National pharmacare: An idea whose time has come

A federal election is looming and Joel Lexchin of the University of Toronto returns to The Conversation Canada today to issue another call for a national pharmacare program. Joel and hundreds of his fellow academics recently wrote an open letter to leaders of Canada’s federal political parties calling on them to commit to a national pharmacare plan as they hit the hustings.

Elizabeth Effinger of the University of New Brunswick writes today about the project Erasing Frankenstein in which students, educators and incarcerated women collaborated to create a poem of Mary Shelley’s classic. “Publicly showcasing the creative, collaborative work of incarcerated people helps those on the outside hear these marginalized voices,” she writes.

And Julien Lefort-Favreau of Queen’s University appeals to university professors to slow down and fight against the race for performance and the culture of speed that characterizes it. He argues post-secondary education and creativity will benefit from a slower, more measured approach.

Three great reads to start your week!

Lee-Anne Goodman

Politics, Business + Economics Editor

Our featured stories

A letter to leaders of Canada’s political parties signed by 1200 academics with expertise in health care calls for parties to commit to a national pharmacare plan. (Shutterstock)

Leave the patchwork to the quilts: The case for pharmacare

Joel Lexchin, University of Toronto

The 1964 report that paved the way for Canada's medicare envisaged that after universal coverage for doctors, the next step would be prescription drugs. But that next step hasn't come.

‘Frankenstein’ is traditionally read as a critique of science — but also portrays many forms of imprisonment. (Shutterstock)

Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ legacy lives through women’s prison poetry project

Elizabeth Effinger, University of New Brunswick

In the project Erasing Frankenstein, students, educators and incarcerated women collaborated to created an erasure poem of Mary Shelley's classic text, and publicly showcase their work.

Creative, social and family life should not be banished from the knowledge economy. (Shutterstock)

The ‘slow professor’ could show the way to bring back creativity in our universities

Julien Lefort-Favreau, Queen's University, Ontario

Transforming knowledge and letting oneself be transformed by the knowledge of others requires slowness, almost an asceticism.

La Conversation Canada

Les femmes proches aidantes s'appauvrissent, réduisent souvent leur temps de travail ou quittent leur emploi. Shutterstock

À l'aide! Les proches aidants sont épuisés et nous en payons tous le prix

Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay, Université TÉLUQ ; Sarah Nogues, Université TÉLUQ

Les femmes proches aidantes s'appauvrissent, réduisent souvent leur temps de travail ou quittent leur emploi. Or, il n’y aurait pas un manque de services, mais plutôt une sous-utilisation.

Business + Economy

Health + Medicine

Politics