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MONTREAL
— Doctor-patient
divide A survey by Leger marketing commissioned
by the Quebec Medical Association (QMA) on July 21 found
that more than 68% of Quebec doctors approve of the
recent Supreme Court decision to allow Quebecers increased
access to private health insurance. On August 5 the
rest of Canada followed Quebec's lead with the Canada-wide
Ipsos-Reid/ Canadian Medical Association (CMA) survey.
It found that 83% of doctors viewed the court decision
"favourably," compared to 52% of non-doctors. However,
MDs are split on privatization of healthcare —
53% support an increase and 47% oppose one. DB
New
Brunswick
FREDERICTON —
Salary gold The
NB government announced last week that it will usher
in a $14-million salary increase over the next three-and-a-half
years for its physicians. The increase will apply to
250 salaried doctors (the majority of the province's
1,300 physicians use a fee-for-service system). The
increase will see salaries for GPs jump from $130,000
annually to $159,000 and specialists' annual income
will rise from $186,000 to $222,000. The government
hopes that offering physicians more money will help
the province retain current physicians and recruit new
ones. SB
Nova
Scotia
HALIFAX —
The good Nova Scotia
life With all the negative press Canada has been
getting as we struggle through a healthcare renaissance,
it's nice to hear something positive for a change. It
seems our American cousins are choosing the Bluenose
province as a place to retire because of our great healthcare
system. American author Phillip Townsend reports in
his e-book Passport to Canada: The Complete Guide to
Living and Retiring in Nova Scotia, "In addition to
universal healthcare, inexpensive prescription drugs,
[there is] affordable oceanfront real estate [and] a
picturesque charm." SB
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Prince
Edward Island
HILLSBOROUGH —
Let me out of here!
An Amherst, NS, man has won the right to be emancipated
from a PEI psychiatric hospital after a six year legal
fight, and his own enterprising e-mail campaign. Greg
McManus always maintained he shouldn't have been there.
The former police officer was placed in the hospital
after being struck by a rogue motorcycle at a stop sign
10 years ago. He suffered paralysis and a head injury,
and was put in the hospital at the behest of public
trustees and his mother. Mr McManus and his girlfriend
are now settled into a new apartment and plan to marry
next summer. HY
Newfoundland
ST JOHN'S —
Pastoral care Construction
is underway, on former farm land in St John's, on a
new unique centre for children and adults with autism.
The Autism Society of Newfoundland and Labrador has
raised over $1 million for the project. The centre will
include a working farm where autistic individuals can
learn agricultural and behavioural skills, while also
offering an innovative mix of vocational and life skills
training, as well as training for parents and support
workers. Memorial University, which owns the 5.5 acres
formerly known as Shamrock Farm, has generously given
the society a 99-year lease for just $1 a year. DSS
The
North
WHITEHORSE, YK
— Smoky
rings around the world As fires rage in the Yukon,
a new study on the effects of last summer's fires has
just been released. The study, by the National Centre
for Atmospheric Research, found the fires affected air
quality around the world. Thought to be caused by strange
changes in the climate, the fires brought with them
record levels of deadly carbon monoxide — a whopping
30 billion kg. "Globally we are all connected," commented
lead researcher Gabriele Pfister. "An event in one area
can affect air pollution in another area far, far away
from us. Stations all the way to Europe could detect
plumes from these fires." HY
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