Medicine Canada

“And the sad truth is this hospital has a deficit of $12 million,” said Michael Hurley, president of OCHU-CUPE, in his remarks at the rally. “Like many hospitals in this province as a result, it’s cutting staff at the same time that the population of Guelph is aging and growing and the demand here is so significant that in two-thirds of cases this hospital can not meet provincial targets to admit patients on time from its ER. That’s the reality.”

Brodie-Campbell has worked at GGH since 1991 and she can’t remember a lay-off this big before.

Behind every nurse is a PSW, said Tammy McGlone, PSW at GGH, who isn’t getting laid off since she has seniority. “Bare bones to it all is the nurses don’t have time to do what we do,” said Brandy Wilson, PSW at GGH, who is set to be laid off.

The impacts are two-fold with the first being patient care with things propping up like bed sores, malnourishment, muscle deterioration if patients aren’t up and moving around. The other is nursing staff won’t stay in the profession because “there is no job satisfaction with this type of work environment,” said Zinger.

Since 2019, international public health studies have found gas station workers are at increased risk of cancer. One study showed a high risk of health issues in 51 per cent of workers; over 71 per cent of workers had a lifetime cancer risk compared to an average of 42 per cent in the overall population. Significantly higher risk was found in fuelling workers compared to cashiers, and in city workers compared to rural. As well, international public health studies have since shown “the increased health risk suggests that there should be health surveillance for workers in order to protect them from exposure to benzene.”

In 2023, Health Canada examined the problem of gas stations and concluded gas station benzene emissions can be harmful to people living up to 300 metres away — an “unacceptable risk” to nearby residents, the agency determined. They also found homes as little as 10 metres from the fenceline of gasoline stations, putting them at extremely high risk.

Health Canada identified some straightforward fixes like implementing minimum distances from gas stations for new construction, alongside other options like vapour recovery and the use of pressure/vacuum valves on vent stacks at the source. But nearly two years later, the federal agency has not passed any guidelines or regulations to prevent injuries.

According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 63 farms in Canada are currently infected with H5N1 and 54 of them are in B.C. Since 2022, more than seven million farmed birds in B.C. have died from infection or been culled because of the virus.

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Intro section below:

Seventy-five per cent of health care in Canada is provided at home by unpaid family caregivers. Not only is this essential health-care work often unrecognized and under-supported, it is rapidly changing.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many health-care appointments have shifted to telephone and videoconferencing. This change in the mode of health-care delivery has now become more fully integrated into the Canadian health-care system.

While a lot of policy and research has focused on the impact of this transition on doctors and patients, these changes also have important implications for caregivers.

With a growing portion of Canadians opting to age in place at home, family members will increasingly be relied upon to provide care. However, unlike professional health-care workers, family caregivers are generally not compensated for their labour. A middle-aged man helping an older man take his medication With a growing portion of Canadians opting to age in place at home, family members will increasingly be relied upon to provide care. (Shutterstock)

In fact, the act of caregiving is associated with personal costs. Caregivers often must take time away from paid work to provide care, which in turn affects their financial security. Notably, women make up the major share of caregivers in Canada.

To better understand the needs of caregivers, our research team reviewed existing studies, and conducted interviews and workshops with caregivers and others taking part in virtual health. Our findings shed light on how virtual care has so far interacted with existing inequities to create opportunities and challenges for caregivers.