Health

Eighteen months ago, in an off-the-cuff remark during a discussion on disability benefit cuts, Wes Streeting said mental health conditions were being “overdiagnosed”, riding headlong into another culture war. He later apologised for the comment, but at the time it seemed the then health secretary had endorsed a populist view that ordinary stresses and disappointments had become too often medicalised, resulting in a surge of bogus clinical diagnoses and creating a “snowflake generation” of fragile, avoidant and workshy young people. Prof Peter Fonagy’s mammoth review of mental health conditions, autism and ADHD in England, commissioned by Streeting nine months ago, has no truck with the snowflake generation caricature: the steep rise in the prevalence of mental health problems such as anxiety and depression is real, he says, and so is the distress and difficulties they can cause. double quotation markI am in awe of their courage. Young people are contending with more powerful forces than I ever faced

Monet Davies from the forests to the glaciers, into my lungs by Johnathan S. Green If there is one thing that Climates of Health: The Weather Inside Us invokes, it is our oneness with the environment. With contributing artists from Canada, Japan, and the United States, this exhibit at the FAB Gallery makes us reflect on how all of us experience this “interprobleminary” life in different ways, yet the worsening climate crisis impacts every one of us. We are called to confront the ways in which we are interlinked with climate change, from the consumerism that fuels it to the vulnerable communities and immunocompromised individuals who suffer most from it.  In artist Yoomi Nam’s work, “Unfolding” and “Keeping,” we are disoriented by the familiar. I was confused by the prints of “Unfolding,” which stretched up the wall with overlapping shadows of shapes that reminded me of something I could not quite place my finger on. The same went for “Keeping,” the smooth, sage green porcelain pieces positioned firmly in the centre of the room.

ADVERTISEMENTBarrie WatchStaff were in Elmvale to promote the 'On the Move' program Wednesday. October 08, 2026 at 6:54p.m. EDT

Harbourview Apartments, a notorious downtown St. John’s apartment complex that has been the site of police investigations, has been shut down for health and safety issues. “The City of St. John’s has received complaints regarding 91 Brazil Street,” the city said in a statement.”In response, the City’s Regulatory Services Department, in conjunction with the St. John’s Regional Fire Department, conducted an inspection of the building. The inspection identified health and life-safety deficiencies.

ADVERTISEMENTOttawa WatchOttawa Public Health is warning people of possible measles exposures at eight businesses in the city. CTV’s Kimberley Fowler reports. October 08, 2026 at 6:21p.m. EDT

Kids Health Shelf initiative creates stories where children see themselves represented Bahareh Rahimi Shahmirzadi (left) and Nadith Ranasinghe (right) are part of The Kids Health Shelf initiative, which is creating children’s books that reflect diverse experiences and make health-related topics more accessible to young readers. (Megan Morris/Schulich Medicine & Dentistry)

Bridgetown, Barbados, 5 October 2026 (PAHO/WHO) – Representatives from countries and territories across the Caribbean came together in Barbados to strengthen national and regional action to prevent drowning and build safer, more resilient communities. The Caribbean Community Drowning Prevention Workshop, held from 1–5 October 2026, brought together practitioners, programme administrators, academics and representatives of government agencies and civil society organizations involved in drowning prevention across the region. The workshop was hosted by the Royal Life Saving Society Commonwealth (RLSS) and co-hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) as well as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Drowning remains an important public health concern. Approximately 17,000 people died from drowning in the Region of the Americas in 2021, representing a mortality rate of 1.6 per 100,000 population. Drowning also remains the seventh leading cause of death among children aged 5 to 14 years in the Region.

BCAA invests $750,000 in mental health support for wildfire-affected communities across B. C. including a family wellness and resilience program in Williams Lake. Families in the Cariboo Chilcotin will have access to a new counselling program in 2027 aimed at helping them cope with climate-related anxiety and natural disasters.

ADVERTISEMENTNorthern Ontario WatchIn this week's TechTalk segment, Tony Ryma and technology & change strategist Melissa Jakimik discuss AI in healthcare. Jakimik says AI is improving efficiency, predictive care and diagnostics, but fragmented data, privacy rules and safety standards are slowing wider adoption. October 08, 2026 at 5:28p.m. EDT

A screening of the Disney Pixar movie Inside Out 2 provided opportunities to discuss mental health and emotional intelligence. École secondaire publique L'Héritage students, Milo Deschamps, Valencia Khula, Milaine Mondoux and Kai Van Rossum alongside teacher Lucie Ferron and two "emotions" from Inside Out 2, at a special screening of the film on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Cornwall, Ont. (Marc Benoit / Cornwall Standard-Freeholder)

As nursing at Mount Royal celebrates its 60th anniversary at Mount Royal University, its history reflects enormous changes in health care, education and the responsibilities of the professionals delivering care. But Dr. Joseph Osuji, PhD, director of the School of Nursing and Midwifery, says some of its defining qualities have remained remarkably consistent. Mount Royal College made the unconventional decision to launch a two-year nursing diploma in 1967, when most diploma programs were hospital-based. While Osuji explains that move was not necessarily popular at the time, the ambitious plan helped those graduates go on to build careers through decades of profound change in health care, shaped by the efforts of early clinical instructors, preceptors, staff and community partners.

Emily RussellNurses in Saranac Lake picket for better health benefitsNurses at Adirondack Medical Center picketed on Wednesday as their union negotiates a new contract with the hospital. Photo: Emily Russell About 40 nurses gathered outside Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake on Wednesday, many wearing bright red shirts from their union — the New York State Nurses Association.

BC NDP candidate Norma Blissett is pointing to her municipal government experience as she campaigns to represent Kootenay-Rockies in the Oct. 24 provincial election. Blissett has served on Cranbrook city council since she was first elected in 2014 and currently represents the city as a municipal director on the Regional District of East Kootenay board.

Blaine Calkins’ Bill C-224 aimed to amend Food and Drugs Act to make changes to the definition of therapeutic products DIDSBURY - Ponoka-Didsbury Conservative member of Parliament Blaine Calkins says Wednesday's defeat of a bill to amend the Food and Drugs Act in relation to natural health products adds more bureaucracy and gives more power to Ottawa.