There’s much to learn about BC’s laws and eldercare system from the last years of Kathleen Palamarek’s life in a local nursing home—especially from the battles that were fought in her name between her children, care providers and the Vancouver Island Health Authority. It was a small but important epitaph for a much-loved woman.
Data obtained through a Freedom of Information request shows nearly half of all seniors in long-term care in BC are being given antipsychotics like Risperdal, Zyprexa and Seroquel. That’s almost twice the average for the rest of Canada and amongst the highest rates found anywhere in the world. And even though Health Canada warns these
Municipal engineers have a lot more power over city life and politics than most of us realize. * It’s an academic lecture about sidewalks. Could I have even dreamed up an event that sounded more inconsequentially mind-numbing? But on this cold, rainy, January night, the little Legacy Art Gallery and Café, as part of the
Between rocks and hard places, flexibility is desperately needed. I taught yoga at the prison for five years. If you’ve ever taken yoga, you know it’s common in the first class for instructors to ask if anyone has had any major injuries or surgeries during their lives. It’s a safety protocol, so the instructor can
It’s time to start talking about rebuilding democracy from the grassroots * I helped facilitate two public discussions recently; one delved into a global emergency, and the other a local crisis. Fascinating similarities between them hinted at ways to strengthen community dialoguing and social change. The first discussion involved a panel of three writers noted