At 8:06 AM -0400 8/22/03, Dennis Raphael wrote:
>and not-so-good news from he UK
>Subject:    'Radical blueprint for social change'? Media representations of
>        New Labour's policies on public health

A sad story - and one reflected here in BC, where our Liberal
government is tearing holes in the social safety net. In April 2004
we begin the new 2 out of 5 era, where welfare recipients can receive
benefits two years out of five and can receive their first benefits
only if they have worked the previous two years. At the same time,
government cutbacks have closed offices and/or reduced staff in rural
communities all around the province. The ripple effect has meant
families moving, and everything from dry cleaners to movie theatres
to restaurants to grocery stores have experienced slowdowns. Throw in
the softwood lumber agreement, BSE, SARS, and the fact that huge
tracts of the southern half of our province are in flames, and what
we have is a fascinating social experiment. Just how many curves can
we throw at people and expect them to survive?

A bright spot is the network of healthy eating/active living projects
that have been funded by Health Canada as part of the Diabetes
Strategy (including HEAL in northern BC). They have improved life for
many around our province. Now, of course, the challenge is finding
funding to continue beyond March 2004.

Cathryn

P.S. Not much of an intro - Maria Tan told me about this list. Thanks, Maria.

--
***********************************************
Cathryn Wellner, Project Coordinator
[log in to unmask]
HEAL - Healthy Eating and Active Living in Northern BC
Miocene Box 15, 4030 Horsefly Road
Williams Lake, B.C.
Canada V2G 2P3
(250) 296-9155 or 296-4432; fax 296-4429
http://healbc.ca

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