Many Canadian families are on school break, preparing for or
enjoying Easter, Passover or just a long weekend ahead. Stay safe and healthy, and enjoy the
opportunity to be connected with friends and families – it is an investment in
your own personal health.
March 24th was World Tuberculosis Day. A remembrance of a disease that too often is
forgotten, but affects over 12 Million persons currently. Disconcerting is the 5% of these individuals
with a multiple drug resistant strain of the disease.
This week has seen several articles on the implications of
the near nation-wide cold turkey cessation of Oxycodone (OxyContin). What have we seen, heroin use appears to be
up. Anecdotally, overdoses concurrently
seem to increasing although the numbers are not available yet. Almost a year later, several of the key
addictions agencies in the country are proposing a plan entitled “First Do No
Harm” which presumably once released will be posted to Canadian Centre on Substance
Abuse .
These are NGOs perspectives, and the Harper government just tightening
the mandatory sentencing screws to persons convicted of crimes despite mental
illness. Contrast this with the
excellent CBC Calgary expose on Mental Health and Crime CBC Calgary on mental
health
And, buried in the budget is the loss of the Canadian
International Development Agency (CIDA).
While a colourful history, CIDA was a cornerstone of Canadian
international policy – a further sign of current government retraction from
issues other than what benefit themselves Life
and death of CIDA
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