This Magazine

Progressive politics, ideas & culture
Menu

Healthcare

September-October 2023

Contingent freedom

Travel can be nearly impossible for Canadians who take methadone

Mikaela Toone

Charlotte Munro and her mom smiled for a selfie high above the frothy water of Niagara Falls. Amidst a difficult year where Munro endured both opioid withdrawal and a near-deadly infection, the weekend trip should have been a respite. But the getaway quickly turned sour because she was forced to forgo packing one essential item—her medication. […] More »
September-October 2015

When the cure is worse

Canada’s so-called Indian hospitals were depressing places that segregated, abused and even experimented on aboriginal patients. Gary Geddes speaks to those who were there about their long and painful legacy

Gary Geddes

  The first image: a small child in striped pyjamas, three years old, peering through the bars of a crib, directly into the lens of the camera. There’s intelligence in her eyes, but no indication of pleasure or recognition. Just a quiet, cautious curiosity. She’s holding a naked, hairless, rubber doll. Behind her, off-kilter on […] More »

Gender Block: pinkwashing

Hillary Di Menna

When the calendar flips to October, shelves are stocked with pink products and pink ribbons are all around. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, tackling the most common cancer, and the second leading cause of death from cancer, among Canadian women, according to the Canadian Cancer Society. Companies, like Procter and Gamble (P&G), use this […] More »

WTF Wednesday: Doug Ford promotes discrimination against autistic children

Kelsey Braithwaite

Toronto city councillor Doug Ford believes that people with autism, when integrated, can ruin a community. It’s as simple as that. He shared this opinion with the staff of an Etobicoke home for teens with autism, owned by the Griffin Centre, a non-profit mental health agency. The Etobicoke Guardian reports that Ford held a public […] More »

WTF Wednesday: Nursing homes are prescribing drugs and are fully aware they may kill residents

Kelsey Braithwaite

Many nursing homes’ workers are giving residents potentially lethal pharmaceuticals to help with dementia. These nurses and doctors are well aware the drugs may kill those suffering from the disease. But it’s still happening all across the province. The Star recently conducted an investigation into the usage of these pharmaceuticals in Ontario nursing homes. It […] More »

WTF Wednesday: New law bans medical marijuana users from growing their own pot

Simon Treanor

On April 1, the federal government will enact a new law banning individuals from growing medical marijuana for their own use. Instead, those who wish to acquire the drug will be forced to buy it from provincially-approved growers, who then mail the dried product to the patients. Currently, only seven growers are approved; their prices […] More »

Friday FTW: Canadian doctor schools US senator

Simon Treanor

Earlier this week, Canadian doctor Danielle Martin battled the rather patriotic U.S. Republican Senator Richard Burr at a subcommittee meeting in Washington, D.C. to discuss different health care systems around the world. Okay, maybe I’m being a little melodramatic here but it sure seemed like a battle—and Martin, the vice-president of the Women’s College Hospital […] More »

WTF Wednesday: Canadian Blood Services trumpets policy change on gay men and blood donation

Espe Currie

Canadian Blood Services is now accepting blood donations from men who have had sex with men—but only if they haven’t done so in the past five years. The change took effect July 22, and marks a drastic departure from the organization’s previous policies concerning blood donation from the MSM category of donor, a blanket term used to […] More »

Friday FTW: U.S. Supreme Court says no to patenting human genes

Espe Currie

In a stunning display of common sense over corporate interest, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 13 that human genes can’t be patented. The case centred on controversial Myriad Genetics, the (now former) patent-holder of the gene mutation responsible for hereditary breast cancer. Perhaps, like many others, you first heard about the gene mutation after […] More »

WTF Wednesday: Conflict of Interest in the DSM-5

Espe Currie

The DSM-5 is the newest edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual—the book of mental illnesses. The tome has been around since the ’50s, and updated editions have reflected changing social norms— homosexuality was taken out in 1973. Over its five editions, names have changed, symptoms have changed, and new illnesses […] More »

WTF Wednesday: A female Viagra is coming…as a nasal spray

Sara Harowitz

It’s been 14 years since the erectile dysfunction pill Viagra hit the market, and it seems like women are finally close to getting one, too—in the form of a nose spray. The product, called Tefina, is a testosterone gel that gets sprayed up the nose and absorbed within minutes, with effects that could be felt […] More »