Health

A B.C. Supreme Court case challenges policies that let faith-based facilities refuse medical assistance in dying; Health Canada reported 16,499 MAID provisions in 2024 and transfers related to facility policy vary by province.

Recent data show Canada’s drug-death rate fell from about 20 per 100,000 at its peak to 13.5 in early 2025, and experts point to five main drivers including changes in the drug supply and wider naloxone access.

Beau Wargovcsik, a 23-year-old Kamloops resident, died last year and became a deceased organ donor who helped save four people; 2025 was a record year in B.C. with 575 transplants from 232 donors.

B.C. Transplant reported a record 575 organ transplants in 2025, enabled by 232 donors (146 deceased and 86 living). The organization noted year-to-year variation and that some organs are transferred between provinces.

A large Swedish trial published in The Lancet reported that AI-supported mammogram readings reduced interval cancers by 12 percent among more than 100,000 screened women.

Saint John police are investigating alleged sexual offences at Loch Lomond Villa's The Village; they say more than a dozen residents have been identified as victims and a suspect affiliated with the home has been named, and the investigation is ongoing.

Quebec announced a $107-million home-care policy that expands caregiver eligibility, raises hourly pay from $20 to $21, and names CLSCs as the entry point; disability and caregiver groups called the changes insufficient and expressed disappointment.

Opposition MLAs pressed officials on whether the new P.E.I. mental health campus will improve access to care, and Health P.E.I. said a mental health and transitions building is planned to open this fall with full campus completion targeted for 2028.

The provincial court system says it is developing an Elder‑guided Indigenous court pilot in Saskatoon with a planned launch this summer. Statistics Canada data cited in the article reports Indigenous people in Saskatchewan are incarcerated at about 19.4 times the rate of non‑Indigenous people.

The Ambulance Paramedics of B.C. will hold a strike vote from Feb. 2–16 after months of bargaining, citing staffing shortages and burnout; the Health Employers Association says mediation has been discussed and that Labour Relations Board essential service orders must be issued before legal job action.

A small early trial in London found fecal microbiota transplant pills reduced immunotherapy side effects for advanced kidney cancer patients and researchers report related benefits in small samples of other cancers; larger trials are planned.

A report found elevated radon readings in 21% of social housing units while most such units have not been tested. A 2024 cross‑Canada study reported about 18% of homes at or above 200 Bq/m³ and another 24% with levels between 100 and 199 Bq/m³.

The BC Centre for Disease Control says medetomidine, a veterinary sedative, has been detected mixed with opioids in B.C.'s unregulated drug supply, and a province-wide drug alert has been issued amid rising non-fatal drug poisonings.

Steadman Philippon Research Institute and Vail Health have renewed their partnership with a five-year commitment. The partners say the collaboration has advanced orthopaedic and cancer research and will focus on deepening impact and exploring regenerative medicine and longevity.

A CAMH survey of more than 3,000 Ontario adults found past‑year drinking fell to about 76% in 2025, while daily drinking was up about 3% and weekly binge drinking up about 3.6% compared with 2019.

An essay describes how Scrabble became a central ritual as the author's mother lived with worsening Alzheimer's, and how the game's steady decline mirrored losses in her memory and language.

India's Health Ministry reported two Nipah cases in West Bengal and said contacts were traced, quarantined and tested; several Asian countries have tightened health and airport screenings for travelers from India.

A CMA and CFIB survey of 1,924 physicians found doctors spend about nine hours per week on administrative tasks—roughly 42.7 million hours a year in Canada—and nearly half of that time is judged unnecessary.

The Yukon government says it is close to finalizing a cancer strategy to support First Nations in prevention, care and treatment, and it expects to release updated territory cancer incidence rates in March.

Officials say a Nipah virus outbreak in West Bengal led to nearly 100 people being quarantined, and two hospital nurses tested positive with one in critical condition.

Dr. Oz said about 400 businesses operating from the Griggs-Midway building in Minneapolis billed roughly $380 million to Medicaid over recent years, and he questioned why state oversight did not detect the cluster sooner; he also noted increased federal supervision and attention.

A University of British Columbia team reported a topical gene-editing therapy that corrected faulty genes in human skin models and restored up to 30% of normal function for a rare inherited disorder, in results published in Cell Stem Cell.

The article reports that U.S. recommendations for childhood vaccines were recently reduced from 17 to 11, and that ACIP chair Dr. Kirk Milhoan said vaccines could be optional, prompting renewed debate over school and daycare mandates.

Family doctors in B.C. say outdated systems and paperwork are slowing patient care; a national report estimates physicians in the province spend nearly 10 hours a week on administrative work.

The article reports that KA-EX is presented as a drinkable supplement claiming rapid cortisol reduction and enhanced sleep and performance, and it describes the product as Swiss-engineered and used by some professional athletes.

PROMIX's Grass-fed Beef Protein Isolate sold out within 24 hours of launch and is described as a single-ingredient, EU-sourced grass-fed, grass-finished beef protein that supports muscle recovery and connective tissue benefits similar to collagen, while being free from dairy, fillers and growth hormones.

Health officials in British Columbia say paramedics responded to a new single-day record of 256 drug poisoning calls on Jan. 21, and the B.C. Centre for Disease Control issued a province-wide alert about medetomidine being mixed with opioids.

A Calgary man who never smoked was later diagnosed with advanced lung cancer after years working in a basement that tested high for radon; a cross-Canada project is collecting 10,000 toenail samples and home radon data through 2028 to develop a test of long-term exposure.

A parent recounts her young daughters playing with makeup and skincare while reporting views from other parents and a psychologist who says such play can be self-expression but social-media comparison can harm self-esteem.

Many U.S. pediatricians and several states are using the American Academy of Pediatrics' vaccine guidance instead of a recently revised CDC childhood vaccine schedule; the AAP update keeps broader routine immunizations and includes a new RSV immunization.