1) Canada’s health-care system falls behind most peer countries: Report

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Hannah Alberga, January 14, 2025

A new report says Canada’s health-care system has fallen behind international peers in access to care, equity and wait times, outperforming only the United States.

The not-for-profit think tank C.D. Howe Institute says Canada ranks ninth out of 10 countries evaluated, including the Netherlands and United Kingdom, who were top performers.

The comparative analysis shows Canada’s quality of care is relatively high, but accessing that care is a challenge.

The report is based on data collected from the Commonwealth Fund international surveys of patients, physicians and the general public, in addition to statistics from the World Health Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and  Development and the Canadian Institute for Health Information. 

All provinces and territories performed poorly, but Newfoundland and Labrador and Nunavut had the weakest results while Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Ontario performed the best.

Canada ranked the worst among its peers in timeliness, with the report citing surveys that show 47 per cent of respondents waiting two months or longer for an appointment with a specialist, and 59 per cent waiting the same duration for an elective surgery.

The institute conducted a similar analysis in 2018, which also found Canada’s health-care system ranked low, only ahead of the U.S., and France in some cases. 

In equity Canada ranked seventh in the latest findings. Approximately one-quarter of Canadians with low or average incomes reported at least one cost-related barrier to accessing health care in the past year – double the rate of higher-income earners. 

Affordability stood as a significant barrier to health care in most Atlantic provinces, Alberta, British Columbia and Yukon where many adults reported forgoing medications, and mental health services or homecare due to cost concerns.

In measures of health outcomes Canada fell slightly below average with the second-highest infant mortality rate, and second-highest 30-day-in-hospital mortality rate following a stroke.

The report says improving Canada’s health-care outcomes hinges on enhancing access to care, expanding drug and dental access and improving the affordability of mental health and homecare. 

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

2) Britain’s Princess of Wales says her cancer is in remission

Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press

By Danica Kirka, January 14, 2025

Britain’s Princess Kate, left, talks with Rebecca Mendelhson during a visit to The Royal Marsden Hospital, where she received her cancer treatment, in London, Tuesday Jan. 14, 2025 in London, England. (Chris Jackson/Pool Photo via AP)

The Princess of Wales revealed Tuesday that her cancer is in remission after an emotional visit to the hospital where she received treatment last year.

In a statement on social media, the princess offered her heartfelt thanks to those who helped her and husband Prince William navigate the treatment. She described her time as a patient as being “exceptional.”

“It is a relief to now be in remission and I remain focused on recovery,” she wrote. ”As anyone who has experienced a cancer diagnosis will know, it takes time to adjust to a new normal.”

It was the first time the princess had offered any detail on her diagnosis. Earlier, she had simply said she had completed her chemotherapy, without offering any information on her prognosis for the future.

Kate, as she is commonly known, conducted the solo engagement at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, a world-leading state-of-the art cancer center known for its pioneering research. She expressed her gratitude to the medical team for their support even as she spoke with other patients receiving chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

“It’s really tough,” she said of chemotherapy. ”It’s such a shock.”

During the visit, the princess shared her experiences with Katherine Field, 45. Gesturing to her arm and chest, she discussed the port mechanism used to deliver the drugs.

“I got so attached to it,” Kate said, joking that she had been almost reluctant when told that she “you can have it taken out” now.

Her Kensington Palace office stressed that she would continue to return to public-facing engagements, albeit gradually. The palace described the visit as reflecting her “own personal cancer journey.’’

The royal family was hard hit by health concerns last year, beginning with the announcement in January 2024 that the king would receive treatment for an enlarged prostate and Kate would undergo abdominal surgery.

In February, Buckingham Palace announced that Charles was receiving treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer. Six weeks later, Kate said she, too, was undergoing treatment for cancer, quieting the relentless speculation about her condition that had circulated on social media since her surgery.

She announced in September that she had completed chemotherapy.

3) Health Canada says synthetic red food dye banned by FDA poses no human risk in Canada

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Cassandra Szklarski, January 17, 2025

Health Canada says a synthetic dye newly banned from the U.S. food supply does not pose a health risk to the general population in Canada.

The federal agency said it won’t echo a ban by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration unless new information comes to light about the additive known as Red 3.

Health Canada said it reviewed a safety evaluation conducted by a joint committee for the United Nations and World Health Organization in 2018.

The joint UN/WHO committee looked at studies that involved humans and animals, and found no safety concerns for the dye as a food additive.

The FDA banned the dye over potential cancer risk, noting two studies found it caused cancer in lab rats with a “rat-specific hormonal mechanism” that does not exist in humans.

It said the measure was a “matter of law,” because a legal provision requires it to ban food additives found to cause cancer in humans or animals.

Health Canada said the health of Canadians was its highest priority and that if new scientific data reveals a human health risk to using the dye in food or drugs, it would take action, “including, if necessary, no longer permitting it to be used as a colouring agent in food and drugs.”

It described the FDA ban as a “legal requirement” triggered by the two rat studies.

“Studies in other animals and in humans did not show these effects, and claims that the use of this colour in food puts people’s health at risk are not supported by the available scientific evidence,” it said in an emailed statement early Wednesday evening.

Also known as erythrosine or FD&C Red No. 3, the dye is primarily used in treats including candy, cakes, cookies and frostings to give foods and drinks a bright, cherry-red colour.

McGill University’s Joe Schwarcz says he’d like to see it banned in Canada, not because of safety concerns but because he says it adds no nutritional value while making ultra-processed foods more attractive to consumers.

“There is no health issue with it,” said Schwarcz, director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society.

“The important issue is: when you’re going to put something into food, it should be because it serves some sort of benefit, other than just making something look more appealing.”

He said there are plenty of natural alternatives with no shadow of toxicity fears such as beet juice extract and anthocyanins extracted from berries.

McMaster University scientist Waliul Khan would not discount the animal studies as easily, saying he’d like to see a warning label on foods containing synthetic dyes, also expressing concern over red dye No. 40, also known as allura red.

Khan, a professor in the department of pathology and molecular medicine, said an animal study he published in 2022 found long-term consumption of allura red can potentially trigger inflammatory bowel diseases.

“When we gave it continuously to a mouse for 12 weeks, it caused some harmful effects in the gut and increased the severity of colitis. But when we gave it once a week, we didn’t see that serious effect,” said Khan. 

“Of course, there should be more studies, potentially, with the human subject.”

Khan said he is investigating the safety of other dyes and he hoped that increased attention brought by the FDA ban on Red 3 would spur funding for more studies. He noted difficulties in the cost of mounting a trial with a large sample, as well as the ethics of attempting to study on humans a substance known to harm animals.

Health Canada said it considered the findings of the Joint United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives, which in 2018 re-evaluated Red 3’s safety as a food additive and found no safety concern. 

It said the expert committee considered toxicological studies in experimental animals, as well as studies that summarized observations in humans. 

News

Published January 14, 2025

4) Ontario funding new treatment for advanced-stage prostate cancer

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Canadian Press Staff, Jan. 14, 2025.

Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones listens to questions from reporters following a press conference in Etobicoke, Ont., Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin

Ontario’s health minister says the province will now publicly fund a new treatment for advanced-stage prostate cancer.

Health Canada approved Pluvicto in August 2022, but patients have been waiting since then for provincial health plans to announce coverage.

Health Minister Sylvia Jones says Ontario is the first Canadian jurisdiction to publicly fund and administer the treatment.

Ontario says it is working with hospitals to implement Pluvicto as a standard treatment for patients with advanced-stage prostate cancer and it is expected to be available to eligible patients at most of the province’s cancer treatment centres in the next few months.

Pluvicto is a targeted radioligand therapy, a radioactive drug that kills the specific cancer cells, and uses a medical isotope that is produced in Ontario.

Experts say radioligand therapy has lower side-effects than traditional radiation because it minimizes harm to healthy cells.