The idea is to study what the effects would be of providing people in poverty with a basic income, as a step towards designing a permanent system

The idea of providing a basic minimum income for everyone – no strings attached – is an alluring one that has been kicked around for decades. Now the Ontario government is edging closer to testing the idea with a proposal that highlights both some of the advantages and many of the problems inherent in the idea.  Read the rest of this editorial at The Toronto Star…

“Mental health has been left out of the publicly insured framework not because of evidence but because of historic decisions fueled by misinformation, fear and prejudice and by squabbles over jurisdiction”

OTTAWA—The Trudeau government is being urged to make mental health a top priority as it negotiates a new health accord with the provinces and territories. Dr. Catherine Zahn, president of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, says mental illness afflicts some 6.7 million Canadians — roughly 20 per cent of the population — and costs the economy an estimated $51 billion each year. That’s a bigger burden than is caused by cancer or infectious diseases, and yet Zahn says only about 7 per cent of the billions spent on health care in Canada goes to mental illness.  Read the rest of this article at The Toronto Star…

The solution to the epidemic of suicide (and drug and alcohol abuse, family violence, sexual violence and trauma, which are all interrelated) in First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities has to be broad-based and long-term and, ultimately, it cannot come from the outside

Andre Picard — Suicide is not a spectator sport. The epidemic of self-harm occurring in indigenous communities warrants urgent attention, but the right kind of attention. We don’t need ghoulish body counts, reported daily in headlines like the latest sports scores: “Girl, 13, at least fifth to commit suicide in Sask. this month.”  Read the rest of this article at The Globe and Mail…