Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
Following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet shuffle and the addition of a new cabinet role to address mental health, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is calling on the new health ministers to address the ‘health workforce crisis’ caused by pandemic burnout and stress.
In a statement Tuesday, the organization outlined how many health-care workers have left their jobs or are stretched thin due to the continuous pressure of dealing with COVID-19.
“The pandemic has merely highlighted and exacerbated what we already knew: our health care system needs focus and attention,” the CMA stated.
“There are no quick fixes, and this crisis has escalated beyond what any province or territory can manage on their own. The CMA looks to the federal government for urgent leadership and investment in the integrated, pan-Canadian health workforce planning necessary to ensure a strong and sustainable health workforce."
The new cabinet was unveiled Tuesday morning in what turned out to be a dramatic shakeup, with only seven ministers unchanged in their role.
After 19 months serving during the COVID-19 pandemic, Patty Hajdu is no longer the minister of health, and has been shifted to minister of Indigenous services. Assuming her role is former Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos, with Carolyn Bennett taking over as associate minister of health.
Bennett, who was a family physician, has another role as well, having been tapped to take on the brand new position of minister of mental health and addictions.
The CMA said in their statement that they applauded the inclusion of a minister of mental health, and hoped that Bennett would assist in addressing the issues facing health-care workers.
“Health care workers are burned out, exhausted and demoralized, all of which is exacerbated by the increasing shortage of health human resources,” the statement said. “It’s critical to invest in health worker well-being. Many health workers have dealt with extreme working conditions throughout the pandemic and the toll it has taken will be long-lasting.”
The statement called for the federal government to assist in ensuring that there is the infrastructure necessary to allow Canadians timely access to health-care providers while also ensuring that health-care workers themselves are being supported.
“The number of Canadians without access to a family physician or care team is at a record high, causing trickle-down effects throughout the health system and hinders patients’ ability to receive timely care,” the statement added.
The CMA also urged the government to live up to election promises regarding improving health care, and to create a “nation-wide anti-racism plan” to help address structural inequities.
“We count on the government to translate welcome election commitments into reality as soon as possible to see a $6 billion investment to help address backlogs, $9 billion to improve long-term care, and $3 billion to increase access to vital primary care providers,” the statement said.
One of Duclos’ first responsibilities as he steps into the new role will be negotiating with provinces and territories who have demanded the federal government take on a greater share of the cost for delivering health care.
The Liberals’ platform also promised a new federal transfer of $4.5 billion over five years to provinces and territories to develop free and accessible mental health services.
With files from the Canadian Press
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women in Winnipeg, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be tabling legislation on Monday aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada. Federal officials have scheduled a technical briefing on the incoming bill for Monday afternoon.
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial fined him US$1,000 on Monday for violating his gag order once again and sternly warned the former president that additional violations could result in jail time.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.