Doug Gruner says that a welcoming approach toward refugees is a key to their successful integration into Canadian life, and access to health care is vital to the process.

Gruner practices at the Bruyère Family Medicine Centre in Ottawa. He spoke recently to a class at the Ottawa School of Theology and Spirituality (OSTS). "Once we make a decision to accept refugees," he said, "it is our responsibility to provide them with health care."

Honeymoon phase is over

Referring to the Syrian refugees who arrived earlier this year Gruner added, "We are past the honeymoon phase that occurs when refugees first arrive. We are now seeing a lot of physical and mental health issues."

One year ago on Wednesday, the Trudeau Liberals were swept to power when they won 184 seats in the House of Commons with the promise of "real change."

On this first anniversary, it’s important to look at how are they doing on the critical files of trade, climate, water and health care.

Trade

During the election, the Liberals promised "a full and open public debate in parliament to ensure Canadians are consulted" on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

When people die of disease, they are said to have died from natural causes. When they recover, the doctor gets the credit of curing them.
-- George Bernard Shaw.

This may be an apocryphal tale, but a city in ancient China is purported to have had a public health-care system that was the reverse of ours. Physicians were paid a monthly fee for each of their patients as long as the patients remained in good health. When a patient became ill, the fee was suspended.

In that genuine health-care system, the doctor's main incentive was to keep patients well. So the emphasis was on scheduling frequent visits and tests; monitoring nutrition, exercise and other essential factors; and promoting the healthiest possible lifestyle.

Guest post by Trevor Zimmerman

Last spring, Wildrose Health Critic Drew Barnes stood up in the Alberta Legislature and tried to rap Health Minister Sarah Hoffman's knuckles for her statement that "paying for essential life-saving blood, plasma, those types of things, makes me quite nervous, actually."

Mr. Barnes pointed to the unfortunate fact Albertans and other Canadians rely on paid plasma collection now -- from the United States -- because Canada only currently collects about 30 per cent of its plasma needs voluntarily.