Boil-water advisory lifted in Sachs Harbour, N.W.T., after nearly 9 months

This article is new today!

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-30 20:36:49.0
Tags: [National, Infrastructure, Healthcare]

The Northwest Territories' chief environmental health officer has lifted a nearly nine-month boil-water advisory for Sachs Harbour, originally issued on February 9 due to frozen intake pipes, truck-fill lines, and associated damage to the municipal water system. The Hamlet of Sachs Harbour and the territorial Department of Municipal and Community Affairs resolved the infrastructure failures, approving a new water treatment plant that is now functioning normally. The Department of Health and Social Services recommends that residents and businesses flush water systems by running faucets for one minute and clean water-using equipment such as coffee makers and ice-making machines. Officials confirmed that no illnesses were associated with the drinking water during the advisory period.

Elders' home, transitional housing among Nunavik priorities for new federal funds

This article is new today!

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-30 16:34:17.0
Tags: [National, Quebec, Housing, Indigenous, Healthcare, Seniors]

The Government of Canada announced $130 million in funding for Inuit treaty organizations, with more than $32 million allocated to Makivvik to support regional priorities in Nunavik. Makivvik plans to put the funds toward a new elders' home in Kuujjuaq, Quebec, and transitional housing in Montreal, following the relocation of 13 elders due to structural issues at a previous facility. Additional allocations from the $130 million package include $16.9 million for the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, $15.5 million for the Nunatsiavut government, and $65 million for Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated under the federal Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Fund.

Experts, Liberal MP hope for full ban on sports betting ads as advocates cite mental health decline

This article is new today!

Source: CBC Politics
Date: 2026-10-30 14:50:39.0
Tags: [National, Ontario, Alberta, Quebec, Healthcare, Social Services, Governance]

Bill S-211, introduced in May 2025 by Senator Marty Deacon and sponsored in the House by MP Bardish Chagger, is currently before the House standing committee on Canadian heritage to restrict sports betting ads across Canada. Supporters including Liberal MP Michael Coteau and public policy think-tank Cardus cite a University of Toronto study showing gambling-related emergency room visits nearly doubled in Ontario, alongside a 161 per cent increase in helpline calls among males aged 15-24 since single-game betting was legalized in 2021. Provincial officials from Ontario, Alberta, and Quebec, along with the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, have raised concerns regarding provincial jurisdiction, overlapping regulations, and economic impacts on commercial operators like FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM.

Canada Dental Care Plan working but costing more than expected: auditor general

Source: CBC Politics
Date: 2026-10-29 14:50:35.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Affordability, Finance, Social Services]

A report by Auditor General Karen Hogan found that Health Canada's Canadian Dental Care Plan exceeded its initial budget commitments by $1.1 billion during the 2024–25 and 2025–26 fiscal years, with an anticipated further shortfall of $2.4 billion by 2032 due to higher-than-anticipated claim payments per member. While the program successfully reduced average household out-of-pocket dental expenses from $536 in 2023 to $264 for users, the audit revealed persistent public confusion, with 560,000 members (16 per cent of those accessing services in 2025) receiving full coverage, while dental providers spent roughly an hour a day addressing coverage ambiguities and call centres struggled to meet quality metrics. In response, Health Canada engaged the Office of the Chief Actuary to provide quarterly actuarial forecasts to improve claim payment projections and financial planning.

Ottawa tables new MAID legislation, excluding people suffering solely from mental illness

Source: CBC Politics
Date: 2026-10-27 14:54:38.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Justice]

Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser and Health Minister Marjorie Michel tabled new legislation in Parliament amending the Criminal Code to indefinitely exclude individuals suffering solely from mental illness from accessing Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID). The legislation also establishes statutory criteria for advance requests for MAID, requiring patients to be in an advanced state of irreversible decline in capability and experiencing enduring and intolerable physical or psychological suffering that cannot be relieved through reasonable means before losing the capacity to consent.

Federal government to introduce bill restricting MAID for mental illness

Source: Global News Politics
Date: 2026-10-27 12:14:26.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Justice]

Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser and Health Minister Marjorie Michel announced the introduction of a new bill to amend Canada's medical assistance in dying (MAID) legislation. The proposed legislation permanently bars individuals whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness from accessing MAID, following recommendations from a special parliamentary committee that reported in June. Additionally, the bill decriminalizes advance requests under the Criminal Code, allowing individuals diagnosed with degenerative conditions such as dementia or ALS to request an assisted death prior to losing the capacity to consent, subject to rigorous safeguards.

C-41 (45-1) - Medical Assistance in Dying Safeguards Act

Source: Parliament of Canada (LEGISinfo)
Date: 2026-10-27 10:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Justice, Governance]

The Minister of Justice introduced Bill C-41, titled the Medical Assistance in Dying Safeguards Act, in the House of Commons during the 1st session of the 45th Parliament on October 27, 2026. The legislation proposes amendments to the Criminal Code and related statutes concerning medical assistance in dying (MAID). The bill is currently at the second reading stage in the House of Commons following its first reading and introduction.

N.W.T. gov't working to reopen Yellowknife treatment centre for children with complex needs

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-26 11:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Social Services, Infrastructure]

The Government of the Northwest Territories' Department of Health and Social Services is working to reopen the Territorial Treatment Centre at 5218 52nd Street in Yellowknife, which has been closed since late 2021 due to staffing shortages under former operator Unlimited Potential Community Services. Three contractors have submitted bids ranging from $255,408 to $450,000 to complete necessary renovations to the nine-bedroom residential facility, including bathroom, kitchen, flooring, and furnishing upgrades. The initiative aims to provide local psychiatric and behavioural support for children aged eight to 12, thereby reducing the need to send vulnerable northern youth to out-of-territory facilities in Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan.

N.W.T. MLAs decry lengthy medical travel flights for seniors

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-23 17:34:19.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Seniors, Transportation, Governance]

Members of the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, including Frame Lake MLA Julian Morse and Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins, decried the physical toll that lengthy, indirect medical travel flights lasting up to six hours to Edmonton take on seniors and elders. Lawmakers raised concerns that doctor-recommended requests for shorter flight exemptions are frequently denied by the Department of Health and Social Services, despite over 23,000 people utilizing the medical travel service annually at a significant taxpayer cost. Newly appointed Health Minister Denny Rodgers stated he is willing to review all aspects of the policy but declined to promise any immediate new exemptions as the government enters the final year of its term.

Denny Rodgers named N.W.T.’s new health and social services minister

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-21 23:04:42.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Social Services, Governance]

Denny Rodgers, MLA for Inuvik-Boot Lake, was appointed as the Northwest Territories' new Minister of Health and Social Services by Premier R.J. Simpson following an acclamation to cabinet in the N.W.T. Legislative Assembly. Rodgers assumes the portfolio previously vacated by former minister and Inuvik Twin Lakes MLA Lesa Semmler following her sudden resignation in mid-September. Lucy Kuptana, who managed the department on an interim basis, will return solely to her duties as Minister for Housing N.W.T. and Minister responsible for the Status of Women. Meanwhile, a by-election to fill Semmler's vacant legislative seat in Inuvik Twin Lakes is scheduled for November 24.

C-234 (45-1) - Living Donor Recognition Medal Act

Source: Parliament of Canada (LEGISinfo)
Date: 2026-10-21 10:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Governance]

Private Member's Bill C-234, titled the Living Donor Recognition Medal Act, was introduced in the House of Commons by Conservative Member of Parliament Ziad Aboultaif (Edmonton Manning) on September 22, 2025. The legislation establishes a formal federal medal to recognize the contributions of living organ donors in Canada. Following its passage through the House of Commons on April 22, 2026, and second reading in the Senate, the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights reviewed the bill and presented a report without amendment on October 21, 2026.

C-224 (45-1) - An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (natural health products)

Source: Parliament of Canada (LEGISinfo)
Date: 2026-10-21 09:35:12.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Governance]

Private Member's Bill C-224 (45th Parliament, 1st session), sponsored by Conservative MP Blaine Calkins to amend the Food and Drugs Act regarding natural health products, has advanced through the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health (HESA). The committee completed its consideration and presented its report with amendments to the House of Commons on October 21, 2026. The legislation follows previous efforts from the 44th Parliament, specifically Bill C-368, aiming to modify regulatory oversight for natural health products under Health Canada.

Q&A | Hours extended for outpatient lab services at Yellowknife hospital. Here’s why

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-19 23:10:43.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Infrastructure]

The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA) extended outpatient lab hours at Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife to 8 p.m. on weekdays, adding 4.5 hours daily and approximately 38 new appointments. The health authority also implemented a new online booking system to reduce a prior 10 per cent no-rate (representing roughly 1,400 unutilized appointments) and to help reduce patient wait times, which previously reached up to 21 calendar days.

Q&A | Why the Whitehorse hospital is under strain — and what's being done about it

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-15 22:00:51.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Infrastructure]

The Whitehorse General Hospital is facing severe strain, operating at an average occupancy rate of 121 percent so far this year and reaching 124 percent capacity, forcing patients to be treated in non-conventional spaces such as the emergency department, meeting rooms, and a former dining room. Stefanie Ralph of the Yukon Hospital Corporation attributes the crisis to a 26 percent population growth in the Yukon since 2014, an aging demographic, and increasingly complex medical needs requiring a current baseline of 100 beds against a capacity of 79. Interim capacity measures included opening eight medical inpatient beds in June in a former secure medical unit and adding three mental health beds via the Fireweed mental health unit in the fall of 2025. Furthermore, a long-term proposal is currently underway to expand the Whitehorse General Hospital by roughly 56 new beds to address projected demands of 139 to 159 beds by 2045.

Q&A | Rise in tuberculosis cases result of more detection efforts, Nunavut CPHO says

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-13 18:14:32.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Social Services, Indigenous]

Nunavut's Department of Health reported 32 active cases of tuberculosis across seven communities in the first three quarters of 2026, compared to 26 cases the previous year, though Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Ekua Agyemang notes the figures remain down from 36 cases in 2024 and 67 in 2023. The territorial government, with support from the Canadian Red Cross, deployed mobile public health teams to establish TB clinics in Iqaluit, Kinngait, Kugaaruk, and Sanirajak, alongside outbreak-containment teams in Arviat and Naujaat. Dr. Agyemang attributed the recent uptick in detected cases to enhanced diagnostic screening capabilities rather than an overall programmatic regression, while emphasizing that persistent systemic drivers such as housing overcrowding and food insecurity—partially mitigated via food hampers provided alongside Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI)—continue to impact disease transmission.

Advance voting opens as experts debate meaning of Alberta referendum results

Source: Global News Politics
Date: 2026-10-12 18:08:35.0
Tags: [Alberta, National, Governance, Immigration, Healthcare, Education, Energy]

Advance voting has opened for the 2026 Alberta Referendum, featuring 10 distinct questions covering immigration, constitutional matters, healthcare and education fees for non-permanent residents, Senate abolition, and a final question on holding a binding referendum to separate from Canada. Elections Alberta reported receiving 650,000 special ballot requests and hired over 44,000 election workers to manage turnout. Meanwhile, the Government of Canada designated the Pacific Link pipeline a project of national interest, and Prime Minister Mark Carney emphasized federal unity in opposition to provincial separation.

Inuvik’s Crystal Lennie appointed to national health council

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-10 10:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Indigenous, Governance]

Crystal Lennie of Inuvik has been appointed as one of 16 members to the governing council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the federal agency overseeing national health research funding. Appointed by Health Minister Marjorie Michel, Lennie brings northern and Inuit perspectives to the council, aiming to leverage community-led data and Indigenous knowledge to direct policy changes regarding food security, homelessness, and housing. Lennie has extensive prior experience with national bodies including Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami's National Inuit Committee on Health and the Inuit Public Health Task Group.

How does P.E.I. decide which drugs to cover? It’s more complicated than you might think

Source: Prince Edward Island - Regional News
Date: 2026-10-10 09:00:00.0
Tags: [Prince Edward Island, National, Healthcare, Affordability, Finance]

The federal government has renewed the Improving Affordable Access to Prescription Drugs program (IAAPD) for Prince Edward Island with $32 million in funding over three years. The program, which launched as a pilot in 2021, has helped add more than 100 medications to P.E.I.'s public formulary and lowered patient co-payments to $5 for many eligible drugs. In addition to the IAAPD, P.E.I. participates in the federal pharmacare program covering specific diabetes medications, supplies, and contraceptives. The multi-step drug coverage process involves Health Canada authorization, price reviews by the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, cost-effectiveness evaluations by Canada's Drug Agency, collective price bargaining by the Pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance, and final provincial formulary decisions.

Yukon, federal gov’ts say new health care funding on the way

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-09 23:16:57.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Infrastructure]

The Yukon and federal governments are working to finalize a bilateral healthcare funding agreement that will inject $52.1 million into the territory's system over seven years. Administered by Yukon Health Minister Brad Cathers, the funding will be directed toward improving access to mental health services, supporting community nursing to address rural health centre closures, and expanding services at the downtown Whitehorse walk-in clinic. However, officials confirmed the investment will not add doctors to the system, which currently faces severe pressures including chronic rural staffing shortages and operating in the red zone at Whitehorse General Hospital.

Whitehorse hospital full again, with some patients being treated in hallways

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-09 20:09:39.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Infrastructure]

The Yukon Hospital Corporation reports that Whitehorse General Hospital reached 124 per cent capacity, with inpatient bed occupancy averaging 121 per cent so far this year due to a growing, aging population and higher patient acuity. Consequently, some patients are being treated in non-conventional spaces such as hallways, alcoves, and administrative rooms. To address these demands, the facility added eight new beds in July bringing the total to 79, while projections indicate an additional 49 to 63 acute care beds will be required by 2045.