madihaslam

This year, Canada celebrates its 150th birthday. Ours is a country of rich history—but not all Canadian stories are told equally. In this special report, This tackles 13 issues—one per province and territory—that have yet to be addressed and resolved by our country in a century and a half In early 2017, pro-abortion activists across Canada celebrated when […] More »
May-June 2017

Who treats Canada’s often-overlooked patients?

How Dr. Paul Caulford has helped and treated asylum seekers

Pema Tsering@PemaTsering1

Dr. Paul Caulford has had a busy and unusual year. Since November 2016, he’s seen an unprecedented volume of patients and treated a peculiarly high number of frostbite cases. Many of these visitors have travelled on foot from the United States, escaping the Trump administration’s anti-immigration agenda. As the co-founder of the Canadian Centre for Refugee […] More »
November-December 2016

New collection of essays sheds light on LGBTQ health care in Canada

The Remedy uses first-person narratives to describe the country's state of queer and trans health care, making it accessible and informative

Emily Rivas@RivasEmily

The Remedy: Queer and Trans Voices on Health and Health Care Edited by Zena Sharman Arsenal Pulp Press, $18.95 Although Canada is often praised for its seemingly progressive health care system, it’s not perfect. This is particularly true for queer and trans people who are often mistreated by its antiquated process and mindset. The Remedy: Queer […] More »
September-October 2016

What a radical restructuring of Canada’s health care system would look like

More hospital funding, empathy, intersectionality, and more

Kaleigh Trace@KaleighTrace

For our special 50th anniversary issue, Canada’s brightest, boldest, and most rebellious thinkers, doers, and creators share their best big ideas. Through ideas macro and micro, radical and everyday, we present 50 essays, think pieces, and calls to action. Picture: plans for sustainable food systems, radical legislation, revolutionary health care, a greener planet, Indigenous self-government, […] More »
March-April 2016

March/April 2016 Cover Story: A sick inequality

Children who live on First Nations reserves receive drastically less health care, disabilities, and social services funding—a cruel gap that’s led to both death and broken families. Inside the fight for equal care

Stephanie Law@lawsteph

WHEN MAURINA BEADLE WAS CARRYING HER SECOND CHILD 20 years ago, the doctors told her she should terminate her pregnancy. The fetus was showing signs of hydrocephalus, also known as “water on the brain.” As excess fluid builds up in the brain, it places abnormal amounts of pressure and stress on important regions, and can […] More »

Gender Block: doctors can’t deny care based on their own beliefs. Wait, they could before?

Hillary Di Menna

In early March, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario released a draft policy paper saying doctors could no longer deny patient care based on moral or religious grounds. The Professional Obligations and Human Rights policy requires doctors who limit the care they provide based on beliefs—such as refusing to prescribe birth control or […] More »
September-October 2011

How a new campaign plans to cut Nunavut’s sky-high smoking rates

Graham F. Scott@klaidlaw

On the streets of Iqaluit, cheery Alana Kronstal is known as “the tobacco lady.” Young and old, everyone seems to know the 31-year-old, who is leading the charge against smoking in Nunavut, home of the highest smoking rates in Canada. “Nowhere in Canada has a campaign been launched starting with such a majority of smokers,” […] More »
May-June 2011

This45: Joyce Byrne on open-source biologist Andrew Hessel

Joyce ByrneWebsite

The Pink Army is preparing an ambitious invasion, and Andrew Hessel is its general. This is one war you can actually feel good about supporting, though: namely, the fight against breast cancer. Hessel is the founder and managing director of Pink Army Cooperative, the world’s first open-source synthetic biotechnology firm. Founded in Edmonton in 2009, […] More »
May-June 2011

This45: Craig Saunders on environmentalist Gideon Forman

Craig SaundersWebsite

That Gideon Forman is an activist should come as no surprise. The child of New York peace activists, he spent his 1960s childhood handing out leaflets around his Greenwich Village home. What is surprising is that this wiry man in his 40s has become one of Canada’s best environmental strategists and led a group of […] More »