Common Ground | Terrain commun A Culture of Health

Ontario and Canada should follow the route of Europe where GMO foods are banned and we should start with GMO labeling and to also ban Monsanto products so that Canada can have fresh food free of biotechnology and cross-breeding and pesticides and herbicides. This is the best path to get the best quality products and so people can be truly healthy. Another important step for Ontario to follow is getting away from big box... more »

As their parents did a generation ago, today's Ontario families struggle to find accessible, affordable, quality childcare. The provincial government's commitment and substantial funding is welcome and the right first step for building a system of universal high quality childcare. Now what's needed is the follow-up: affordable, geared-to-income fees; a professional and properly paid child care workforce; public/non-profit... more »

I'm hearing that people know there are mental health services available in Ontario, but don't know how to access them or where to begin. We should create a governmental agency called Mental Health Ontario, a one-stop shop for access to care for key mental health services similar to Cancer Care Ontario. This agency would be responsible to drive continuos improvement in prevention, recognition of risk, mental health screening,... more »

A separate minister would better be able to focus on these pivotal issues and help finish implementation of the Health Ministry's Open Minds, Healthy Minds long term strategy.

A link to the ministry strategy: http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/common/ministry/publications/reports/mental_health2011/mentalhealth.aspx

Mental health costs the Canadian economy $51 billion per year. A large part of this cost comes from missed work and lowered productivity. Our proposal is to give all Ontario workers a fixed number of days off work, with no penalty and no requirement for a formal diagnosis. This will show Canadians that their mental health is a priority, and reduce the stigma in the workplace, while having the potential to educate employers... more »

As our urban areas are increasingly made up of large condo towers, former industrial areas have now become primarily residential. As a result we have new residential neighbourhoods where the speed limit is too high (50 or 60 km/h) which is unsafe and unsuitable for pedestrians and cyclists. The maximum should be no more than 40km/h.

Families with Children with mental issues must get tax relief, automatically they should receive disability tax credit, Parents have to get in tons of debt to help their kid with different treatments, special programs, extra curricular activities, private schools, etc. Several kids with mental illnesses can't be part of a public school so parents have to make loans to get them in private school which are very expensive.... more »

WHEREAS the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion identifies the prerequisites for health as peace, shelter, education, food, income, a stable ecosystem, sustainable resources, social justice, and equity ;
WHEREAS research has consistently made connections between adverse health outcomes and racial inequity ;
WHEREAS racialized Canadians experience a range of adverse living circumstances that threaten not only their health,... more »

Make the cost of fitness memberships tax deductible for persons who have fitness memberships and use them. This saves the health care system many dollars as research shows active persons are healthier people.

This idea is about wellness or healthy living. According to a recent national study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, “The prevalence of stress in primary care is high; 60% to 80% of visits may have a stress-related component” [1, references at the end]. Ontario findings may be no different.
Stress is a behavioral problem. It results from our lack of deep acknowledgement of our unseen common ground leading... more »

Red meat and poultry are injected with as many as 450 different drugs including antibiotics that the consumer knows nothing about. Consumers need to be informed about what they are ingesting. Fish can contain Mercury and PCBs among other contaminants.

There are people with mental health problems who nonetheless work steady jobs. Often therapy programs are scheduled only during the normal work day, which requires employees to get time off, but employers may be unwilling to allow them to do so. This often means a choice between getting therapy and earning a living and staying on career track.
Mental health programs ought to be offered “after hours” so that patients... more »

Why not adjust budgets to better address the needs of emergency services?
Lack of ambulance coverage is occurring all over the province. Wait times are increasing and response times are being affected. We need more ambulances on the road and funding for community paramedicine programs to help alleviate the strain on hospitals. Ambulance Paramedics are fundamental to saving lives. The government’s stated goal is to “improve... more »

The Ministry of Health and Long Term Care should work to improve access to OHIP covered treatments for adults and children living with ADHD.

With teachers being physically hurt and classmates having to endure violent outbursts the time has come to either review the old funding model or maybe remove the repeat offenders if there is not resources available to help them.