In measles country
Hundreds of Ontarians are getting sick with an illness Canada eliminated decades ago. The Globe went to hard-hit rural counties to see why some communities aren't vaccinating children, and how health authorities are responding to the outbreak
Kelly Grant Health reporter
Photography by Brett Gundlock
Simcoe, ont.
The Globe and Mail
The Woodstock Hospital warns people to call ahead if they have symptoms of measles. Patients thought to be infected are ushered in through a side door and placed in negative pressure rooms to keep the extremely contagious virus from spreading.
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Cision Canada
3 days ago
- Cision Canada
Nation-leading hospital efficiency freed up billions for Ontario for years, but further gains are unrealistic
TORONTO, July 23, 2025 /CNW/ - The Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) today released the third edition of Ontario Hospitals – Leaders in Efficiency, a report detailing the nation-leading efficiency of Ontario's hospitals. Unfortunately, further gains using traditional approaches are no longer realistic due to enormous demand for services from a growing and aging population and, like all other parts of the economy, rising pressures on costs. "When it comes to efficiency, Ontario's hospitals continue to lead the country. Ontario spends $1,935 per person on hospitals, the lowest in Canada, while ensuring access to high quality services for millions of patients every year," said Anthony Dale, President and CEO of the OHA. "While the degree of efficiency achieved over the years has been remarkable, it's clear that addressing the challenges of the future will require further capacity planning and long-term investments in technological and clinical innovation, rather than relying on traditional ideas and approaches." As reflected in this year's annual efficiency dividend, if Ontario spent the average rate per capita on hospitals as all other provinces, the additional cost to the province would be $4.4 billion. Ontario is unique in Canada – only here do independent boards, made of local volunteer community leaders, have accountability for hospital governance and oversight. This local governance and prudent stewardship enabled hospitals to remain resilient for many years by focusing on cost containment while serving their local communities and regions, despite capacity challenges within the hospital sector and across the health services continuum. For years, this freed up billions of dollars each year for the provincial government to invest in other public services and programs that benefit Ontarians. However, Ontario hospitals are facing very significant financial challenges today and the underlying financial position of the sector is under considerable pressure. Demand for health care is rising. Not only has Canada's population rapidly grown in recent years, but as confirmed in last year's release of the Patterns of Illness Report by the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Ontarians will live longer with chronic disease. Many people will have multiple illnesses and there are rising rates of illness across all age groups. "Hospitals today are doing everything they can to ensure that the taxpayers' dollars are spent effectively. But we're looking at rising demands, various cost pressures, aging infrastructure and changing population demographics that are expected to intensify in the coming years," Dale said. "Just as we're adapting our economy in the face of trade conflicts and a changing world, we need to prioritize health care as one of our competitive advantages. Technical and clinical innovation within health care will also become increasingly important. Continuous improvement efforts have resulted in Ontario achieving the second lowest hospitalization rate, the lowest average length of stay in acute care hospitals, and the lowest cost of an inpatient stay among all provinces. Building on this track record of operational excellence will require thoughtful planning to expand hospital capacity where needed, ongoing investment in broader system capacity and innovative approaches that shape the future of health care in Ontario. Ontario Hospital Association Established in 1924, the OHA serves as the voice of the province's public hospitals, supporting them through advocacy, knowledge translation and member engagement, labour relations, and data and analytics with the goal of helping hospitals build a better health system. The OHA is also attuned to the broader strategic questions facing the future of the province's health care system and we work to ensure Ontario's hospitals have a voice in shaping this longer-term vision.
Ottawa Citizen
18-07-2025
- Ottawa Citizen
Barnett: How the '500-metre' myth is holding back better drug policy
Article content In 2024, more than 2,150 Ontarians died from opioid-related overdoses, a devastating figure that underscores the urgent need for effective policies. This crisis has intensified just as the Ontario government embarks on a significant policy shift, closing nine provincially funded supervised consumption sites (where people can use drugs under the care of trained staff) and replacing them with Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hubs or HART Hubs (facilities that offer housing, treatment and mental health support, but exclude all harm reduction services, including needle exchange and drug-checking services). Article content Article content As someone who has been personally impacted by addiction, and as chair of the Community and Social Services Committee for Action Sandy Hill community association, I advocate for policy that is informed by both compassion and evidence. Unfortunately, some local harm reduction leaders and City of Ottawa officials continue to rely on outdated or inaccurate evidence to shape decisions. Chief among these is the persistent claim that 'people who use drugs won't travel more than 500 metres to access services.' Article content Article content This misleading statistic is regularly invoked to justify the over-concentration of front-line addiction and homelessness services in inner city neighbourhoods, especially North Sandy Hill and Lowertown East. I have heard it repeated by city staff and service providers, including at city board and committee meetings and through public advocacy. It's often used to invalidate the concerns of residents, particularly those already hosting multiple front-line or social services. Article content Article content But the claim is not true. This myth traces back to the 2012 Toronto and Ottawa Supervised Consumption Assessment (TOSCA) Report. As both a researcher and community advocate, I reviewed the source material to understand how this number came to define service planning. The report never states that people will only travel a maximum of 500 metres. In fact, 88 per cent of people surveyed in Ottawa were willing to walk at least 10 minutes (about 800 metres) to access a supervised consumption site. Over half said they would walk 20 minutes or more. And yet, this misinterpretation of the data influences citywide decisions. Article content It's not just the misreading that is a problem; even the methods are flawed. Ottawa participants were asking about willingness to walk, not travel. No consideration was given to transit or vehicle access, safety or even the weather. For example, someone may not be willing to walk 1.6 km in the winter but might be perfectly willing to take a bus. Article content Two-decade-old data Article content Worse, the data is nearly two decades old: Ottawa surveys were conducted in 2005, long before fentanyl became widespread; before the rise of today's toxic, unpredictable drug supply (where unregulated street drugs are increasingly contaminated with potent opioids or mixed with unexpected substances that drastically increase overdose risk); and before the crisis reached its current severity. Article content These shortcomings haven't stopped the 500-metre claim from influencing the planning and placement of front-line service locations, advocacy from service providers, and even legal justifications. The result? An approach that over-concentrates services in a few downtown neighbourhoods, causing burnout in host communities and under-serving others across the city. Article content What's more, this reliance on outdated information undermines public trust. Residents are told their concerns are invalid because 'the evidence' supports clustering services, when the evidence is shaky at best. Article content Article content If Ottawa wants to respond to the overdose crisis ethically and effectively, we need a new, independent study based on current realities. That work must include people who use drugs, public health experts and community leaders. It must explore how drug toxicity, transit access and gender-based considerations shape the ability to access services and offer guidance for distributing those services equitably. Other cities, such as Calgary, have already shown that people who use drugs value calm, stable and supportive environments. These spaces don't just reduce harm; they encourage recovery and connection. Article content We need new data, and City of Ottawa decision-makers and harm reduction providers must stop using the 500-metre myth to justify their approach. It distorts policy. And it fuels decisions that deepen geographic inequality and community tension. Article content
Globe and Mail
12-07-2025
- Globe and Mail
Letters to the editor, July 12: ‘I was a rural family doctor for 30 years … when things ran smoothly, there were enough beds and emergency rooms did not close'
Re 'Canadian ERs closed their doors for at least 1.14 million hours since 2019, records show' (July 5): I was a rural family doctor for 30 years. The question that no one seems to ask about the deterioration in services is how they were provided in the past with shorter waiting times and fewer staff, at a relatively lesser cost. Dinosaurs like myself remember those days when things ran smoothly, there were enough beds and emergency rooms did not close. We might like to look at why that is, beginning with the vast number of administrators we now employ. Having retired, I feel I can say that, but my colleagues who still work probably dare not. Christopher Moss Cumberland County, N.S. British Columbia's failure to provide timely emergency room closure information, as requested by The Globe and Mail, demonstrates to me just how appallingly bad the provincial Health Ministry is, along with the ER services it provides. How do I know? I have experienced it firsthand. B.C. health authorities, which are organized regionally, seem bloated with management yet are consistently short-staffed in ERs. This is not new; it has been this way for years. Despite all the blather from ministers of health, in this government and the one before it, little has changed. Roger Emsley Delta, B.C. Re 'Cut housing prices? It will be all we can do just to slow their increase' (Opinion, July 5): Columnist Andrew Coyne dismisses the idea that governments could intervene to increase housing supply, citing one study that claims it would cost $200- to $300-billion to finance construction of units for the 10 per cent of Canadians in core housing need. I assume that this study was done by the private sector to guard its own turf. But the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation could act as its own developer to build prefabricated housing on land the government already owns, thereby avoiding the costs of land purchases and developer profit. These units could be rented at affordable rates to those in need without affecting prices in the private market, since those in core housing need were not in that market anyway. Critics would say that governments cannot possibly run developments, but that should be considered a canard. Governments run all sorts of enterprises well, we just take them for granted. James Duthie Nanaimo, B.C. Re 'How Trump could make Canada better' (July 5): In all the talk about Canada's supposedly unfair supply management system, there is one word I haven't heard mentioned: quality. It may be true that certain people have it out for Canadian dairy because American product isn't allowed to swamp our grocery shelves, but there is far more to this than economics. When we sit back with friends to enjoy a summer apéro, it is always accompanied by a Quebec Sauvagine, Oka or Cendrillon cheese. Would these unique gems survive without a system that provides farmers the opportunity to produce high-quality product and not tasteless gloop churned out in 40-gallon drums? The American dairy industry has been in shambles for years. The free market has made it cheaper to buy a gallon of milk than a bottle of Perrier. Canadian dairy is cultural heritage; please protect it from the cheesy bacterial culture of the 'grand fromage' south of the border. Kevin Tibbles Les Éboulements, Que. Re 'When did society lose its love for children in public spaces?' (Opinion, July 5): There was a time when kids ruled the streets. No longer. I grew up on a dead-end street with 11 houses and 33 kids. Kids were everywhere. Our grass was kid-ridden for years. My father always said that when we're finished growing the kids, we'll grow the grass. I see more dogs than kids on neighbourhood streets these days. Give play back to the kids. Of course to figure out what play actually is, they may have to google it. Douglas Cornish Ottawa Some years ago in France, I noted that most restaurants catered to families, and that children were almost universally well behaved. It seems that French parents teach their children how to behave in public spaces. We older folk love children and delight in their company and vitality in public spaces. If, from time to time, we have to point out the niceties of social interaction to young people, it is because their millennial parents have not done so. Out of love, we are generously filling in this gap. So the next time an adult asks, 'Didn't your parents teach you how to walk on a sidewalk?' – because those parents probably didn't – accept that as a helpful welcome to join the wonderful world we live in on a mutually appreciative basis. Nobody wants to live in a childless society. Richard Belliveau Ottawa After our daughter was born, we moved into a medium-rise building. I was struck by two things: how many other babies there were, while the rest of the residents were much older. I began hosting 'baby' holiday parties in our apartment then, in warmer months, outside in the courtyard. Us parents grew close. But that's not what surprised me. I was struck by how many residents stopped to say how wonderful it was to see so many babies together. But when the baby crawling turned into toddler roaming, then preschooler running, I became worried. But instead, our concierge was delighted. He said no one had used the space like this before, and we were the talk of the building. One day he called me over: There was a complaint. I braced. Were we too loud? Did someone hate the kids? Nope. A new mom was wondering why she wasn't invited. Tracy Giesz-Ramsay Vancouver Re 'Dictionary of Canadianisms offers more homegrown slang, from give'r to gong show' (July 5): A Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles, First Edition was originally published in 1967 by a crack team of lexicographers led by editor-in-chief Walter Avis, a professor and dean at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston. This landmark Canadian dictionary demonstrated 'that a substantial vocabulary relating to both today and yesterday has been developed by Canadians.' The Canadian dictionary series that evolved from this critical work was a bold idea for a country that had only recently begun to consider itself a nation in its own right. Today we have new threats to our sovereignty. We should bolster our efforts to build a more independent sovereign nation. Mapping our cultural development through Canadian English is part of this important effort. Great support and interest should be focused on the efforts of Stefan Dollinger and our lexicographers to bring us Canadian dictionaries for these challenging times. Elbows up, indeed. Pete Avis Kingston Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Keep letters to 150 words or fewer. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@
