–Canadians want higher taxes and increased public-owned and run services — new poll results.

–The union responds to the superbug reports.

Fundy Royal NDP candidate and economist Rob Moir was among the keynote speakers at Moncton’s Public Awareness meeting to discuss the effects of test drilling and uranium mining on our health and ecosystem. Dr. Moir’s presentation outlined the overall effects that uranium exploration and mining has on the economy.

Moir toasted the crowd with a glass of Moncton city water, and commenced by saying, “Thank you Moncton for keeping water public, and here’s to keeping it free of radioactivity.”

“Residual antibiotics have been detected in Chilean salmon that have been exported to the United States, Canada and Europe [it is] estimated that 70 to 300 times more antibiotics are used by salmon producers in Chile to produce a ton of salmon than in Norway … Researchers say that some antibiotics that are not allowed in American aquaculture, like flumequine and oxolinic acid, are legal in Chile and may increase antibiotic resistance for people.”

–More public support for public health. The only people that are fighting for this are the unions and their supporters. Support the workers, your health may depend on it.

–Too bad we do not have some central planning around the prescription of anti-biotics and enough will to engage in an education program around anti-biotic soaps and drugs. Apart from this, it is the underfunding of our public healthcare system and the outsourcing of the cleaning staff that have lead to the current crisis in hospitals. We need to have an infusion of money into the system and it needs to be broad and sustained if we are going to stop this situation from getting worse.

–When people start to gush over the “great work” that the Gates Foundation is doing in fighting AIDS you can point to this article and say you reserve judgment.

–For those that continue to think that regulation is always bad.

The Conservation Council of New Brunswick has examined emissions data for the Irving Oil refinery in Saint John provided by the company to Environment Canada for the past 10 years and found that emissions of some VOCs and metals, specifically aluminum, have increased more than 10 times since the upgrade.

Figures released today by the Conservation Council of New Brunswick conservatively estimate that between 300 and 700 New Brunswickers die annually as a result of exposure to environmental hazards such as indoor and outdoor air pollution, pesticides and contaminants in food and water. That’s about three to seven times more than die annually from motor vehicle accidents in the province.

–We protest as the corporations slowly poison us and our families.

Inka Milewski, science advisor to the Conservation council of New Brunswick, said from Miramichi that New Brunswick Environment Minister Roland Haché should issue a ministerial order to fix the problem. Further, she says the arsenic in the sediment shows that Environment Canada did not fulfill its responsibility to protect this ecosystem, and she wants a public inquiry to determine why. Randy Nason, an organic farmer and retired teacher at Cumberland Bay, wants NB Power to immediately stop effluent from entering the lake. He then wants experts to produce a remedial plan. Environment Canada found arsenic ranging from 15 to 301 parts per million in the lake sediment, and from 54 to 213 parts per million in a zone from 10 to 100 metres from the effluent outfall. Bielecki said the CCME sets its guideline at a maximum of 5.9 parts per million.

What if Irving Oil’s proposed new oil refinery is subject to a federal environmental review. That’s the Conservation Council’s what if.

Canada’s Environment Minister John Baird is facing a lawsuit for his lax treatment of Irving Oil’s proposal to construct a massive oil refinery in Saint John. The Conservation Council’s Fundy Baykeeper and Friends of the Earth Canada commenced the lawsuit to ensure that the multi-billion dollar refinery – which is expected to generate greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to New Brunswick’s biggest coal-burning power plant– faces the full scrutiny of an environmental assessment by the federal government.

–Yet another example of why a two-tiered system does not work for health care.

–Not surprising — but it seems that we need reminding every once in a while.

–This is as outrageous as it is crazy. They screen organs for HIV, they allow men and women who engage in the same “risky behaviour” as gay men give organs (and blood). It makes not sense and is targeting a social group based on myths and stereotypes. It is completely unfair to the donors and the people in need of organs. This, on top of the blood issue makes Canada look like it is targeting this social group. Shame on Health Canada.

–One does not have to wonder very much why the “official” figures are so much lower than reality. The neo-liberal project continues.

–It is interesting because the health systems of most of these (if not all of these) countries are public… however, it might be that the only people that have the resources to go outside the country (or city even) to get treatment would be those that can afford private care. It seems to me that this is not the direction that the health system should go as it undermines local policies of funding healthcare.

–This is bad news. It is is even worse news for the Afghans who do not have the medical care our soldiers get.

–Is this really a surprise to anyone? We have been pointing out the dangers of the commercialisation of the medical practice and pharmaceutical dispensing from the beginning. The industry told consumers and regulators that nothing could get in the way of doctors prescribing the drugs they thought were best… of-course, if the majority of the information they are getting is from industry and commercialised research at universities then it is not surprising that most of the information they are getting is biased. We need to end the commercialistation of research in these areas and return to publicly funding research programs. It is the only way we are going to get unbiased and truly innovative research.

Concentrations of lead were found to be 17 to 41% higher than the company’s findings on some properties in Belledune. The lead results are being used to determine which properties will be cleaned up.

–We should not be mining or shipping asbestos… of any kind.