Surgery wait times bigger health priority for Canadians than pharmacare: poll
Global News
As Liberals and the NDP negotiate what a future national drug plan should look like, a new survey suggests pharmacare is not at the top of the priority list for most Canadians.
As Liberals and New Democrats negotiate what a future national drug plan should look like, a new survey suggests pharmacare is not at the top of the priority list for most Canadians.
The survey shows that when asked to name their top two health-care priorities, only 18 per cent of those surveyed said the government should prioritize creating a new, universal, single-payer drug plan.
More funding toward surgical wait times, building more long-term care homes and expanding mental-health services all garnered significantly more support, at 36 per cent, 32 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.
“All of that comes before having a universal single-payer drug plan,” said Christian Bourque, Leger’s executive vice-president.
“It’s not at the top of Canadians’ priority list.”
The Leger polling firm conducted the web survey of 1,622 Canadians from Friday to Sunday. Online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they are not considered truly random samples.
The Liberals promised to pass pharmacare legislation that would serve as the foundation of a national drug plan by the end of 2023, as part of their political pact with the NDP.
The survey shows 53 per cent of those polled were unfamiliar with the government’s plans.
B.C. health authorities have announced the first case of a human avian flu infection acquired in Canada, with the teenage patient in critical condition in hospital.
People have been hearing a lot about H5N1 bird flu — or highly pathogenic avian influenza — since a B.C. teen became the first human to get the virus in Canada and is in hospital.
The Liberal government and the NDP negotiated the substance of a pharmacare bill as part of their now-defunct supply-and-confidence agreement.
Kennedy ran as an independent presidential candidate but gave Trump his endorsement with a promise to have a role in health policy in the next Trump administration.
Emergency services are at the scene of a train derailment Thursday morning on Montreal's south shore, where they are urging citizens to stay away from the area.
"I was yelling at them saying get the F** away it’s a wild animal," resident Josh Merrin told Global News. "Sorry about my language."
H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows, with several recent human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers.
The Calgary Zoo announced that one of its lowland gorillas unexpectedly passed away on November 12, 2024.
Edmontonians have had mixed feelings and now the city is asking people to share their thoughts officially. The findings of a survey could bring some changes.
Dr. Anna Wolak, a family physician in Vancouver, said many parents are likely having flashbacks to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite this flu being a single case.
WHO acknowledged that testing for mpox is still not widespread, making it difficult to understand how exactly the virus is spreading.