First responders are at least twice as likely to suffer from PTSD. There’s no need to suffer in silence. The help you need is here. This website offers resources and services for the First Responder community to understand the various steps of a PTSD program from managing a crisis through to implementing best practices into an existing program.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition caused by witnessing or experiencing actual or threatened death, serious injury or violence. Being affected by these types of events is normal, however if the thoughts or memories of these events start to seriously affect the life of the person long after the event, that person could be experiencing PTSD. Signs that someone may be experiencing PTSD include nightmares, uncontrollable memories, persistent fear and severe anxiety.

The NEB also approved a donation of $7,000 to seven members of the Nova Scotia Union of Public and Private Employees who have been on strike against Canadian Blood Services in Prince Edward Island for more than six months.

A request from CUPE Nova Scotia, for financial support to mount a provincial fightback campaign in response to legislation that removes free collective bargaining in the provincial public service and mandates the terms of a public sector agreements, also received NEB approval.

Apr 5, 2016

The Trans-Pacific Partnership signed by International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland in February has been called “the biggest trade deal Canadians have never heard of.”

Canada has lost 500,000 manufacturing jobs since Jean Chrétien’s NAFTA deal. A Toronto report found that 20 per cent of people in and around that city are now employed in precarious, unstable or part-time jobs. This type of employment has increased by 50 per cent in the past 20 years since NAFTA was signed. In this same period, not a single notable social program has been introduced or expanded.

by Bobbie Blair

• More than a decade after he was fired from his position as senior scientific advisor at Health Canada for telling the truth, Canadian ‘whistleblower’ Dr. Shiv Chopra is now warning us about a new threat to our health and our food safety: the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). In 2004, Dr. Chopra lost his job for refusing to approve a genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH) developed to increase milk production in dairy cows. He faced an incredible amount of pressure to lie to the public, not only from the powerful biotech industry, but also from his superiors inside the government agency. Dr. Chopra’s story is still a red flag for us today: we cannot rely on the government to look out for our health. But while they took his job and destroyed his career, neither the industry nor Health Canada could rob Dr. Chopra of his good name. A Federal Court established it was not only his right, but also his duty to blow the whistle about rBGH health concerns, as a scientist holding a position of public trust. Dr. Chopra has no regrets. A couple of years ago, he told an audience, “I would blow the whistle again!” This year, he keeps his promise.

Dean BakerTruthout, April 5, 2016

It looks like the major media outlets are doing their full court press to lay the groundwork for the passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). In recent weeks the news and opinion pages have been filled with articles and columns on the wonders of trade and why all good people should support trade deals like the TPP.  

Toronto Star Fri Apr 8 2016

Spent, stressed, on the brink of burnout, April 5 Amy Dempsey's article on caregiver burnout was published on National Carers Day - a day to celebrate the important contributions of family caregivers in Ontario. However, clearly this is not a time to celebrate as caregivers are burning out at an alarming rate.

Health Quality Ontario's report is a significant milestone in recognition of the need for caregivers to be supported. What it did not point out is the reason that long-stay home-care clients are increasingly more frail, ill and complex. The cause is the change in CCAC policy to direct most home-care resources to the highest-needs clients - many who formerly were "bed blockers" in hospitals waiting for long-term care. This change has been made on the backs of family caregivers who did not receive enough support to manage the intense home-care needs of their loved ones. And it was made at the expense of "lower and moderate needs" clients who are no longer eligible for home care. Clearly something needs to change!

Government Promise Tracker

During the election campaign the Liberal Party of Canada presented commitments in their campaign platform “New Plan For A Strong Middle Class”.

heglobeandmail.com Fri Apr 8 2016,

JEFFREY SIMPSON

The year was 2004. Paul Martin was prime minister. A set of premiers different from those of today sat with him to negotiate what became a 10-year, $41-billion investment in health care, indexed yearly at 6 per cent. Their accord aimed at many targets, but one stood out - waiting times. Why? Because they were unacceptably long, a blight on the country's beloved health-care system. They also seemed to be the sharpest point of public anxiety about the system.

North Bay Nugget Fri Apr 8 2016

The following letter is in response to the news article Violence commonplace -poll which appeared in the April 2 edition of The Nugget. To the editor: There is a disturbing amount of workplace violence being experienced by workers at the North Bay Regional Health Centre. A recent survey by CUPE /Ontario Council of Hospital Unions shows 86 per cent of registered practical nurses and personal support workers have experienced physical violence on the job in the past year.

This violence is no secret, but workers are being intimidated against speaking out. When RPN Sue McIntyre talked about the violence at a health care workers conference she was fired. This sends a chilling message to others - keep quiet or else. It is simply unacceptable for hospital management to continue ignoring these dangers and intimidating workers who are speaking out for their own safety. On behalf of 636,000 CUPE members across Canada, I call on NBRHC management do the right thing -reinstate Ms. McIntyre and take real action to protect her and all co-workers from violence on the job.

The "Make it Fair" campaign is focused on reaching out to union members to mobilize our movement into action on labour law reform. The first set of materials are designed to generate these discussions by focusing on the right to join a union, protecting jobs when a contract is flipped, taking the precariousness out of the workforce and giving every work rights at work.

April 6, 2016

Health Minister Terry Lake has ordered a review of staffing guidelines in government-funded long-term care homes for seniors after a report from the province’s seniors advocate.

April 7, 2016

By Marieke Walsh

The liberal government says it's looking at a public private partnership as one of the options to fund the replacement for the ailing Victoria General Hospital. Global's legislative reporter Marieke Walsh explains.

A private company is going to move to B.C. and profit off of our blood unless we stop them now.

Tainted blood infected 30,000 Canadians with HIV and Hepatitis C in the 1980’s during one of the worst preventable health crises of our time.

The Globe and Mail Thu Apr 7 2016

A majority of Canadians do not want minors or people with mental illnesses and psychiatric conditions to be given access to doctor-assisted dying, a new Nanos Research/Globe and Mail poll has found.

The poll suggests Canadians would prefer that the federal government follow a restrictive path as it decides which patients have the right to end their suffering in a medical setting. While there is no doubt that doctorassisted dying will become legal, there is a continuing debate about exactly who will have access, and under which conditions.

04/06/2016

It's sometimes difficult to not take living in Canada for granted. In terms of health care, we have it pretty good. If you are unfortunately diagnosed with cancer, most, if not all of your treatment will be paid for. If you break your leg, you can go to the ER and get a cast and leave without a bill. If you require surgery, the government will pay for that too.

But the real story is that most psychiatrists are incredibly overworked and many have waiting lists over a year long.

April 06, 2016

It’s the four-month-old letter of resignation from former Alberta Health Services boss Vickie Kaminski, who says sayonara after slamming the NDP for interfering in health care.

March 20, 2016

There’s been an enormous amount of recent interest in an old policy idea: a basic income guarantee (BIG), also known as a guaranteed annual income (GAI), guaranteed minimum income (GMI), citizens income, negative income tax (NIT), etc. The discussion below focuses on these proposals from a progressive labour perspective. It reviews positions Canadian unions have taken in the past, highlights concerns that have been raised and considers the conditions under which these proposals should be supported in relation to progressive labour priorities.

Saskatoon location gives people a $25 gift card with each plasma donation

A private clinic in Saskatoon pays people $25 each time they donate plasma.

A company that pays for plasma donations in Saskatchewan is hoping to open locations in the Maritimes, but some organizations argue Canada shouldn't allow people to be compensated for donating blood products. 

BMJ 2016; 352 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i1825 (Published 30 March 2016) Cite this as: BMJ 2016;352:i1825

More than 18 months after it was first declared,1 the Ebola virus disease epidemic in west Africa is no longer a public health emergency of international concern, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.WHO director general, Margaret Chan, accepted the view of the ninth meeting of the emergency committee on Ebola that transmission in Africa was no longer an extraordinary event, that the risk of international spread of the disease was low, and that countries were able to respond to any new flare-ups.