Main navigation english

Canadian Public Health Association

In the news


2020

COVID-19: Keep calm and hibernate

March 30, 2020

The Canadian Public Health Association recently likened our nation-wide stay-at-home order to that of a bear at the beginning of winter, writing “When a bear goes into hibernation, they do it for the health of their community and themselves… Hibernation slows the spread of disease and viruses among other animals during a season when immune systems are lowered, and energy is limited.”

But there is also a mental health component to hibernation, as the CPHA put it last week: “When it is time for hibernation, the bear can finally relax. All the stress of finding food, territory and a…


What happens if you eat poop? Effects, in children, and more

March 26, 2020

Dog feces can also infect a person with Escherichia coli, Salmonellosis, and Yersiniosis, as well as a number of different parasites, according to the Canadian Public Health Association.

Toronto Sex Workers Supported By COVID-19 Relief Fund

March 25, 2020

Sex work itself is decriminalized in Canada, but the industry is socially stigmatized and often on murky legal grounds. Government aid that requires legal identification or background checks may be invasive or impossible to comply with for survival sex workers, Ade Kur notes, a term the Canadian Public Health Association defines as those who engage in sex work out of “extreme need.”


Public has power in fight against COVID-19

March 13, 2020

Meanwhile, provinces created chief officers that operate at arm's length from the elected governments that appoint them. That’s allowed jurisdictions to respond based on local needs, like whether to close schools, while still co-ordinating national responses and reporting the data centrally.

Ian Culbert, head of the Canadian Public Health Association, contrasts that with the United States.

The Trump administration has had the White House take over communication from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and local mayors have often been tasked with informing…


Coping with Covid, federal government pledges $1 Billion

March 12, 2020

Ian Culbert, is the executive-director of the Canadian Public Health Association. He explains how the money will be used, and the unique aspects of this ‘new’ virus.

Clean needles in prisons called 'essential health care' in court challenge

March 6, 2020

Several interveners, including the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, are part of the constitutional challenge. The Canadian Public Health Association said meaningful and effective access to safe injection equipment is essential harm reduction that is an integral part of public health promotion.


Two MPs are challenging party messaging on abortion, drug use - and putting their leaders on the spot

March 5, 2020

Erskine-Smith pointed out that the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Canadian Public Health Association and public health officials in British Columbia and Toronto have all called for some form of drug decriminalization. He also questioned whether Wagantall's bill enjoys the same level of expert consensus.


A Trojan Horse at the gates: Alberta Court of Appeal finds federal carbon tax unconstitutional

February 26, 2020

The Attorney General of Canada defended the constitutionality of the Act on one basis only; namely, that it falls within the “national concern” doctrine of Parliament’s POGG power. Canada characterized the matter of national concern as “establishing minimum national standards that are integral to reducing Canada’s nationwide GHG emissions.” The Attorney General of Canada was supported by the Attorney General of British Columbia, Climate Justice Saskatoon, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Assembly of First Nations, Canadian Public Health Association, the International Emissions Trading…


Tiny pest, massive impact

January 25, 2020

Benita Cohen says people who work in public health are "very concerned" about mental health — but the sector is chronically underfunded. As a result, resources have often been focused on addressing legally mandated activities such as disease surveillance, communicable-disease control — including vaccination — chronic disease prevention and maternal-child health. An associate professor of nursing at the University of Manitoba and director with the Canadian Public Health Association, Cohen notes that typically, public health hasn’t been mandated to provide formal mental-health promotion…


Half Your Plate Partnership with 2020 Olympic team qualifier Florence Maheu

January 17, 2020

The Canadian Produce Marketing Association, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Canadian Public Health Association and the Canadian Cancer Society partnered in 2014 to create the Half Your Plate initiative with the goal of improving fruit and vegetable consumption in Canada. These organizations, widely respected for their role in health promotion and disease prevention through healthy eating education, proudly support the Half Your Plate messaging.