Prime Minister Mark Carney at the House of Commons in Ottawa on Wednesday.David Kawai/Reuters
Thick and thin
Re “Deadly attack shatters quiet community of Tumbler Ridge” (Feb. 12): The horrible shooting in British Columbia brings something to the fore worth noting.
When there’s something to be celebrated, such as the Olympics, we cheer together as one country. When tragic events such as the one in B.C. occur, Canadians from one end of the country to the other share in the grief. Both occasions reveal how much we think of ourselves as part of a single family – the Canadian family.
It’s good to be reminded of this at a time when some people are actively trying to break Canada apart.
Murray Angus Ottawa
Walk the walk
Re “Luck be a Liberal” (Letters, Feb. 11): A letter-writer believes “the Liberals have benefitted from a series of exceptional leaders, some of whom were better campaigners than actual governors.” This seems to be an admission that a Liberal campaign is the only thing that matters, and not the government’s record while in office.
I’m sure the average Canadian would be more impressed if the Liberals had laser-like focus on good governance, not like what I saw the last 10 years. Wouldn’t it be great, for future elections, if they could run a campaign on their record, and not one based on fear?
Tim Hall Aurora, Ont.
Re “Government in talks with Conservatives to amend budget bill” (Feb. 11): Fascinating to read that the budget bill has clauses that “could allow cabinet ministers to exempt companies from federal laws.”
This reminds me of Liberal MP Steven MacKinnon’s declaration that the company previously known as SNC-Lavalin was “entitled” to a deferred prosecution agreement. Even more so under Mark Carney, the Liberals seem to be governing for corporations, not the people.
Greg DePaco New Westminster, B.C.
For the record
Re “Data, data everywhere but nothing to connect it to health care” (Feb. 10): A truth that Canadians have been living with for decades: Our health care system is drowning in data, yet Canadians typically are unable to access their own medical histories when needed.
As someone who has led a national institution through the complex implementation of electronic health records, I can attest that barriers to true interoperability are not technical, they are political and commercial.
Despite massive investments, proven standards and an 25-year-old interoperability roadmap, provincial governments have failed to mandate open systems, leaving Canadians health data trapped in fragmented digital silos.
This failure endangers patient care and undermines trust. Recent federal legislation is a courageous and overdue step forward, but without enforceable obligations and penalties for vendors and provinces, it will likely be ignored.
We must move beyond enabling and demand accountability. Only then would Canadians gain the seamless access to their health data they deserve.
Richard Alvarez Former president and CEO, Canada Health Infoway; senior fellow C.D. Howe Institute; Toronto
Re “Federal ‘axe the fax’ e-prescription service built with Telus Health to shutter after $250-million spent” (Report on Business, Feb. 11): The tools to produce prescriptions quickly and safely are already present in electronic medical records. The only question is whether prescriptions will be transmitted to pharmacies as electronic images by fax or another digital solution.
Any new solution, whether for prescriptions, referrals or anything else, should integrate into existing EMR modules. Bypassing these modules would increase doctors’ workloads and risks of error.
Unfortunately this integration could be difficult given the multiple EMRs available with widely different interfaces which, of course, is a separate problem.
Michael Gertler MD; Ajax, Ont.
When a physician sends e-prescriptions from electronic medical records, what does it matter if the information is sent via e-fax instead of a back-end communication protocol such as PrescribeIT?
That there is generally poor uptake of e-prescriptions across health care is not because doctors are Luddites. Rather, it is a symptom of poor interoperability across electronic platforms, where licensing fees and lack of transparency and standards across the EMR ecosystem remain barriers to adoption.
Provincial and federal governments should set and enforce standards of EMR integration amongst vendors, to the benefit of Canadians.
Stephen Halman MD, FRCSC; Toronto
Mixed up
Re “Lindsey Vonn failed, but she tried – and that’s something to celebrate" (Sports, Feb. 11): Consider a future hockey gold medal game in which Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid, having suffered a concussion in the third period, decides – despite clear medical advice – that he is destined to score the overtime winner.
Why, then, do professional and amateur sports leagues require medical clearance when the risk of serious further injury is present, rather than leaving such decisions entirely the athlete?
Lindsey Vonn’s choice, then, was not simply an expression of courage or determination. It reflected an unfortunate mix of extraordinary ability, confidence and arrogance, stirred by vanity and compounded by poor judgement.
Paul Proulx Clearview, Ont.
Echo chamber
Re “Going boffo” (Letters, Feb. 6): A letter-writer refers to people watching the Melania documentary and giving it “an astounding 99-per-cent positive” rating.
I don’t think it is a stretch to suggest the vast majority of people who have attended the film are also supporters of Donald Trump. So of course they love it.
They seem to be a cult that blindly covets all things Trump.
Peter Simpson Toronto
Dine with me
Re “Welcome to the modern dinner party, where fun, frugal meals beat out formality” (Report on Business, Feb. 9): I don’t see anything new-age about this approach to dinner parties. I see what most of us experienced watching our parents with their friends in the 1960s and 1970s.
I have done the same for the past four decades, perhaps because my employment was mostly in the pink-collar ghetto. I have always hosted friends with budget-friendly informal meals.
In my experience, real friends are happiest when together, even with poached eggs on toast or a plate of nachos.
Debra Dolan West Vancouver
Re “Dinner parties are a way to bring people together in a world that pulls us apart” (First Person, Feb. 6): I am an 88-year-old single male living on my own in an old-fashioned apartment with a large dining room that seats 10. And I love to cook.
I usually have a dinner party about once a week, with guests (apart from family gatherings) from croquet, Rotary, church or just old friends. The conversations and laughter are stimulating, to say the least.
I plan on continuing dinner parties until I am carried off to a retirement home!
Rod de Courcy-Ireland Westmount, Que.
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