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Another CIBC travel insurance customer, Carmen Peixoto of Chilliwack, B.C., fights back tears when she talks about the $10,000 medical bill she is stuck with.

The 69-year-old has high blood pressure. She paid CIBC an extra $100 premium to make sure her travel insurance would cover her for that. When her blood pressure soared, on her trip last year, she was taken by ambulance to a Geneva hospital.

CIBC later refused to pay, because Peixoto filled out a CIBC questionnaire — sent to her after she returned from her trip — answering that she had not been treated for a heart condition. Before buying the policy, she had only answered health questions over the phone.

Tetiuk, another senior, is also furious at CIBC for refusing to pay her $12,000 US medical bill, after she was treated for a blood clot in her lung in Cape Cod, Mass., in 2012.

The VA pays an estimated 40 per cent less than Medicare for the same types of drugs. So repealing the clause could reduce costs for the elderly. The federal government could use the same negotiating power on behalf of the 11.5 million people enrolled in insurance plans through state Affordable Care Act exchanges, whose premiums are paid largely through federal subsidies. It could create a program open to every American - a public option for prescription drugs.

The U.S. spends about 40 per cent more per person on pharmaceuticals than any other country. Buying drugs in Canada won't fix that. But until Congress can make it easier for the federal government to negotiate lower prices, it's a start.

Interested proponents have have until Jan. 28 to submit their expressions of interest to the college. Canadore president and chief executive officer George Burton could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon. But the 14-page request issued earlier this month indicates the city is supporting the P3 initiative. The Corporation of the City of North Bay wishes to investigate a partnership with Canadore College through a private-public partnership in relation to a twin-pad arena option," the document states. With the support from the City of North Bay, Canadore College is seeking a partner to build, finance and operate a multi-purpose sports facility. The successful proponent is expected to enter into a long-term land lease arrangement where a multipurpose facility would be constructed." The college is looking for the facility to offer a turf field, twin ice pads, rubberized flooring, a walking or jogging track, concessions and change rooms. Some of the activities Canadore would like these facilities to accommodate include soccer, hockey, figure skating, ringette, rugby, touch football, ultimate Frisbee, basketball, volleyball, baseball, tennis, weight room and golf. The facility would service the local and regional communities, as well as Canadore College students.

Driving down the compensation of public sector workers won't address the growing income inequality gap between working people and the richest Canadians. We need real action that will help all Canadian workers - public and private sector alike. Affordable and accessible child care, strengthened public health care, an expanded Canada Pension Plan that will give millions of Canadians a secure retirement income, and building an economy that is based on good jobs with fair wages for all.

Paul Moist, National President, Canadian Union of Public Employees

Government per-capita expenditures in Alberta were almost double those in Texas - Alberta spent $8,607 on average during the 2001-to-2013 period, while Texas spent $4,952. Mr. Prentice acknowledged that Alberta's spending is also out of line relative to other Canadian provinces. Compared to the Canadian average, Alberta spends about $1,300 more per capita on programs and services, and more than half of these costs are from salaries alone, he said. The School of Public Policy at the U of C argues the province could improve the way it forecasts oil revenue. According to author Sarah Dobson, there are "serious problems" with Alberta's forecasts. "In a province so dependent on resource royalties for its revenues, adding the unpredictability of unreliable forecasting methods can only put its fiscal planning at that much greater risk of instability," she writes. Unlike other critics, who in the past worried the province's forecasts were too rosy, Ms. Dobson argues Mr. Prentice might be inflating the government's expected shortfall this time around.

The premier has warned that if West Texas Intermediate crude averages US$65 a barrel this fiscal year, provincial revenue would drop by $6 billion to $7 billion, while a WTI price below US$50 could mean a shortfall of up to $10 billion. That's a big bite out of a $45-billion budget. Ms. Dobson said Alberta is assuming a Canadian dollar exchange rate of 88¢ to the U.S. dollar, which is high compared to most forecasters, who see the Canadian dollar falling further to potentially US75¢ by the end of the year. She estimates the government's high exchange rate view is increasing the shortfall by $2 billion. The exchange rate has a big impact on Alberta revenue because oil is sold in U.S. dollars. The revenue picture could be clearer if the province was more transparent about its royalties revenue, she said. The province doesn't provide key information such as how much production has reached "payout" and is subject to higher royalties, how much bitumen has been upgraded, how much bitumen qualifies for a royalty discount, or information on the productivity of crude oil wells, Ms. Dobson said. Rather than being protective of the ways of the past, Mr. Prentice is leading the shakeup and asking Albertans to do their part. The question is whether the resolve sticks when the oil-price roller-coaster turns in Alberta's favour, and the unbridled optimism that comes with oil booms temps politicians to reopen the taps.

We’re talking about fee increases of up to 200% in some cases. This is unconscionable behaviour from the provincial government,” says McNeil.

Japan is far from alone. Dementia is increasing across the globe - 47 million people already live with the disease, with more than 130 million projected by 2050. But the first waves have crashed over Japan. When it comes to dementia - a group of disorders affecting memory and cognition, for which there is no known cure - age is the greatest risk factor. No country has gotten older faster than Japan, the world's first "super-aged" nation. In the early '60s, Japan was the youngest of today's G7 countries. Now, it is the oldest - a dramatic shift fuelled by plummeting birth rates and the world's highest life expectancy, according to the World Health Organization, with an average of 84 years (in Canada, it's 82).

A quarter of Japan's 128 million people are already elderly, meaning over 65. By 2060, the elderly will make up 40 per cent of the population. Many will spend their dying days addled by dementia, which already affects 4.62 million Japanese. Ten years from now, an estimated 7.3 million people in Japan will have dementia - more people than live in Hong Kong, Rio de Janeiro or the entire GTA. "The impact will be so huge," said Dr. Koji Miura, director general of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's bureau for the elderly. "The burden on younger people is very rapidly increasing. If we don't do anything, society will be in trouble." Last year, more than 10,700 people with dementia went missing in Japan. The vast majority were found - some dead - but 168 were not. Violent crimes fuelled by kaigo jigoku, the Japanese term meaning "caregiver hell," are increasingly making headlines.

In July, 83-year-old Kyuji Takahashi was accused of stabbing his wife. He allegedly told police: "My wife has dementia and I am worn out from looking after her." Right now, these stories are still the exception, but Japan's challenge is to stop a public health crisis from unspooling - while battling the world's highest debt.

There is little any government can do about changing the course of dementia. The only thing Japan can change is Japan. "We see the crisis point as 2025," said Mayumi Hayashi, a research fellow with the Institute of Gerontology at King's College London. "And to cope with that crisis point, Japan is trying to create a society where everybody contributes and people with dementia have a better experience and quality of life." Grassroots efforts play a leading role in building this new society, with volunteers spearheading efforts to increase awareness and to form networks to find wanderers - those who go missing after becoming disoriented or confused.

Over the past 15 years, Japanese policy-makers have also changed everything from the social welfare system to the very word for "dementia." Before, the commonly used term was chiho, meaning "idiocy" or "stupidity," even in medical literature. In 2004, the government made an unusual announcement: chiho would know be known as ninchisho, meaning "cognitive disorder." "After the change of the name, the knowledge and acceptance of dementia has spread widely all over this country," said Dr. Takashi Asada, a psychogeriatrician who was a member of the renaming committee.

Japan's all-hands-on-deck dementia strategy - introduced in 2012 and revised last year - involves not just the health ministry but 11 other ministries and agencies. The strategy funds research but also prioritizes early detection, training front line health workers, support for caregivers and creating "dementia-friendly" communities. But the single most important - and radical - change Japan has made to improve dementia care came in 2000, when the government introduced mandatory long-term care insurance.

A primary goal was to help seniors live more independently and reduce the burden on relatives - particularly women, who are often the caregivers. So unlike long-term care insurance in countries like Germany, which offer cash, Japan's system offers services - and consumer choice. The scheme works like this: at age 40, every Japanese resident pays a monthly insurance premium. When they turn 65 - or get sick with an aging-related disease - they become eligible for a range of services: everything from dementia daycare to lunch delivery and bathing assistance. Depending on income, users also pay a 10- or 20-per-cent service fee - a measure that discourages overuse. This system also created something crucial in the field of long-term care: a market.

"Lots and lots of services developed very rapidly," said John Creighton Campbell, a University of Michigan professor emeritus and expert on Japan's long-term care system. "Without the long-term care insurance system, they wouldn't be conceivable." Campbell believes Japan is "better than any other place in the world for dementia care." Of course, Japan's unique and complicated system won't necessarily translate in other countries and significant issues remain, particularly when it comes to financial sustainability; the number of Japanese using long-term care has more than doubled since the program began, with 5.6 million people accessing it in 2013. Japanese families also continue to demand institutionalized care for their relatives and caregiver burnout is still a growing problem. But Japan's trials and errors are instructive for other nations, marching their own paths toward the destination of super-aged. The country is already living the future that countries like Canada are bracing for.

In September, national anxiety followed Statistics Canada's announcement that, for the first time ever, Canada's elderly population had surpassed its population of children. Japan hit this same milestone - in 1997. Clearly, there is good reason to keep an eye toward the Land of the Rising Sun, the Lancet medical journal recently suggested. "How Japan addresses the challenges - and opportunities - posed by a rapidly aging society will become a model for other countries facing their own demographic time bombs."

Dementia by the numbers 61,568 Japanese centenarians today 153 Japanese centenarians in 1963 1 in 5 Elderly Japanese who will have dementia in 2025 1 million

Nurses and care workers needed by 2025 to deal with dementia 40% Percentage of Japan's population that will be over 65 in 2060 15,731 Number of over-65 Japanese abused by families or relatives, according to a 2013 survey 14.5 trillion yen

Cost of dementia on the Japanese economy in 2013 6.2 trillion yen Estimated cost of informal care for de

24.3 trillion yen Estimated cost of dementia in 2060

Elderly people work out with wooden dumbbells in Tokyo to celebrate Japan's Respect for the Aged Day in September. A quarter of Japan's 128 million people are over 65. By 2060, that figure will be 40 per cent. • Nobuko Tsuboi runs a seniors daycare, covered by Japan's long-term care insurance. • Tomofumi Yamamoto is staying fit in hopes of warding off dementia.