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

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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.

As federal budget nears, Canada’s health ministers to meet to talk funding

Source: Global News Politics
Date: 2026-09-28 22:20:24.0
Tags: [National, Ontario, Healthcare, Finance]

Canadian federal, provincial, and territorial health ministers are convening for an emergency meeting ahead of the upcoming federal budget to address concerns over the upcoming expiration of targeted healthcare funding. Provincial leaders, including Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones, warn of a fiscal cliff as bilateral agreements for home care, community care, and mental health and addiction services—part of the 2023 federal funding package totaling $200 billion over 10 years, which included $4.8 billion for home and community care and mental health, $3 billion for long-term care safety, and $1.7 billion for personal support worker wages—are set to sunset between 2026 and 2028. Additionally, the federal government's Canada Health Transfer growth rate is scheduled to drop from a guaranteed minimum of five percent annually to three percent after fiscal year 2027-28.