Health workforce, toxic drug crisis on health critics’ agendas this winter

Conservative health critic Dan Mazier says an upcoming committee report on immigration and health care will include ‘damning evidence’ that will surprise people.

Make federal funding permanent for Canada’s suicide crisis helpline, say Conservative and NDP critics

Long-time mental health advocates Conservative MP Todd Doherty and NDP MP Gord Johns say their passion for the subject is personal.

‘We will be facing a financial cliff’: advocates concerned about mental health and substance use programs as bilaterals begin to lapse in 2027

The 2025 budget didn’t include any new funding for these areas as Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals continue to rely on bilateral agreements negotiated by the previous government.

Canada could have access to more than 10,000 doctors if licensing were less complicated, House Health Committee hears

The House Health Committee is looking into the links between immigration and health human resources shortages. But Liberal MP Mark Powlowski says the Conservatives’ language on this ‘ticks’ him off as it suggests the problem in health care is a result of too many immigrants, which ‘is clearly wrong.’

Health minister says mental health and access to care are on her list of priorities

Health Minister Marjorie Michel says she has been communicating with her provincial and territorial counterparts as she develops a list of policy tasks.

A Chrystia carol: House wraps for the holidays as spectre of Freeland’s bombshell resignation haunts Liberal caucus

As the House rises for 2024, Liberal backbenchers get their turn in the spotlight following the fallout from Chrystia Freeland’s cabinet resignation.

Beyond treatment: why safety and support are critical for successful rehabilitation

A pragmatic approach to addiction treatment might not be dramatic enough to feature in Question Period, but it will benefit society as a whole.

Feds can no longer ignore devastation from substance use in the North

Northern-specific data is necessary to ensure the federal government is not swayed by popular southern theories.

NDP, Liberal MPs say Canada can learn lessons from Portugal’s ‘integrated, multifaceted, and patient-centred’ drug model

NDP MP Gord Johns says in his meetings with experts and stakeholders in Portugal he heard ‘no appetite’ for mandating treatment or for a return to criminalizing drug use.

NDP, Liberal MPs getting first-hand look at Portugal’s drug decriminalization efforts

New Democrat MP Gord Johns says he aims to bring back enough expert opinion to convince the Liberals to offer more than a piecemeal approach to the opioids crisis.

Record Alberta opioid deaths in April a ‘blow’ to Conservative focus on recovery, but don’t bet on softened stance: Tory pundit

The Conservative solution to the opioid crisis is not just about reducing deaths, but also keeping streets safe, says Anthony Koch.

Conservative rhetoric on safe consumption sites plays dangerous game with toxic drug crisis: NDP critic

Poilievre’s plan to sue pharmaceutical companies is ‘no silver bullet’ to a ‘complex issue that requires a multifaceted response’ to keep Canadians alive until they can seek treatment, says NDP MP Gord Johns.

As opioid crisis worsens, Quebec Senator Dalphond targets fentanyl sent through Canada Post

Figures compiled by the Public Health Agency of Canada show that there was a total of 30,843 apparent opioid toxicity deaths between January 2016 and March 2022.

A lot wrong with Poilievre’s recent video on his bonkers drug policy

No public figure should use real human misery as the backdrop for a political pitch. If he insisted on doing so, how much better it would have been if he’d stayed a night in the tent city, and talked to the people who live there. That way, he could have told them how he would improve their lives, and perhaps gain a better understanding of their problems. Using them as props to peddle his snake oil was disgraceful.