Our dog, age 6, has developed a chronic condition that can be totally managed by a medication for the rest of her life. The vet charges $150 per month for it vs. the pet pharmacy's $40. Not OK. It's anticompetitive policy enabling gouging.
How many pets are surrendered bc ppl can't afford meds? (š)
Fight over dispensing pet medication at pharmacies has reached a tipping point, after Ontario passes law which fails to spell out pharmacistsā rights to access and dispense medication
www.theglobeandmail.com
"Death following tonsil surgery is so rare that the majority of ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists will go their entire career without seeing it happen.
āIf they did tonsillectomy basically every day, they wouldnāt have a death ā itās that rareā
McMaster Childrenās Hospital chief of pediatric surgery called the deaths ātragicā and offered āsincere condolencesā in video message.
www.thespec.comLast time I went to The Phoenix couldn't have been more different. We needed a babysitter and went to see Teddy Afro in concert. But it was still a damned good time at one of our very favourite places in the 1990s.
Oh man, I felt this in Edward Keenan's column on The Phoenix.
"If it was a Saturday night in the mid-1990s, youād have often found me and my friends there, dancing to Rage Against the Machine or Bjork or Smashing Pumpkins or The Cult during Streekās weekly live-to-air Club 102 residency."
As a nightclub and a concert venue, it seems like the kind of place thatās become an endangered species in Toronto.
www.thestar.comThey should have started TAA. There was a shift in energy when he came on. Not enough, but more than there was.
Disgraced former housing minister Steve Clark to house leader shows Ford thinks he's ridden out Greenbelt scandal. Shows his shamelessness too. #OnPoli
Insiders say cabinet shuffle reveals anger at kaffiyeh ban, confidence Ford'll be exonerated in Greenbelt probe
www.thestar.com/politics/pro...?
"A buck an Ontarian, at the most, is the annual cost of this program. For a premier who loved briefly providing beers for a buck, youād think that would have some appeal. Apparently not. The cost savings here are just too damn paltry to be worth dumbing down our data." #OnHealth #OnPoli
āCancelling Ontarioās program is a bad idea. Itās stupid. Itās a blow against common sense and science. It leaves us less prepared for the next public-health crisis.ā ā @mattgurney.bsky.social #onpoli
OPINION: Itās useful, cheap, and poses no direct personal-privacy risks. Itās a godsend. So, of course, the province has decided to scrap it.
amp.tvo.org
Nearly 18 million adults & nearly 1 million kids in the US have had long COVID at some point.
"One of the nationās premier medical advisory organizations has weighed in on long COVID with a 265-page report that recognizes the seriousness & persistence of the condition for millions..." #longCovid
One of the nationās premier medical advisory organizations has weighed in on long COVID with a 265-page report that recognizes the seriousness and persistence of the condition for millions of American...
www.yahoo.comIt's horrible. I can't imagine losing a child to a surgery like that.
In a news release issued on Friday, TPH said 13 meningococcal disease cases have been reported this year, which is higher than the total cases seen in any year since 2002. Of those, two have been fatal.
Symptoms of invasive meningococcal disease can include fever, headache, stiff neck and sensitivity to light and possible confusion.
toronto.citynews.ca"Dr. Stephen List says his granddaughter almost died after tonsil and adenoid surgery at McMaster Childrenās Hospital during the same time that is now the subject of an independent external review following the death of two other kids."
Near-death in May raises questions about scope of independent external review into the death of two children following tonsil and/or adenoid surgery at McMaster Childrenās Hospital
www.thespec.com"Some of the animals died of secondary infections contracted after bird flu weakened their immune systems, said state veterinarians, agriculture officials, and academics assisting in state responses to bird flu. Other cows were killed by farmers because they failed to recover from the virus." #H5N1
Dairy cows infected with avian flu in five U.S. states have died or been slaughtered by farmers because they did not recover, state officials and academics told Reuters.
www.reuters.com"The Toronto Transit Commission and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 announced what they described as a tentative āframework settlementā ahead of a midnight deadline that would have shut down Canadaās largest transit system"
The Toronto Transit Commission faced a midnight deadline to prevent a strike that would have shut down Canadaās largest transit system
www.theglobeandmail.comInvestment in commercial real estate is pretty darned important. (I can't listen to the RBC CEO's mutterings about how WFH endangers business innovation w/out thinking about how he might be thinking about the danger to his stock options given the bank's exposure on commercial real estate.)
What could go wrong electing a government that is ideologically hostile to government?
What could go wrong electing a government that is opposed to government?
And companies are working hard to force people back to the office.
"Employees who work remotely save about an hour on commuting per day, and allocate extra time to sleeping more, doing household chores, and looking after their kids, among other things, a new Statistics Canada study has found."
Itās the first time in 10 years, and since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, that Statistics Canada is releasing data on how people spend their time when working remotely.
www.thestar.com
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has unveiled major changes to his cabinet after meeting with ministers on Thursday afternoon at Queenās Park.
#OnPoli
Ford and Lieutenant Governor Edith Dumont swore in a "renewed" cabinet in a closed ceremony on Thursday afternoon after hours of meetings with ministers.
globalnews.ca
"Mike Harris becomes Minister of Red Tape Reduction"
Great. The son of the guy responsible for Walkerton just became the minister of red tape reduction.
Here's the whole Cabinet list. #OnPoli
Premier Ford Renews Team that is Rebuilding Ontarioās Economy
On the way to the orthodontist today, my daughter asked me to explain the difference between sociopaths and psychopaths (it all started with a conversation about BMW grilles, I swear.) I needed this tweet!
"Buckle up, kids."
A provincial government cabinet shuffle appears imminent Thursday, with the potential of a lot of movement among ministers, sources tell CityNews. Sources add Premier Doug Ford cancelled a D-Day speec...
toronto.citynews.ca
"apologizing to any students āwho were upset by the specific scenario and crime scene portion of the presentation.ā
'Upset' is a hell of a euphemism for 'post-traumatic stress disorder'.
Govt of Ontario statement: āTo avoid duplication, Ontario is working to support this expansion while winding down the provincial Wastewater Surveillance Initiative,ā
The 'duplication' key msg makes it sound like the 2 programs are interchangeable. They are not. This is comms sleight of hand.
It cost $15 million last year but it isn't šŗ at ā½.
"Last fall, the provinceās scientific advisory committee on emergency response recommended the province keep the program as an early warning for emerging and existing infectious disease threats and as a means of supporting equity in public health."
When Ontario's wastewater surveillance program ends next month it will be replaced by a federal program just a fraction of its size.
ottawacitizen.comāI would say most governments donāt want to think about long covid and much less long covid and cancer. It cost them so much to deal with covid. So there is very little funding for the long-term effects of the virus,ā he said. āI donāt think thatās a wise choice.ā
āWe are completely under-investigating this virus,ā said Douglas C. Wallace, a University of Pennsylvania geneticist and evolutionary biologist. āThe effects of repeatedly getting this throughout our lives is going to be much more significant than people are thinking.ā
Research will take years but suspicion has started based on clinical experience. (š story)
āIāve been in practice 23 years & have never seen anything like this,ā Patel, CEO of Carolina Blood & Cancer Care Associates, later recalled. Asutosh Gor, another oncologist, agreed: āWe were all shaken.ā
Itās not a new idea that viruses can cause or accelerate cancer. But it will probably be years before answers emerge about covid and cancer.
wapo.stThe federal government is opening the door to a long-awaited $1.5-billion program to fund co-operative housing projects countrywide, announcing that applications to build and expand co-ops will be accepted in a matter of weeks.
Housing advocates have been anxiously awaiting the program, which was first promised in 2022.
www.thestar.com
"For-profit clinics will aim to make a profit. Theyāll do so through a combination of billing as much as possible, processing patients as quickly as they can, cutting corners where possible to save cash, and upselling. That doesnāt bode well for patients, does it?"
#OnHealth #OnPoli
Yes, we need more facilities, and we need specialized facilities that can efficiently process procedures. But why canāt they be not-for-profit? ā by @davidmoscrop.bsky.social #onpoli #onhealth
OPINION: Yes, we need more facilities, and we need specialized facilities that can efficiently process procedures. But why canāt they be not-for-profit?
amp.tvo.orgHard decision. I look at news outlets kinda like people. We're not a binary: all good or all bad. It's a balance when an outlet is doing great investigative work despite who the owners are or who runs the editorial page. But clearly stenographers for billionaires? For me, maybe that's when it tips.
I started tweeting about the threat of the huge Tory war chest a year or two before the last election. Even during the pandemic, it was their strong focus. They quietly grow it. And their advantage. #OnPoli
Doug Ford's PC Party fundraising leaves rivals in its dust
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
When Trump was elected eight years ago, I started subscribing to the Washington Post (and a bunch of other outlets to support good journalism which was so needed in that particular moment.) How has the Post of eight years ago, with its principled journalism, found itself with this guy?
They would never make him available. I suspect this, if announced at all, would have been a Friday afternoon thing.
To make this really clear, the Ministry in its statement about the shuttering of provincial wastewater testing is trying to make the provincial and federal programs sound fungible and they aren't necessarily. This is comms sleight of hand.
āTo avoid duplication, Ontario is working to support this expansion while winding down the provincial Wastewater Surveillance Initiative,ā spokesperson Gary Wheeler said.
"To avoid duplication" here is a euphemism for "we wanted to cut funding." "Winding down" sounds less jarring than "ending."
āWeāre certainly going to lose the capacity to respond to future pandemics,ā said [Mark] Servos, a Canada Research Chair in Water Quality Protection."
Program will end on July 31, researchers were told last week, as federal wastewater testing will instead expand into province.
www.thestar.comOntario Premier Doug Ford and several top cabinet ministers remain tight-lipped on whether the provincial government would legislate an end to a potential Toronto transit strike, as politicians hold out hope that the two sides would reach a negotiated settlement.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his cabinet ministers are refusing to share what contingency plans, if any, they have to get TTC workers back on the job ahead of a potential strike.
globalnews.ca
A neglected consequence of this misguided boondoggle is its impact on ready-access-to good food for the most vulnerable.
In the competition for limited shelf space, cans of beer are likely to win out over cans of beans, corn or diced tomatoes. Who suffers? The elderly and the infirm. #OnPoli
In the competition for limited shelf space, cans of beer are likely to win out over cans of beans, corn or diced tomatoes.
ottawacitizen.comI really cannot get over the UK press. They get access to politicians in a way that hasn't happened in Canada for years but grotesque RW slant is exactly it. Pure electorate manipulation.
This is horrible.
Two kids have died after being discharged from McMaster Childrenās Hospital following tonsil and/or adenoid surgery. The hospital has halted the procedureĀ while an external independent review takes place, The Spectator has learned.
Two kids have died following tonsil and/or adenoid surgery
www.thespec.comThe Bank of Canada announced Wednesday that itās cutting its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.75 percent.
The Bank of Canada announced Wednesday that itās cutting its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.75 per cent.
www.ctvnews.caResearchers who compared the ability of cloth and surgical masks and KN95 and N95 respirators to impede SARS-CoV-2 leakage into the environment show that the "duckbill" N95 won handily, stopping 98% of the virus that causes COVID-19.
"Almost four out of every 10 journalists covering the climate crisis and environment issues have been threatened as a result of their work, with 11% subjected to physical violence, according to groundbreaking new research."
Groundbreaking new research also reports that 11% of surveyed have faced physical violence in their reporting
www.theguardian.comLike the Democrats adopting what have been Republican positions over the last decade (e.g. on immigration), Labour seems to have shifted right, too. Starmer looks unprincipled. The left-wing of the party purge of racialized candidates this last week was something. It's all very depressing.