Ontario’s ‘health care election’ that wasn’t
While healthcare is top of mind for a plurality of voters surveyed, don’t be fooled, economic issues are very much winning the day.
Why it's important: Ontario's three major parties all made their own health-centric pitches to voters this week. With the NDP, Liberals and PCs respectively pledging $4B, $3B, and $1.8B over four years to bolster primary health care.
28 per cent of respondents said healthcare is their ballot box issue, and parties seem fixated accordingly. But should they be? When you add up housing, taxes, jobs, the deficit, and “the economy” writ large, a different picture emerges. Arguably, Donald Trump (14 per cent) is an economic issue unto himself and could also be dropped into the economy bucket, meaning when it comes to a simple “health care vs. economy” comparison, it’s actually not even close.
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Alberta’s UCP faces corruption scandal over health contracts
Alberta’s Auditor-General has launched an investigation into the province’s health procurement, following allegations that Premier Smith’s office pressured bureaucrats to approve contracts for private surgery firms.
Why it's important: This isn't just a debate over public vs. private healthcare — it’s allegations of political interference and corrupt procurement involving hundreds of millions in taxpayer money.
The accusations were levied by Athana Mentzelopoulos, who was until recently the head of Alberta Health Services. She says Smith’s chief of staff pressured her to greenlight private surgical contracts despite red flags, and that the government ordered her to halt an internal probe into the contracts as well as a $75M medication deal where most of the supply never arrived. Mentzelopoulos was fired two days before she was to discuss her findings with the Auditor-General.
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Deep NIH cuts devastate medical research and academia
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is drastically cutting funding for major universities and hospitals. Elon Musk called old funding model “a ripoff.”
Why it's important: In addition to the collapse of U.S. biomedical research, the training pipeline for new scientists and doctors will slow significantly as universities are hollowed out. The U.S. faces an estimated deficit of 187,000 doctors by 2037. Expect that number to grow quickly.
The cuts impact current and future grants, and retroactive clawbacks have also been floated. Experts predict mass-layoffs, halted projects, and a long-term weakening of the U.S.’ standing in health innovation. Canadian researchers received US$41 million in NIH funding last year.
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‘How to create a health-care superpower’
A policy-heavy op-ed argues that Canada must invest in homegrown health-tech to drive economic growth.
Why it's important: Canada spends $370 billion annually on health care, yet our system lags behind global peers on some metrics. Meanwhile, made-in-Canada breakthroughs fuel billion-dollar foreign firms while our productivity languishes.
Authors Kumanan Wilson and Dante Morra propose tax breaks and subsidies for Canadian health-tech companies, among many other measures. This is a timely article for this moment. As global instability knocks at our door in the form of an adversarial neighbour poised to go rogue, we may be entering a period of vastly increased social license to bring these ideas to fruition.
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Trump officials take control of CDC reporting
The Trump administration has taken direct control over the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), dictating which topics are covered and withholding H5N1 studies.
Why it's important: The MMWR is a cornerstone of public health research worldwide. Its politicization erodes trust in U.S. federal science. After decades of independence, "The MMWR has lost its autonomy," one official told CBS News.
A gag order initially blocked the release of key H5N1 studies. Though that freeze has eased, the CDC's acting director continues to stall publication of findings on viral transmission in cattle and wastewater. Meanwhile, researchers are being pressured to resign by Elon Musk and his group of teenage lackeys.
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New H5N1 strain found in US cows
A different strain of H5N1, the D1.1 genotype, has been detected in U.S. cows through the national milk testing program. Previously, all cow infections had been linked to a single strain, B3.13.
Why it's important: The D1.1 strain found in Nevada cattle has been dominant in wild birds and linked to human infections, including a death in Louisiana, and a severe case that landed a B.C. teen in critical care for two months.
Herds that survived previous infections may be vulnerable again, complicating containment efforts. Experts are alarmed over the virus’ continued adaptation to mammalian hosts. The CDC briefly posted data suggesting bird flu spread from cats to humans in two households, it was quickly scrubbed.
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