The Conservative government moved to limit the power of the chief public health officer. The role of deputy head of the Public Health Agency of Canada, including control of its $615-million budget and 2500 employees, would be transferred to a president.
The College of Family Physicians of Canada released a roadmap for developing a national home-care strategy at its annual meeting in Quebec City. The college also called on the federal government to eliminate child poverty by 2020, and ban junk food advertising directed at children.
Two Toronto hospitals, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Toronto East General, live-blogged colon and prostate surgeries on Twitter. Sunnybrook became the first hospital in Canada to live-tweet a surgery in February.
Ontario banned smoking at patios, playgrounds and sports fields, and tobacco sales on university and college campuses. The new rules will take effect on Jan. 1, 2015.
The Alberta Medical Association urged the province to rethink its allocation of health dollars, after a Canadian Institute for Health Information study showed Alberta will spend nearly $4700 per capita on health care this year. That’s up 2.1% from 2013 and more than any other province bedsides Newfoundland and Labrador.
Quebec’s first medical marijuana clinic opened its doors in Montréal. According to CBC News, Santé Cannabis accepts patients referred by a treating physician and follows prescribing guidelines set by the Collège des médecins du Québec.
Health advocates, including former Canadian Medical Association president Dr. Louis Hugo Francescutti, urged Alberta to create a $170-million foundation for preventive care. The province currently spends about 3% of its health budget to prevent injuries and chronic diseases.
Health Canada is “carefully monitoring” the public health risk posed by laundry-detergent pods after a Pediatrics study showed that more than 17 000 American children under age 6 swallowed, inhaled or squirted pod chemicals in their eyes in 2012/13.
Nunavut’s health minister ordered an independent review of how the department handled repeated misconduct by a nurse. The government knew about nearly 20 complaints over the past two years but did not remove the nurse from her position in Cape Dorset.
The CEO and board members of Alberta’s Capital Health Region spent tens of thousands of public dollars on lavish entertainment using a secretary’s corporate credit card, the CBC revealed. The expenses include a $3000 suite at a football game with $1000 worth of food and alcohol, a $7500 weekend for six at the luxury Jasper Park Lodge and a nearly $12 000 restaurant tab.