Need for regulation is urgent as AI chatbots are being rolled out to support mental health
We are told that we are experiencing a global mental health crisis.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some common conditions, such as anxiety and depression, increased by 25 per cent in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding to the estimated nearly one billion people already living with mental disorders worldwide. The WHO reports that globally, one in seven 10-to-19-year-olds suffer from a mental health disorder, and suicide is the third-most common cause of death in 15-to-29-year-olds.
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Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
Political, health leaders among more than 80 new appointees to the Order of Canada
OTTAWA - The prime minister's incoming chief of staff and two doctors who led Canadians through the COVID-19 pandemic are among 83 appointments to the Order of Canada, being announced today by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon. The list includes Marc-André Blanchard, who takes over in July as Prime Minister Mark Carney's chief of staff. Blanchard previously worked as a lawyer and as Canada's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Political, health leaders among more than 80 new appointees to the Order of Canada
OTTAWA – The prime minister's incoming chief of staff and two doctors who led Canadians through the COVID-19 pandemic are among 83 appointments to the Order of Canada, being announced today by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon. The list includes Marc-André Blanchard, who takes over in July as Prime Minister Mark Carney's chief of staff. Blanchard previously worked as a lawyer and as Canada's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations. Dr. Theresa Tam, who retired in June as Canada's chief public health officer, will be inducted as an officer of the Order of Canada. Tam became a household name as she led the country's public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Bonnie Henry, who led British Columbia's pandemic response as the provincial health officer and is heading its public health response to the drug overdose crisis, joins Tam among the new appointees at the officer level. More than 8,200 people have been appointed to the Order of Canada since its creation in 1967. Many are national household names including politicians, musicians, actors and writers. Many others are awarded for their contributions at a more local level to multiple fields, including science, medicine, education and the arts. The latest list includes several politicians, including former finance minister John Manley, who is being promoted to the companion level after initially being inducted as an officer of the Order of Canada in 2009. Companion is the highest level within the order, followed by the officer level, which are both generally awarded for contributions to Canada as a whole, or 'humanity at large.' A member of the Order of Canada recognizes distinguished service to a specific community or within a specific field. Maureen McTeer, a lawyer and author who has worked on gender issues and health guidelines, will be appointed as an officer. McTeer, who is married to former prime minister Joe Clark, is currently a visiting professor in the faculty of common law at the University of Ottawa. Canadian writer Miriam Toews and opinion researcher Bruce Anderson were also named to the Order of Canada. 'We proudly recognize each of these individuals whose dedication and passion for service not only enrich our communities but also help shape the fabric of our nation,' Simon said in a statement released with the list. 'Together, they inspire us to strive for greatness and to foster a future filled with hope and possibility.' Others appointed to the Order of Canada include biologist Ford Doolittle, musician Gilbert Donald Walsh, former senator Claudette Tardif and poet Louise Bernice Halfe, whose Cree name is Sky Dancer. Genealogist Stephen White received an honorary appointment. The governor general is expected to take part in Canada Day celebrations at Lebreton Flats Park on Tuesday, where she will preside over an Order of Canada ceremony, investing five people whose appointments were announced before today. The inductees being announced today will be invested in ceremonies to be scheduled at a later date. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 30, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Rural ER closures bitter pill after NDP promised to fix health care
Opinion Manitoba's health-care debate has a bad habit of ignoring half of the province. We, including yours truly, fixate on how long patients wait in Winnipeg emergency rooms. Whether it's six hours at Health Sciences Centre or eight hours at St. Boniface, ER wait times dominate the conversation, especially in election years. We rarely talk about what happens when there's no ER to wait in at all? The NDP is presiding over a system where emergency departments in half of the province are either closing temporarily, operating on reduced hours, or teetering on the edge of collapse, writes columnist Tom Brodbeck. (Free Press files) The NDP is presiding over a system where emergency departments in half of the province are either closing temporarily, operating on reduced hours, or teetering on the edge of collapse, writes columnist Tom Brodbeck. (Free Press files) That's the grim reality unfolding across rural and northern Manitoba, where communities are facing yet another wave of emergency department closures and reduced hours. The impact? If you suffer a medical emergency in these areas — a heart attack, a serious injury, a child in respiratory distress — there may be nowhere local to go. No doctor. No nurse. No emergency response team. Just a long drive, a flight if the weather co-operates, or a desperate wait. This isn't hallway medicine. It's no medicine at all. What's worse is that it's happening under an NDP government that promised to 'fix' health care — a government that vowed to keep emergency rooms open. During the 2023 election, the NDP made health care the centrepiece of its platform. The party pledged to reverse the damage done by the Progressive Conservatives, who had closed ERs, consolidated services, and hollowed out rural hospitals. The NDP promised a better deal for front-line workers and, more importantly, a better deal for patients — in every part of the province. The system was in crisis long before the NDP took power. They campaigned in rural Manitoba and promised to keep ERs open. 'No more cuts. No more closures,' they said. Now? They're the ones presiding over a system where emergency departments in half of the province are either closing temporarily, operating on reduced hours, or teetering on the edge of collapse. The system was in crisis long before the NDP took power. Staff shortages didn't begin in October 2023. The rural doctor shortage has been building for more than a decade. Nurses were burning out long before the COVID-19 pandemic. The NDP didn't inherit this blind. They knew how bad it was and they ran on a promise to fix it. So, where's the fix? Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara has talked about improving rural recruitment, expanding training programs and accrediting internationally educated professionals more quickly. Those are important initiatives — but they're all long-term. They do nothing for the patient who needs care tonight or the parent whose local ER is closed this weekend. What Manitobans outside the Perimeter Highway need is immediate action. Where's the emergency deployment plan to keep rural ERs open during staff shortages? Why hasn't the province created a rural emergency response team — one that can rotate through crisis areas on short notice? Why aren't we seeing housing incentives, relocation bonuses or fly-in supports for doctors and nurses willing to work short-term shifts in remote areas? We have a two-tier health-care system in Manitoba, not based on income, but geography. If this were happening in Winnipeg — if Grace or Victoria Hospital suddenly closed the ER for a week — there would be public outrage and government intervention within hours. When it happens in a place such as Swan River, it barely makes the news. That's the uncomfortable truth: we have a two-tier health-care system in Manitoba, not based on income, but geography. Inside the Perimeter Highway, patients may face delays, but they still get care, eventually. Outside of it, you're increasingly on your own. This isn't just a medical issue, it's a political one. The NDP didn't just promise to manage health care, they promised to transform it. They said no more closures. That's what rural voters heard. That's what they were counting on. Now they're watching those promises evaporate — and not just in news releases, but in real time, in the form of closed doors and darkened ER signs. That trust, once lost, will be hard to regain. The NDP needs to treat this like the crisis it is, not just a staffing issue or a regional hiccup. It's a provincewide emergency that demands immediate, hands-on intervention. It means pulling resources where needed, even temporarily. It means showing up in rural communities, explaining what's happening and being honest about what's next. It means making rural health care the priority, not a side note buried behind announcements about Winnipeg surgical backlogs. People in nearly half of the province live with a frightening reality: in a moment of crisis, they may have nowhere to turn. That's not what they were promised. The NDP asked Manitobans to trust them with the health-care file and rural Manitobans answered that call. Now it's time for this government to deliver. Not someday. Not after more consultations. Now. Tom BrodbeckColumnist Tom Brodbeck is a columnist with the Free Press and has over 30 years experience in print media. He joined the Free Press in 2019. Born and raised in Montreal, Tom graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and commerce. Read more about Tom. Tom provides commentary and analysis on political and related issues at the municipal, provincial and federal level. His columns are built on research and coverage of local events. The Free Press's editing team reviews Tom's columns before they are posted online or published in print – part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
