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Canada’s health care system ranked second-last overall, above only that of the United States, in a report by The Commonwealth Fund that analyzed the health care systems of 11 industrialized countries (with the United Kingdom topping the list). Factors considered include quality of care, efficiency, equity and access. Canada ranked last in timeliness of care.
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Canadians should show caution before investing in medical marijuana stocks, warn the Canadian Securities Administrators. The excitement over the new sector may lead investors to purchase shares at inflated prices before a business is viable or even has a licence from Health Canada.
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People tend to underestimate the intensity of physical activity needed to obtain health benefits, found a study by researchers at York University in Toronto. New descriptions of moderate and vigorous physical activity may be necessary to help people better understand exercise intensity, the authors conclude.
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The Ontario Human Rights Commission released a policy on preventing discrimination based on mental health disabilities and addictions. The policy is intended to “provide clear, user-friendly guidance on how to assess, handle and resolve human rights matters related to mental health and/or addictions.”
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Quebec has established a committee to determine if daycare centres should be required to have carbon monoxide detectors, after more than 70 children and a dozen adults were exposed to the gas and taken to hospital as a precautionary measure. Suspected to be caused by a floor-polishing machine, the leak resulted in nausea, headaches and vomiting, and rendered two children unconscious.
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Prince Edward Island is losing its only fertility specialist, Dr. Bev Brodie, who is leaving the province for personal reasons after 25 years of practice. More than 1000 people have signed a petition calling for the province’s government to recruit a replacement.
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Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne is exploring options to pay for refugee health services. The federal government cut funding for refugee health care two years ago, a decision protested by refugee advocates across Canada, including Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care, which held its third annual day of action on June 16.
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Lawyer Deborah Prowse will become Alberta’s new health advocate July 1. Among the responsibilities of the position, which was created in January, will be to help Albertans navigate the health care system and address concerns and complaints.
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Dr. Arlene King finished a five-year term as Ontario’s chief medical officer of health after the province declined to extend her contract, reports The Globe and Mail. An infectious disease expert, King took on the job during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and earned praise for her leadership in handling the crisis.
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Businessman Geoffrey Cumming announced he will donate $100 million to the University of Calgary to spur innovation in several areas of health, including research of depression, dementia and chronic disease. In honour of the donation, the largest the school has ever received, the medical school will be renamed the Cumming School of Medicine, and the Alberta government has matched the gift to create the $200-million Cumming Medical Research Fund.