Weekly Health Files
January 28, 2026
By Pat Van Horne SOAR, CHC, CURC
Far right ideology bad prescription for health care
“Alberta has passed deeply troubling laws that strike at the heart of evidence-based care. Bill 13—the Regulated Professions Neutrality Act—restricts regulators from requiring training in anti-racism, cultural safety, unconscious bias, gender equity, and 2SLGBTQI+ inclusion. These are not political preferences—they are the bedrock of safe, ethical care.”—said Dr. Doris Grinspun, RN, PhD, chief executive officer of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO), Hill Times, January 20 2026
Far-right ideology is a prescription for bad health – The Hill Times
Health care for seniors a challenge
“Canada’s health care systems continue to face persistent challenges in meeting the needs of its ageing population. As the number of older adults grows, demand for timely and comprehensive care has intensified across the country.For older adults, reliable access to health care services is essential to maintaining health, wellbeing, independence and dignity throughout later life — yet the NIA’s 2025 survey highlights ongoing gaps in access.”—says intro to Section 7, “Perspectives on Growing Older in Canada: The 2025 NIA Ageing in Canada Survey”, 4th annual National Institute on Ageing Survey, Section 7, January 2026
Perspectives on Growing Older in Canada: the 2025 NIA Ageing in Canada Survey
Manitoba health professionals criticize government going back to agency nursing
“There was not enough groundwork laid for this to happen when it did, and as a result facilities are in crisis . . . The government has blinked. I heard from nurses who told me they feel it is a band-aid on a hemorrhage, that it is not going to ensure that they are ready for this. . . Despite what we were saying and what nurses were saying, the minister of health was very clear on the 15th and 16th that they were not going back, they were not going to use those agencies. They’ve changed their mind.”—said Darlene Jackson, president, Manitoba Nurses Union (Manitoba spent $80 million on private nursing agencies in the 2024-25 fiscal year, up from $26.9 million in 2020-21, according to Shared Health data. The total for 2025-26 was $34 million as of Oct. 31), Winnipeg Free Press, January 20 2026
Province backtracks on private nurse deadline – Winnipeg Free Press
OPINION/COMMENT: Alberta doctor warns ER hallways and waiting rooms may be “death zones”
“We wonder how many ‘ticking time bombs will drop dead when they should be receiving life-saving care in a functional emergency care space.”—said Dr. Paul Parks, president-elect of the Alberta Medical Association, following the death of 44-year-old Prashant Sreekumar, who died after waiting eight hours to see a doctor on Dec. 22 at the Grey Nuns Hospital in Edmonton.
Alberta’s ERs Have Become ‘Death Zones,’ Warns Doctor | The Tyee
Health organizations worry about being left out of federal Health Infrastructure Fund
“We certainly see long-term care as sort of that crossroads between health care and the community, and people actually live in long-term care homes.”—said Jodi Hall, CEO of the Canadian Association for Long Term Care, following its exclusion from funding available through ‘Build Canada Homes’ ($5-billion in the most recent federal budget cites hospitals, emergency rooms, urgent care centres, and medical schools as examples of institutions that could access the money. The fund falls under the provincial and territorial stream of the much broader $51-billion Build Communities Strong Fund, which is also new, with Housing Minister Gregor Robertson’s department overseeing the fund), The Hill Times, January 19 2026
Administrative burdens, outdated fee structures cause dentists to opt out of indigenous Non-Insured Health Benefits (NHIB) program
“It just seems like such a frustrating system that is really not supportive of Indigenous folks who are just simply trying to access dental services.”—said Janine Manning, a member of the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation in southern Ontario, who uses the federal NIHB that covers things like dental care for First Nations people and Inuit. (When it came to pay the bill, Manning was told the federal program would cover only $159 of the nearly $2,200 procedure), CBC News, January 22 2026
Record doctor recruitment in Manitoba, retention not so much
“Despite record recruitment in 2025, Manitoba still lost doctors to other provinces at one of the highest rates in the country — 8.3 physicians per 1,000 on a net basis, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Only one province performed worse. Just 66 per cent of Manitoba medical graduates stay here, a figure that should alarm anyone concerned about the sustainability of the health-care system. . .Doctors Manitoba is blunt about the problem. Its annual survey found 43 per cent of physicians are considering reducing hours, retiring or leaving the province within the next three years. . . Making Manitoba a place where doctors choose to build long careers . . . means sustained investment in equipment and technology, reducing wait times and improving access to doctor specialists. Until that happens, record recruitment will remain a headline, not a solution.” Says newspaper editorial, Winnipeg Free Press, January 27 2026
Doctor retention matters — just like recruitment – Winnipeg Free Press
Health critics looking at workforce issues in this Parliamentary session
“Everyone should be able to access a doctor or nurse practitioner or community health team in a timely way.”—said NDP health critic Gord Johns (MP Courtenay-Alberni, BC), adding that there is a particular need in rural and remote areas, and that Indigenous-led services have to be a priority. The Hill Times, January 26 2026
Health workforce, toxic drug crisis on health critics’ agendas this winter – The Hill Times