Advocates are heightening calls for the Alberta government to regulate counsellors after a former family doctor in northern Alberta, who was barred from practising in the province, is now taking appointments as an addictions counsellor. Dr. Brianne Hudson had her medical practice permit cancelled in December 2023 by the College of Physicians and Su

Manulife says its coverage of certain specialty prescription drugs will only apply at Loblaw-owned pharmacies, raising questions over the relationship between insurance providers and major pharmacy retailers. For independent pharmacists like Kyro Maseh, who owns Lawlor Pharmasave in Toronto, the deal signals another shift away from personalized car

After routine childhood vaccinations fell during the pandemic, public health officials across the country are working to get Canadian students back up to date on immunizations for serious yet preventable diseases. In southwestern Ontario’s Waterloo region alone, public health officials said they sent letters to the families of 32,000 elementa

The federal government has announced it is seeking another pause on medical assistance in dying (MAID) provisions that would cover those suffering solely from mental illnesses. This is the second time the government has sought to delay the expansion of MAID since the Superior Court of Quebec struck down the government’s original 2016 MAID leg

White Coat Black Art26:30The high cost of sick notes Patients hate having to ask for them. Doctors don’t like writing them. But some employers across the country still demand employees get a sick note in order to stay at home for one or more days of illness. Increasingly, some doctors and other health-care providers are […]

The Dose24:29How can I manage chronic back pain? Millions of people around the world suffer from chronic back pain everyday, often not knowing if they’ll ever recover. Pain specialist Dr. Brenda Lau offers advice on how you can manage chronic back pain, as well as some of the newer treatment options that can offer relief. […]

A special parliamentary committee is set to release a report this week that could shape the federal government’s decision on whether to allow those suffering solely from a mental illness to obtain medically assisted deaths.  Conservative and NDP members of the joint committee on medical assistance in dying (MAID) say they want an indefinite p

The Current24:35Are full-body MRIs worth the money? After a bout of prostate cancer, Don Garnier wanted to take a more proactive approach to his health. That’s why he went out of his way to pay $2,500 for a full-body MRI scan at a private Vancouver clinic called Prenuvo.  “We live in a world now where getting medical […]

This First Person column is written by Leisha Toory, who lives in Ottawa. For more information about CBC’s First Person stories, please see the FAQ. I was around 11 when my grandmother told me I couldn’t enter our family temple in Mauritius when girls were unclean. “Unclean” was her word for menstruating. I felt so […

Padma Ranjan used to pass a blood donation centre on her bus ride to work in Vancouver and wish she could donate. Her family had been regular blood donors when she was growing up in Malaysia. She moved to the U.K. in the late 1970s and came to Canada about 10 years later. Her desire […]

The governments of Manitoba and Saskatchewan say they are concerned about the potential risks of allowing Canadians to seek medical assistance in dying solely on the basis of a mental illness. Provinces have expressed fears that the country may not yet be ready for the change to take effect in March, federal Health Minister Mark […]

B.C.’s attorney general is appealing a court decision that put the brakes on the province’s plans to crack down on drug use in public spaces. B.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson issued an injunction staying the implementation of the Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Services Act after an application from the Har

The B.C. Coroners Service says there were more than 2,500 suspected illicit drug deaths in the province last year, the highest annual number recorded. In announcing the grim number, B.C.’s chief coroner Lisa Lapointe renewed her plea for an expansion of safer supply and a “systems change” that treats substance use as a health issu

As president of an Ontario teachers’ union, Karen Brown is no stranger to public addresses. Now she’s started a new campaign to ask for something more personal: a kidney. “I’m at the point where it is crucial,” Brown, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, told CBC News. Brown, 55, says she

A Regina woman is going on 45 weeks of wondering if she may have breast cancer.  Nadine Baker has been experiencing breast cancer symptoms since March 2023. Due to a high volume of screening wait times in Saskatchewan, she still hasn’t been screened for cancer or received a diagnosis.  “It’s a constant worry,” Baker said [&h