Health care

Under-regulated, under-researched and largely privatized: Assisted living seniors’ care in BC

Jun 17, 2020
By and
COVID-19 has shone a light on serious problems in our seniors’ care system resulting from years of underfunding, privatization and precarious working conditions. These problems are not isolated to long-term care, however. New research published today looks specifically at the state of assisted living here in BC, and concludes a review by the province’s Seniors… View Article

We’re Moving towards a Healthier, More Equitable Society. Don’t Let Progress Stop

May 14, 2020
By
Heartbreaking stories have emerged from their regular invisibility during the pandemic—hungry children, isolated elders, violence and child abuse, often with poverty or trauma at the root. Injustices experienced by many people in Canada predated the pandemic, and it hurts to witness it. Meanwhile, equitable societies are better for everyone in them. In January, an article in the… View Article

Time to end profit-making in seniors’ care

Apr 22, 2020
By and
The coronavirus pandemic has shone a light on serious problems in Canada’s seniors’ care system, as nursing homes quickly became the epicenters of the outbreak. These problems are not only due to the greater vulnerability of seniors to the disease, but also to how care is organized and staffed.  In recent weeks, BC’s provincial government… View Article

Who’s left out? COVID-19 & psychiatric detainees

Apr 21, 2020
By
For weeks, we’ve all been doing our best to follow guidelines about staying home and physical distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But who is left out of those public health protections? What happens when laws or policies impair the ability of people to make their own decisions and protect themselves against the virus?… View Article

Bailout for people and communities, not oil and gas industry

By
Canada is in an economic tailspin due to the COVID-19 pandemic, echoing the worst months of the Great Depression. Yet while millions of Canadians need support to pay for basic necessities, a powerful group of oil company CEOs and lobbyists has insisted on a multi-billion dollar handout from the federal government, to be released any… View Article

Our take on BC Budget 2020

Feb 18, 2020
By and
BC Budget 2020 is light on new announcements. It largely marks the final year of implementation of the ambitious three-year plan set out back in 2018 to tackle some of our biggest social and economic challenges head on. The good news is that it delivers on key commitments made (and even ups the amounts slightly… View Article

BC needs to significantly boost supply of public assisted living

Feb 5, 2020
By
Too many seniors in our province struggle to find publicly subsidized assisted living where they can be supported as they age. Amidst an affordable housing crisis felt across generations, the need to significantly boost the supply of subsidized assisted living is more urgent than ever before. Assisted living is a type of supportive housing for… View Article