Information and privacy commissioner Elizabeth Denham has sent her second letter this week criticizing a British Columbia government bill. Read more…

An asbestos industry lobby group partially funded in the past by the Quebec and federal governments has indicated it will cease its operations. Read more…

A bill introduced to the British Columbia legislature as a way to lower the price of generic drugs also allows the government to hide its own records while "grabbing" people's personal information, an information and privacy advocate said. Read more…

The British Columbia government is barred from talking publicly about a proposed free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union, Jobs, Tourism and Innovation Minister Pat Bell told The Tyee this week. Read more…

British Columbia introduced legislation this week aimed at lowering the price of generic drugs, but Health Minister Michael de Jong said it will realistically be a year before those savings are realized.

NDP Leader Adrian Dix said the province's delay has already been costly. Read more…

Violence against women continues to be a significant problem in Canada, and "if we don't take immediate action, more women and children are going to die," said Gisela Ruebsaat, legal analyst for The Ending Violence Association of BC (EVA BC). This National Victims of Crime Awareness Week, EVA BC has published a list of recommendations to stop violence against women in British Columbia, based on reports dating back to 1979, which are still needed today. Read more…

The recent federal budget cuts will take a toll on the health of women across Canada, say the leaders of a number of women's health organizations who've recently had their funding slashed. Read more…

British Columbia Health Minister Michael de Jong has introduced legislation that he says will allow the province to reduce what it pays for generic drugs. Read more…

Canada's first Indigenous reporting class at the University of British Columbia has set out to prove the story of Aboriginal health issues in Canada isn't all doom and gloom with the release feature stories on Aboriginal health issues--and solutions--and a series of radio stories running on CBC this week. Read more…

British Columbia Health Minister Michael de Jong continues to argue that paying for anti-smoking products saves the province money, contradicting the findings of a major 2010 study. Read more…

Promised legislation to control the cost of generic drugs in British Columbia should cover all payers, not just the government, said Pacific Blue Cross CEO Ken Martin. Read more…

The Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research should be given stable, predictable funding to do its work, said British Columbia New Democratic Party Leader Adrian Dix. Read more…

With less than two weeks to go before the start of the new fiscal year, the provincial government has yet to decide how much money the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research will have to spend. Read more…

VANCOUVER - A British Columbia study suggests about 40 per cent of mentally ill people have been arrested at some point during their lifetime. Read more…

An Ohio state senator introduced a bill this week that would require men to provide a signed affidavit from a sex partner confirming symptoms of impotence before receiving prescriptions for Viagra or other erectile dysfunction drugs.

Senator Nina Turner says the bill aims to "protect men from the harmful effects of PDE-5 inhibitors. . . prescribed to men who are experiencing symptoms of male impotence" but also make a point about legislation limiting women's access to sexual and reproductive healthcare that has been proposed or passed by Republican lawmakers across the country. Read more…

British Columbia Health Minister Michael de Jong criticized a Quebec pharmaceutical company for failing to take steps to deal with a shortage of widely used drugs sooner. Read more…

British Columbia Ombudsperson Kim Carter today released a detailed report on problems with seniors' care in the province and suggestions to improve the system. Read more…

Merck, the American based pharmaceutical giant, announced on January 19 it will settle class action suits in Canada connected to its controversial pain medication Vioxx. Read more…

The British Columbia government is considering its next steps to find savings on generic drugs after failing to reach a resolution with the BC Pharmacy Association and the Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores. Read more…

The way that North Americans think about drug addiction is "mistaken, nasty, and stupid," says Dr. Peter Ferentzy, a Toronto-based addiction specialist and a recovering "crackhead." This Sunday, Ferentzy will be touting his book and speaking about Canadian drug policy at a lecture in Downtown Vancouver. Read more…