Are doctors part of the obesity solution -- or part of the problem?

Obesity is widely discussed, and increasingly doctors are weighing in. Here in Canada's largest province, the Ontario Medical Association recently called for food labeling and a tax on junk food to "help prevent thousands of...

The word "austerity" just won't go away. Early this year, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives held a seminar on a "post-austerity vision for Ontario." The Council of Canadians devotes a whole page of its website to "Canada's austerity agenda." On January 12, progressive activist Deirdre...

In 1999, I wrote my first book, Code Blue: Reviving Canada's Health Care System. In it, I noted Canada's obsession with all things American when it comes to debating health-care issues -- as if the only alternative to Canadian medicare was the American system. My point? Many countries...

Can we tax ourselves to better health? Many think the answer is yes. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg champions a tax on soda; two California towns recently put the idea up for referenda; the Ontario Medical Association favours taxing sugary and fatty foods. (And, hey, the...

It's a big goodbye to the big soda in the Big Apple. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposed ban on large-sized sweetened beverages was approved today by a Board of Health vote.

Many have criticized the proposal as being impractical (and, hey, count me among them)....

"Wrong." On Friday, Canada's most prominent economist weighed in. And with the Bank's research to back him up, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney told us that advocates of the so-called Dutch Disease theory have it wrong. The high price of oil isn't killing the Canadian economy, nor...

Only a few years ago, if you'd attacked a politician for his weight, or complained about where she ate her dinner, it would be seen as poor form. Reporters could write about a politician's views on taxes and trade, but the burgers and buns on his dinner plate were off...

And so, it ends with a whimper, not a bang.

On Friday, college students at CEGEP du Vieux Montréal and at CEGEP Saint-Laurent voted to end the "strike"; in the days before, students at other CEGEPs across Quebec voted to return to class. Though many...

There's an old joke about a therapist and a young woman. The therapist shows her one ink blot after another and asks her what she sees. Each time, she responds "sex." After several ink blots, the therapist comments that the woman seems to be obsessed by sex. "Me?" she responds...

In mid-June, the federal government committed every Canadian man, woman and child to pay $15.79 to create jobs and build infrastructure in Michigan -- yes, Michigan -- whose per capita income is nearly the same as Canada's.

Weeks later, nobody here seems to have noticed. The foreign aid will...

Obamacare -- the signature legislation of President Obama's White House -- is constitutional.

Of course, Thursday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling is more complicated, and some aspects of his health care reform have been reigned in. But, for the most part, the Supreme Court's decision is favourable to...

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg made big news on Wednesday with his proposed ban on large serving sweetened drinks. The New York Daily News labels the mayor "a big soda scrooge" while the New York Post sees a future with "no more supersized Cokes."
...

Political debate in Ontario is now dominated by a simple question: Did Drummond recommend it or didn't he?

On February 15, rock-star economist Don Drummond turned in several hundred pages worth of recommendations to the government, providing advice on how to balance Ontario's budget.

Premier Dalton McGuinty...

It ended with a whimper, not a bang.

This past weekend, Sheila Copps fell just 26 votes shy of winning the Liberal Party presidency, against businessman Michael Crawley.

Sheila Copps has since suggested that she has run her last race and will focus on charity, in...

Today, the premiers are meeting in Victoria. Top of the agenda: health care.

It's a meeting that will be long on rhetoric but short on purpose. Historically, such meetings allow premiers to bemoan the lack of stable, long-term funding from Ottawa. And Victoria was meant to be a part...

This week we have asked Huffpost.ca contributors to tell us what they considered the biggest story of 2011.

In 1997, on the eve of another winning Liberal campaign by Prime Minister Jean Chretien, two Canadian conservatives wrote a dispirited essay on our politics.

Conservative governance was unlikely to...

Late last week, the federal and provincial ministers of health met to discuss future health spending, with an eye on replacing the current federal and provincial accord, which expires in 2014.

Demographics are often cited as a major future cost for our health care system. That makes sense: people in...

Canadian health care is wasteful, inefficient, and doomed to eat up an absurd portion of provincial budgets unless we do something big. Where to look for ideas? Consider the successes of some countries that rely more on private money and private insurance -- and, hey, still manage to cover all...

"Liberals have finally met their Armageddon. Get used to it." So writes veteran journalist Peter Newman in his forthcoming book on the Liberal Party of Canada.

When the Gods Changed is due out this week, but early press reports suggest that Newman sees the party as...

The world's population just grew to a new high, with some speculating that we will soon have too many people on too small a planet. Scientists warn of major climate change. A new flu, possibly borne of pigs, poses a threat to our safety and could lead to a 1918-like...