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The impact of COVID-19 has been tragic for seniors and their families. Deaths in long-term care facilities have been staggering. The pandemic has also exposed many broader issues beyond LTC facilities that affect our ability to lead fulfilling and dignified lives in our senior years. These have been well articulated by Drummond and Sinclair, Estabrooks (the Royal Society Report), Mackenzie (Seniors Advocate, B.C.) and in Andre Picard’s recent book, Neglected No More.
The majority of seniors do not want to be in LTC facilities but sadly often find themselves with no other choice. Financial inability to access services at home often pushes seniors into LTC facilities. Yet this makes little sense as a recent Canadian Medical Association report estimates the cost of caring is about 40 per cent lower in home care than in LTC facilities ($95 versus $150 per day). Much of the support for seniors in their homes is provided by family members and other unpaid caregivers an
The impact of COVID-19 has been tragic for seniors and their families. Deaths in long-term care facilities have been staggering. The pandemic has also exposed…
When independent MP Marlene Farrugia presented a private member’s bill proposing the decriminalisation of abortion in Malta, temperatures soared, as vested parties on both sides made the case on why abortion should or should not be legislated.
However, there is a key difference between decriminalisation and legalisation.
Abortion in Malta is legislated by articles 241(1) and 242, which both prohibit anyone from getting an abortion and imposes a penalty on the person who terminates a pregnancy and any person who assists them.
A guilty sentence carries a prison term of anything between 18 months up to three years.
Farrugia’s bill is proposing that these articles be struck off and instead be replaced by a provision imposing 10 years in prison for anyone who carries out a forced or non-consensual abortion.
Premier s abortion-access comments feature in group s lawsuit against the province
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association says it has the right to sue the New Brunswick government for lack of abortion access, partly because the premier made it a legal issue in his public comments.
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This year s report showed that in 2014-15, the only penalized province was British Columbia. Its payment was docked $241,637. That s about half the amount in extra billing a 2012 audit found was committed just by Dr. Brian Day s Cambie Surgery Centre in Vancouver in just one month. B.C. is also the only province seeking to enforce the act, by cracking down on Cambie s activities. Physicians and clinics have quietly been charging extra fees for health services for many years, yet calls for the federal government to enforce the act have been ignored. Coming down hard on extra-billing may not sound as exciting as announcing new funding for specialized medical services, but it is the job of provincial and federal health ministers to protect the Canada Health Act and guarantee equitable access to health care.