“When compared with our international peers, Canada ranked last on the amount we spent on social programs in 2017. Canada needs to invest in, and evaluate, new social programs such as a guaranteed annual income. The arbitrary silos between health and social services must be reconsidered, with an emphasis on health and well-being in addition to conventional metrics such as gross domestic product growth. Our policy-makers might look to New Zealand, where earlier this year its government released a “well-being budget” with substantial investments in mental health, Indigenous Peoples and poverty reduction. Iceland and Scotland have articulated an interest in similar policies. Even the United States recently proposed a national interagency council on the social determinants of health. The effects of these strategies are not yet known, but if specific components are carefully evaluated, Canada can learn from them.”
More on the The mirage of universality: Canada’s failure to act on social policy and health care (2020) via CMAJ.
Thank you Dr. Liu for sharing!
UBC Family Practice Residency Program: Abbotsford-Mission Site 