Saturday, May 22, 2021

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Murray Mandryk discusses how COVID-19 has highlighted and exacerbated existing inequality in Saskatchewan. And Aaron Wherry points out that Canada shouldn't treat its privileged position in securing early access to vaccines as cause to ignore the pandemic which will continue to rage around the globe even if we're lucky enough to achieve herd immunity. 

- Meanwhile, Zak Vescera reports on the exemption which sent COVID-infected staff back to work early at Extendicare Parkside - where hundreds were infected and dozens of residents died of the coronavirus. And

- Julie Lalonde writes that the shutdown of Greyhound's bus service is taking away lifelines from residents of isolated communities who counted on them. But David Moscrop notes that with private bus operators proving beyond doubt that profit won't provide a sufficient incentive to develop adequate transportation infrastructure, the time is now to start working on public services to focus on people's needs. 

- Christopher Curtis writes about Quebec's grossly inadequate shelter system - which is seeing homeless people forced to ration their own access to shelters as hundreds die of diseases and overdoses.

- Nav Persaud et al. study the effect of freely available prescription drugs on compliance, finding to nobody's surprise that cost is a barrier to people receiving needed medication - and that making medication freely available reduces overall health care costs.

- Finally, Jeremy Appel offers a reminder as to how Canada is profiting from death and destruction by supplying military equipment to regimes using them to target civilians.

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