How are you coping without a family doctor?
Coming up on Cross Country Checkup...
An estimated 6.5 million Canadians don't have a family doctor. And according to a recent Health Canada report, Canada needs nearly 23,000 additional family physicians to address the shortage.
How are you coping without a family doctor? What impact has it had on your health?
Join Ian Hanomansing on CBC Radio One, CBC Listen and CBC News Network. Call Checkup at 1-888-416-8333, or text 226-758-8924 or go to CBC.ca/aircheck.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Global News
3 hours ago
- Global News
Cost of living has half of Canadian pet owners skipping vet visits: survey
Half of Canadian pet owners are skipping visits to the veterinarian's office because of financial concerns, a new survey shows. According to a survey conducted by PetSmart Charities of Canada and Gallup, half (50 per cent) of Canadian pet parents have either skipped or declined necessary veterinary care for their pets. Financial pressure was the leading cause of people skipping the vet's office, the survey of 2,033 dog and cat owners from the 10 provinces in Canada found. Of those who said they were declining or skipping those visits, 67 per cent said they did so because it was not affordable, they did not believe the services were worth the cost or a combination of both. 0:59 Global Okanagan Adopt A Pet: Diesel The rate of pet parents skipping the vet was higher among younger Canadians (59 per cent). Story continues below advertisement Even higher-income Canadians were facing financial pressures in dealing with pet care, with 27 per cent of pet owners who make more than $90,000 a year saying they have skipped vet visits. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Of the Canadians who declined pet care, 21 per cent said their veterinarian offered them a payment plan and 66 per cent said an interest-free plan could double what they are able to spend on life-saving care for their furry friends. Another major reason for Canadians skipping pet care is that their vet is simply too far away. Just under half (46 per cent) of those who travel under 10 kilometres to the veterinarian report skipping or declining care, but that figure rises to 54 per cent for those who travel more than 10 kilometres. 2:48 Global Peterborough's Shelter Pet Project June 6 Nearly one in five (18 per cent) pet owners said they rely on non-vets when their pet is sick. This includes consulting the internet, friends or pet professionals, such as trainers and groomers. Story continues below advertisement Four in 10 pet owners said they would be open to services like telemedicine or home visits by vets. 'These data suggest that services like community clinics and telemedicine — where permitted and available — could help make care more accessible, and many pet parents would use them if they could. But awareness and regulation of these services still vary across regions, pointing to opportunities for expanded infrastructure and support,' said Julie Ray, Gallup's managing editor for world news. A recent Ipsos poll showed that inflation and cost of living was the top issue for Canadians. That issue was considered the top domestic news story in Canada by 71 per cent of Canadians, according to the polling conducted exclusively for Global News on what people considered the biggest stories of this year. 4:44 Adopt a Pet: New Hope Dog Rescue fostering dogs for wildfire evacuees Results for the PetSmart Charities of Canada-Gallup State of Pet Care study are based on a combined web- and phone-based survey conducted with 2,033 dog and cat owners from the 10 provinces in Canada. Gallup surveyed 1,804 Canadian adults who indicated they currently owned at least one dog or cat via a web-based survey Nov. 28-Dec. 31, 2024. Gallup also surveyed an additional 229 dog and cat owners via a telephone survey Dec. 5-23, 2024, to reach pet owners who may not have access to the internet. For results based on the total sample of 2,033 Canadian dog and cat owners, the margin of sampling error is ±2.3 percentage points at the 95 per cent confidence level. Margins of error for subgroups are larger.
CTV News
3 hours ago
- CTV News
Ikea is recalling thousands of garlic presses sold in Canada
Ikea is asking Canadian customers who bought a specific kind of garlic press to stop using it because small metal pieces could detach and potentially be eaten. The Swedish home furnishing giant is recalling its Chinese-made black 365+ Vardefull garlic press. Affected customers can visit any Ikea store for a full refund without requiring a receipt or any other proof of purchase, it said on its website Wednesday. A 'production error' caused the problem after it conducted an 'internal investigation,' according to Ikea. 'IKEA apologizes for any inconvenience this recall may cause,' it wrote, noting that customer safety is a top priority and all its products are tested and comply with applicable standards and legislation. How to identify affected products Ikea says the affected product is marked with the company logo on the upper handle. The product was sold in Canada with the article numbers 305.781.89 and 201.521.58. In other countries, it was sold under article number 601.636.02. The products have date stamps from 2411 to 2522, with the first two digits indicating the year and the last two digits being the week of the year. How many products are affected? Ikea reported that 10,712 affected products were sold in Canada, according to Health Canada's advisory online about the recall. It said they were sold from April 2024 to May 2025. Ikea has received no reports of incidents or injuries in Canada as of June 9, according to the recall. Globally, the company received three reports of incidents involving minor hand injuries, such as a scratch or a splinter. Ikea advises customers to spread the word about the recall, particularly if they know whether it was lent or sold to someone else. 'Please note that the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act prohibits recalled products from being redistributed, sold or even given away in Canada,' Health Canada added. Health Canada encourages customers to report any health and safety incidents related to using this product or any other items by filling out the Consumer Product Incident Report Form. Where to get more information Not sure whether you have an affected product? If that's the case, Ikea says you can still return any black 365+ Vardefull garlic press and get a refund. Visit or phone IKEA toll-free at 1-800-661-9807 for more information.
The Province
6 hours ago
- The Province
B.C. experts sound the alarm over rising number of HIV cases
With U.S. cuts to programs putting millions at risk, Canada needs to provide leadership to help prevent a resurgence of HIV: expert Dr. Julio Montaner is physician-in-chief at the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. Photo by Arlen Redekop / PNG Canadians can spend money now to stop the spread of HIV, or face a much larger bill down the road, according to a leading Vancouver expert. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors The decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to cut back international medical aid makes investing in prevention even more vital, said Dr. Julio Montaner, executive-director and physician-in-chief at the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. Worldwide, the savings could be in the billions of dollars over time, he said. 'We did the same calculation for British Columbia, and the conclusion is the same: You spend a little bit more now, but then the savings are tremendous, in this case even exponentially greater than anything we've ever seen.' Last week, Montaner, who also heads the HIV/AIDS program at St. Paul's Hospital and is the chair of AIDS research at UBC and St. Paul's Foundation, hosted HIV experts from across Canada to warn about the rising incidence of HIV in Canada, and the threat U.S. cuts to HIV programs pose. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Montaner arrived in Vancouver in 1981 to do pulmonary research at UBC, about the same time the HIV/AIDS epidemic began. In those early days, patients were presenting primarily with a pneumococcal pneumonia, which is how Montaner got involved in HIV research. 'Patients would die from it, almost for sure,' he said. New drugs revolutionized the treatment for such patients to the point where 'that became a non-issue,' he said. With those results, he was approached by federal officials to work with new trial drugs, and by 1996 he had discovered that a combination of antiretroviral drugs could keep the disease at bay. 'It became the cornerstone of highly active antiretroviral therapy,' Montaner said. 'It was a miracle. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'People became well almost immediately. The amount of virus in their blood went down to nothing, their immunity recovered.' Despite groundbreaking work by the Canadian Treatment as Prevention group, or TasP, and a program known as HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, Canada is losing ground to HIV/AIDS, Montaner said. Saskatchewan and Manitoba have HIV diagnoses of almost 20 people per 100,000, six times B.C.'s rate of 3.3 per 100,000, based on 2023 statistics. B.C. in the mid-1990s had a rate almost as high as those two Prairie provinces do today, for the worst infection rate in Canada back then. But based on discussions with colleagues across Canada, the situation continues to deteriorate , Montaner said, with an expectation that HIV numbers were significantly higher in 2024, and higher yet again in 2025 even though the year is only half over. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Globally, Montaner said, it is estimated American funding cuts will lead to another 6.6 million new HIV infections and an additional 4.2 million AIDS-related deaths between 2025 and 2029. That affects B.C., he said, because most new HIV cases in the province stem from interprovincial and international migration. 'HIV does not respect borders. We have seen an increase in the number of HIV cases in British Columbia, and more than two-thirds of those cases are cases that come into the province with HIV from other jurisdictions.' Dr. Julio Montaner, executive director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, stands outside one of Vancouver's first indoor supervised inhalation rooms on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ashley Joanno / THE CANADIAN PRESS International rates of infant deaths and tuberculosis will be 'a total disaster,' he said. 'I don't kid you when I say that this is a crime against humanity, because if you withdraw services for people whose life depends on it, only one outcome is possible, and that is suffering and death. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. It's why he called last week's meeting, he said. 'There is a sense of apathy across the land that is actually totally unacceptable. … The fact is, nobody cares about HIV/AIDS. Why? Because it affects marginalized, personal minorities, immigrants, the poor, the Downtown Eastside.' The U.S. provided half of the funding to fight HIV worldwide. Canada alone can't make up that shortfall, but should double its funding and encourage other donor countries to do the same, he said. 'Because if we don't, we're going to end up paying for it with death, and not only death and disease in other countries. The instability it generates is going to create huge migratory problems for all of us, and we're already hearing it, because people are running away from the United States, coming to Canada, because they are either transgender or gay or minorities or HIV infected.' gordmcintyre@ Read More Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks Sports Local News
