Health Canada announces $6M for Black Canadians' mental health, addiction supports

Health policyYesterdayCanada

The RDSP was meant to help disabled Canadians save for the future. Yet many don't know it exists

Only about 34 per cent of Canadians eligible for the Registered Disability Savings Plan have opened one, a 2024 Statistics Canada investigation found, versus roughly 68 per cent uptake for TFSAs and RRSPs. The plan offers up to $70,000 in federal grants and $20,000 in bonds, but take-up is held back by low awareness, few providers, and a 16-page clinician questionnaire needed to qualify for the Disability Tax Credit.

Frontline workers may be the first to tell eligible clients about a plan worth up to $90,000 in federal help that most never hear about.

Health policy3 days agoCanada

MPs moving to restrict gambling ads in Canada amid mounting harms

The federal heritage committee meets next week to vote on Bill S-211, which would rein in sports betting ads across Canada; the bill has already passed the Senate. A CBC analysis of seven televised 2026 NHL playoff games found viewers faced 3,000 gambling messages, with ads or logos appearing two to three times a minute, and 95 per cent carried no harm-reduction or age-restriction information. Ontario and Alberta oppose the bill.

If the committee approves it, the bill goes to a final House vote, the first federal move to limit sports betting ads.

Health policy3 days agoCanada

Ontario cancer patients speak out over disappointment with drug funding decision

Sabrina Apitz-Grossman, 31, was told she has 12 to 18 months to live with synovial sarcoma that spread to her lungs; her doctors recommend Tecelra, a US-approved treatment costing $727,000 US, but OHIP denied out-of-country coverage and her appeal and case-by-case application both failed. After a court ordered coverage for another patient in July, Ontario changed the rules so out-of-country drug treatments are funded only if already funded in the province and temporarily unavailable.

The rule change closes the route other patients used to get life-extending treatment abroad when Ontario does not fund it.

Health policy4 days agoCanada

Canada’s health ministers advance workforce reforms and national health-data sharing

Federal, provincial, and territorial health ministers met in Winnipeg on October 16, 2026, to discuss healthcare system reforms. Key priorities included improving workforce mobility for internationally educated professionals, advancing national public health data sharing, and ensuring the sustainability of long-term funding for rare disease treatments and community care services.