Discussions

“Not all heroes wear capes.”—It’s an expression often found on the internet. It, of course, refers to the fact that you don’t have to be Batwoman or Superman or whoever, to do some good in this world. During the Great Pandemic of 2020 of course this phrase is often used to describe those of us who provide healthcare on the front lines. Cleary, the physicians, nurses, first responders, PSWs, support staff, environmental services staff and many others who provide front line care during this historically difficult time are heroes.

Until recently, few had heard of this obscure code. Recently the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) disclosed that during the pandemic, a at least $623 million had been paid to civil servants—especially in the Canada Revenue Agency and Correctional Services. According to Yves Giroux of the PBO (Jennifer Chevalier, CBC News, July 24, 2020), this amount of lost productivity was the “absolute minimum.” Federal employees were permitted to stay at home during the pandemic and receive full pay while not working—all thanks to the pay code 699 policy. This involved at least 76,000 persons, or a quarter of all government employees. Randall Denley (Ottawa Citizen, July 29, 2020) put this number at 79,000. (By comparison, there are 86,000 practising physicians in Canada.)

A conversation about digital healthcare infrastructure with Dr. Ilan Shahin

Vaccinologists have not focused their research on tailoring vaccines to induce robust immune responses in the elderly

Canada's government should be looking at setting up a Crown corporation to ensure a domestic supply of critical drugs and vaccines at reasonable prices

School is not exclusively a positive force in the lives of children, and sending them back before it is safe to do so could do more damage than good

'If you take this step, and fail to learn from the lessons in Ontario, you will be worse off than before'