Healthy Debate • 26th February 2025

‘I wish he would have just hit me’: Bill criminalizing ‘insidious’ form of domestic abuse dies with prorogation

Coercive control, a form of intimate partner violence, was nearly criminalized in Canada before parliament was prorogued on Jan. 6. Will new Parliament revive it?

Healthy Debate • 12th February 2025

Charity fills the gap in pet fostering services for struggling community members in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside

For The Homies - Downtown Eastside Pet Support Society is a new grassroots organization offering much-needed pet fostering and other pet services for community members and their furry friends.

Healthy Debate • 30th January 2025

Dual HIV/syphilis rapid test aims to lessen stigma, reach underserved communities

As rates of syphilis and HIV continue to climb in Canada, a dual rapid test recently was approved by federal regulators, making it the second of its kind to become available in the country.

Healthy Debate • 20th November 2024

‘We have to be very cautious’: Experts speak out on dangers of avian flu outbreak

We asked a group of experts how concerned we need to be in light of the recent H5N1 infection in B.C., and what – if anything – we should do about it. We also need to be concerned about the fact that the U.S. has...

Healthy Debate • 23rd October 2024

Are Canada’s clinical trials in need of reform? Experts weigh in.

Private companies in Canada are recruiting thousands of often financially desperate test subjects each year to participate in clinical trials. If we want to ensure safer studies for participants and improve critical research, what is the best way forward?

Healthy Debate • 16th October 2024

‘I would still receive another rather than no vaccine at all’: Chronically ill people left with little choice

Canada will not be procuring the Novavax vaccine for the 2024/25 season, leaving those who would have preferred an alternative to the mRNA vaccine without another option.

Healthy Debate • 2nd October 2024

‘A plan to make a plan’: Experts speak out on B.C.’s involuntary care proposal

As B.C.'s provincial election looms near, Premier David Eby floats plans to expand involuntary care. Experts weigh in on the announcement.

Filter Mag • 17th September 2024

Oregon Drug Decrim Did Not Increase Overdose Deaths, Analysis Shows

A new study found that drug decriminalization in Oregon did not cause an increase in overdose mortality in the state—refuting a narrative often pushed by opponents of decriminalization. By tracking the influx of fentanyl into Oregon’s unregulated drug market, the authors of the study—which was published September 5 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)—were able to account for the increase in overdose deaths that coincided with the adoption of Measure 110. “I think this study...

Healthy Debate • 11th September 2024

Out of sight, out of mind? What the experts say we need to know about COVID-19 as we head indoors

Though we are not “post-COVID,” some say we are “post-crisis.” But the question remains: “What should we be doing about COVID now?”

Filter • 19th August 2024

Harm Reduction Community’s Diverse Efforts to Raise DULF Defense Funds

Since Drug User Liberation Front (DULF) cofounders Eris Nyx and Jeremy Kalicum were charged with criminal possession in May—having created a Vancouver compassion club to save lives—many people in the North American harm reduction community and beyond have felt inspired to help. They’ve found an eclectic variety of ways, from barbecues to BDSM, to show solidarity and raise substantial funds for the legal defense.

Healthy Debate • 17th July 2024

Telegraph hit job a prime example of how not to report on drug policy

The Telegraph story depicts Vancouver's Downtown Eastside in a way that maximizes the harm done to their most vulnerable sources. But as journalists, we don't need to punch down to do our jobs.

Healthy Debate • 19th June 2024

Involuntary drug treatment: ‘Compassionate intervention’ or policy dead end?

Involuntary treatment for substance use is being proposed as a solution to the toxic drug supply crisis in provinces across the country. But do programs like this work?

Healthy Debate • 2nd May 2024

Stitched Together

This series is a deep dive into the lives and working conditions of health-care professionals across Canada. It includes six profiles that explore the challenges, triumphs and priorities not only of our the health-care system as a whole, but of the workers who support it.

Healthy Debate • 13th March 2024

Setting the record straight: Medical experts debunk the biggest myths in their field

These days, it's hard to know what to believe. We polled a panel of health experts on the most pervasive misinformation in their specialty and asked them to set the record straight.

Healthy Debate • 12th March 2024

Waging war on our immune systems: Immunologist explains the horrifying toll of measles

Though the horrors of measles are too far back for many in North America to remember, there was a time when measles decimated entire populations. With measles making a comeback and vaccination rates that haven’t kept up, what can we expect as the virus continues to spread?

Filter Mag • 5th March 2024

Future of DULF Compassion Club Will Hinge on Judicial Review

A judicial review of Canada’s decision to deny a peer-led safe supply group an exemption to operate legally will begin on March 7 in the Federal Court of Canada in Vancouver.

Healthy Debate • 14th June 2023

Finding your energy envelope: Long COVID patients urged to ‘pace’ themselves back to health - Healthy Debate

For many long COVID patients, returning to activity can cause debilitating "crashes." But symptom management techniques like pacing can offer relief and may even help some patients slowly recover.

J-Source | News, research and commentary about jou • 12th May 2023

The toxic standards that have shaped coverage of drug use in Canada | J-Source

While a health crisis has unfolded, newsrooms have had to learn to do better. But the changes in framing haven’t always come fast enough or extended to the workers with lived experience

Healthy Debate • 12th April 2023

Blockchain and the future of medicine

Move over Bitcoin, blockchain is no longer just for cryptocurrency. The technology could improve transparency, trust and efficiency in health-care settings. But what exactly is blockchain and how do we make the best use of it in health care?

Healthy Debate • 29th March 2023

‘Technology to help bridge the gap’: Smart homes and sensors ease caregiver burden

Smart home technology has become ubiquitous in recent years. Now researchers in Ottawa are finding ways to use this same technology to aid health-care workers, family caregivers, and allow patients to age in place.