- As affordability takes a central place in most Canadian election campaigns, Kofi Hope and Katrina Miller propose a definition based on public health:
- Meanwhile, Andrew Coyne writes that the Libs' signature tax cut fails by any measure other than that of electioneering.Health is the great equalizer. No matter where we’re from, what our values are, what our age or our political beliefs, we all want to have a healthy and long life. And if we agree on that, then we can say affordability is about the amount and type of resources we need to live a healthy and thriving life....
To thrive means to be able to have time for family and friends, pursue a hobby and travel occasionally, along with covering the basic necessities. Individual income is only one component of a broader social safety net that supports a thriving population; employers, government and community all play pivotal roles too.
For example, if the government covers some essentials, like prescription drugs and tuition, and subsidizes others, like housing and recreation programs, its contributions would all count toward the resources needed to live a healthy life. Our government can play a critical role in closing the gap between the haves and have-nots, not only by making basic goods more affordable but also by expanding public services and supports.
Viewing affordability as a commonly shared and holistic goal of health provides stable footing to consider an important question: Is our government making a healthy life possible for the many, or for the few?
- Kendall Latimer reports on Provincial Auditor Judy Ferguson's findings about the desperate need for improved mental health supports in northern Saskatchewan. Max FineDay and Doug Cuthand implore our governments to act in response to the crisis of Indigenous suicides. And Marcus Gee notes that a culture of toxic masculinity feeds into addictions and deaths for many workers.
- Yasmin Jiwani reminds us that the Ecole Polytechnique massacre represents just one example of the violence which confronts women every day.
- Finally, Alex MacPherson reports on the Saskatchewan Party's shoot first, ask questions later approach to illegal fund-raising tactics.
Really, people who strive to learn ethical concepts and powerful people, should have better healthcare; powerful people should be forced into above average mental health and ethics (such as raising kids in a down-to-Earth school).
ReplyDeleteI'm learning alot about the precursors for a mentally healthy and ethical future. NASA in space is potentially very good in that a merit-based chain of command can form the basis for space politics. It is bad in that space is inherently a mentally ill environment. There are some basics that are needed for Lunar Gateway to be mentally healthy, and I'm all for manned space as opposed to hackable robotics.
1) It will need a rescue ship; at least one. This looks to be a manned orbiting-the-Moon ship for Apollo 13 type emergency response. Possibly this ship will need itself to be rescued.
2) It will need Earth gravity. I get the impression existing rotating station diameters hypothesized are too small to avoid nausea. Maybe two tethered crafts/asteroids about 50 metres apart will be required.
3) It will need neuroimaging. I think this can be done with RF transmit coils and new receive sensors. The rest of the MRI may not be required. It will be tough to get an EM quiet space location for neuroimaging. This is maybe the most practical spot for humanity to witness real time neuro-imaging of disaster response.