Another component is that once elected officials are in place, then they
answer to the corporations and their lobbyists, rather than the average
person who has no such power or money to influence decisions. Part of the
solution is creating grassroots efforts of people committed to social change
who develop the skills and use their passion to demand that elected
officials at all levels respond to their needs.
Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: Social Determinants of Health [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Diana Liw
Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 12:52 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [SDOH] Toronto Star article on Canadian Health Network cuts
"Dennis's point that health policy is inherently political."
That my friend is the real problem. When health and welfare of people are
in the hands of the politicians, and not in the hands of the people, and the
goal is political win as opposed to the well-being of the people, people
stop voting (right or wrong) because they don't see any point. So I would
think the strategies need to be at all levels. We need to elect good people
in the office, not good politicians that play party politics. I hope people
get it!
>>> Jeff Denis <[log in to unmask]> 11/16/07 9:24 AM >>>
People who vote for governments like the Conservatives or the Republicans,
people who don't vote at all, people who don't pay attention to the news and
aren't aware of issues like this when they do cast their ballots...
I'm not necessarily blaming these people. Some of them are poor and poorly
educated, and there are powerful forces that want to keep them ignorant and
apathetic. Such people may not have the time to keep up with the news or to
register to vote. Their first priority is day-to-day survival.
But, I'd argue, most of the Conservative and Republican leaders and their
financial and strategic backers are fully awake. They just want a different
kind of world than I or most others on this listserv do. And so, we are back
to
Dennis's point that health policy is inherently political.
Jeff
Quoting Diana Liw <[log in to unmask]>:
> I agree, the real world doesn't have to be like this, but it is, at least
for
> right now.
>
> Who are the ones that need to wake up?
>
> >>> Jeff Denis <[log in to unmask]> 11/16/07 7:47 AM >>>
> You're missing the point. If the public funding were assured (as it was in
> the
> past), health care professionals could spend their time doing what they
were
> trained for: organizing and delivering health programs rather than
> fundraising.
>
> And why is the government cutting well-used and informative programs when
it
> has
> a massive budget surplus? Why did it cancel the childcare agreements and
the
> Kelowna accord to which every provincial government, the Assembly of First
> Nations, and the prior federal government agreed? The current minority
> Conservative government does not represent the bulk of the Canadian
> population.
> Their policies make it more difficult to build strong, coordinated health
> programs that will be there for every citizen. The "real world" doesn't
have
> to
> be like this. And if enough people wake up, one day, it won't be.
>
> Jeff
>
>
> Quoting Diana Liw <[log in to unmask]>:
>
> > Just curious. If this website is such a great collaborative efforts of
> > health care professionals, government, university and etc, why does it
> > have to shut down due to funding cuts? Are there no fund raising
> > efforts? How much does it to cost to run this website? Just because
> > "governmental" funding went away, doesn't mean that the government is
> > prohibiting the website to continue. I am sure these 26 organizations
> > can figure out a way to keep this website going if they really want to.
> > This could be a real test of how well and committed the network is.
> >
> > Anyway, this is what NGOs and CBOs face every day. Welcome to the real
> > world.
> >
> >
> >
> > >>> "J. Alison Stirling" <[log in to unmask]> 11/16/07 6:34 AM >>>
> > Carol Goar, health editor of the Toronto Star, packs a wallop in Friday
> > November 16th's editorial article titled
> >
> > "Conservatives axe network"
> >
> > http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/276891
> >
> > This is how a nation's social infrastructure is dismantled.
> >
> > First, the Conservatives cancelled the child-care agreements the
> > Liberals had signed with the provinces. Next, they gutted the Kelowna
> > Accord, the $5.1 billion federal-provincial agreement to tackle
> > aboriginal poverty. Now they're scrapping another piece of Liberal
> > handiwork.
> >
> > Effective March 31, 2008, the Canadian Health Network will cease to
> > exist.
> >
> > For the past eight years, it has provided citizens and medical
> > professionals with a reliable, non-commercial source of online
> > information about how to stay healthy and prevent disease.
> >
> > Although the website (www.canadian-health-network.ca) is managed by the
> > Winnipeg-based Public Health Agency of Canada, it is a collaboration of
> > 26 organizations * government departments, universities, hospitals,
> > libraries and non-profit health providers * who draw on 1,600
> > specialists across the country.
> >
> > Nothing quite like it exists anywhere in the world. The closest
> > approximation is New Zealand's Health Promotion Forum.
> >
> > Two weeks ago, Catherine Drew, executive director of the Canadian
> > Health Network, notified the 26 member agencies that the program would
> > be eliminated at the end of the fiscal year.
> >
> > Most of the participants were shocked. A few had been picking up
> > trouble signals * funding delays and bureaucratic dithering.
> >
> > The only explanation Drew provided was that the Public Health Agency
> > had been ordered to cut its grants and contributions to outside groups
> > by $16.7 million and it had reluctantly decided to pull the plug on the
> > network.
> >
> > "Why would the government choose to cut this program when it has a
> > surplus?" asked Connie Clement, executive director of the Ontario
> > Prevention Clearinghouse, one of the network's affiliates. "Where does
> > it put the question of partnerships between the government and the
> > non-profit sector?"
> >
> > Four or five years ago, such a move might have been understandable. The
> > Canadian Health Network got off to a slow start. During its
> > developmental stages, few people knew what it was or how it worked.
> >
> > But lately, its website has been getting 380,000 hits a month, 40 per
> > cent of them health-care professionals. In the last year alone, its
> > usage has increased by 70 per cent. It has established a reputation as a
> > trustworthy portal in a cyberworld of drug manufacturers, health-care
> > conglomerates and self-promoting quacks.
> >
> > Shutting down the network was a "very difficult decision," said Alain
> > Desroches of the Public Health Agency. "The agency will continue to look
> > for effective and innovative ways to provide Canadians with high
> > quality, credible information through other means."
> >
> > In fact, Health Minister Tony Clement launched a new website,
> > www.healthycanadians.gc.ca, in October, to provide users with
> > information about all of the government's programs * its children's
> > fitness tax credit, its revised Canada Food Guide, its toy safety tips,
> > its latest product recalls and its healthy pregnancy guide * designed
> > to promote an active, well-balanced lifestyle.
> >
> > There's certainly nothing wrong with centralizing all of Ottawa's
> > health information in one place.
> >
> > What's missing from the new database is any reference to the links
> > between health and the environment, disease and poverty, or violence and
> > gun control. Nor does it touch sensitive topics such as abortion,
> > genetically modified foods or sexual abuse. It completely overlooks
> > mental illness.
> >
> > In contrast, the Canadian Health Network is all-encompassing. It looks
> > at controversial questions from all sides. It is constantly updated as
> > new knowledge becomes available.
> >
> > Losing the program won't be the end of the world. Canadians will find
> > other useful websites such as MedlinePlus.gov run by the National
> > Institutes of Health in the United States or AboutKids-Health.ca run by
> > Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. The members of the network will
> > find other ways to reach out to the public.
> >
> > But the idea of a comprehensive, national database, built and
> > maintained by the best people in their fields will wither.
> >
> > The belief that Canadians can work together, with the government
> > providing a common forum, will wane.
> >
> > A promising experiment will die.
> >
> > And the government will look for another non-essential program to cut.
> >
> > ---------------------------------
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