Alberta researchers identify gradients of risk for preterm births, small and large size at birth, smoking and drug use by mothers
The highest concentration of adverse birth outcomes and related maternal risk factors occur in rural areas of Alberta with the lowest socio-economic status, according to new research from the University of Alberta. “When it comes to perinatal health, postal code can be as important as your genetic code,” said perinatal epidemiologist Maria-Beatriz Ospina, assistant professor of obstetrics…
Norway has a successful youth sports system, accessible to all. The national lottery earmarks millions for youth sports every year
I’ve been a youth sports coach for 17 years. For the most part, it’s been very rewarding. However, one of the hardest aspects has been watching kids drop out of sports because they no longer can afford to pay to play. It’s heartbreaking. Social injustice is a hot topic these days. However, there’s one area…
Food inflation is on the way up, despite lower prices for other consumer goods. And COVID-19 has impacted incomes
Statistics Canada has confirmed what most of us knew already: Canada is becoming a hungrier place. According to a survey conducted by the federal agency in May, almost one in seven (14.6 per cent) Canadians indicated they lived in a household where there was food insecurity in the past month. In 2017-18, a similar survey…
Our leaders should have ways to handle a public health disaster without throwing half the population into penury
Most of the nations in the developed world, including Canada, were unprepared for the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. So we need to examine what steps should be taken to forestall or substantially mitigate the next microbial conflagration. While the current main weapon – the medieval quarantine – might still be part of the future arsenal, more…
First we need to deal with our own problems, starting with the huge inequities among our Indigenous peoples
Despite our best efforts towards eliminating poverty and inequality, large segments of society remain left behind. Problems seem to outpace rhetoric. Worse, governments face huge challenges in meeting their obligations and commitments. We face two tragedies: our domestic challenge with poverty and inequality, and the estimated 828 million people globally living in slums (expected to…
Given the billions of dollars and political agendas at stake, citizens should always take government stats with a measure of reserve
“This is the best number I’ve ever seen in my life!” Jim Cramer told CNBC. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics had just reported a 3.5 per cent unemployment figure in the United States. The November 2019 percentage was the lowest in 50 years. Others would say that might not be the case and that…
The link between oil sands development and First Nations prosperity is clear and profound. Project delays can be devastating
By Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre When Teck Resources cancelled its proposed Frontier oil sands project last month, Canada lost more than the government revenues and blue-collar jobs the mine would have created. The loss of this project was also a blow to northern First Nations communities. On average, people who live…
It’s tax season in our family medicine clinic. Seriously. You might think it’s coronavirus all the time in family practice these days. But, being family doctors, we see the full picture of health – what causes illness, what prevents it, and what keeps us happy and well. And that’s why we’re excitedly preparing for the…
Leadership is complicated. Character counts, as do vision, competence, judgment and the ability to persuade or inspire. The PM misses the mark
Looking at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s handling of the ongoing blockade fiasco, it’s difficult to avoid comparison with how his father, Pierre Trudeau, dealt with the 1970 October Crisis. Faced with the revolutionary FLQ’s kidnappings of British trade commissioner James Cross and Quebec provincial cabinet minister Pierre Laporte, the senior Trudeau moved decisively as prime…
In 2015, we gathered in the meeting house of the remote Tl’azt’en First Nation at Tache, 215 km northwest of Prince George, B.C. I was there as volunteer chair of the B.C, Industry Training Authority (ITA), the organization responsible for funding and facilitating trades training in the province. Accompanying me were the ITA CEO and…
The highest concentration of adverse birth outcomes and related maternal risk factors occur in rural areas of Alberta with the lowest socio-economic status, according to new research from the University of Alberta. “When it comes to perinatal health, postal code can be as important as your genetic code,” said perinatal epidemiologist Maria-Beatriz Ospina, assistant professor of obstetrics…
