People in the least well‐off areas of British Columbia are dying sooner than those in better‐off areas, according to new figures from the Health Officers Council of BC. Overall life expectancy in BC has improved, but in less affluent areas of the province life expectancy has remained much the same or even declined. In an...

I’m sorry I didn’t get this posted in time to make Sunday dinner – I’ll aim to post Sunday mornings from now on, but …well, it’s Sunday morning, so don’t watch the clock. Cartoons end when they end, man. The reason for my tardiness is that I couldn’t settle on a recipe – I kept […]

By Suzy Hamilton, The Nelson Daily Nelson fell from fourth to last place in its failure to rescue critically ill patients in a 2011 report by the Fraser Institute.  And the doctor citing the Fraser Institute’s Hospital Report Card (www.hospitalreportcards.ca), which used data from 2009, says Nelson residents are still at risk 11 years after […]

People from the Nelson area joined fellow protesters across Canada outside the Kootenay Co-op in Nelson Tuesday for Day of Action to Stop GM Alfalfa. Rallies, called for by the National Farmers Union-Ontario, and supported by the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, were held to stop the introduction of genetically modified (GM) alfalfa (http://www.cban.ca/Resources/Topics/GE-Crops-and-Foods-Not-on-the-Market/Alfalfa). The company […]

My son and I have been gluten-, dairy- and soy-free all his almost-15 years of life. I don’t mind admitting, when I first went gluten-free, I almost starved. I was scared to eat anything – I’m on the extreme end of the continuum in terms of celiac disease, and I was terrified of the pain […]

British Columbia’s provincial health officer released the following statement on H7N9 influenza in China: “B.C.’s public health officials are working with national and international authorities to keep a close eye on the H7N9 influenza situation in China. “The level of risk to British Columbia and Canada is currently considered to be low, with reported cases […]

By Suzy Hamilton, The Nelson Daily Just on the heels of Interior Health presenting its new Community Integration plan, the BC Conservative party has slammed IH for the amount of money and positions it has in administration. The plan, unveiled at the March meeting of the West Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital District (WKBRHD) by Andre […]

UPDATE: Since publication of this story this morning, yet another oil spill has come across the wire - a CP Rail spill from a derailment in northern Ontario - raising the total of spills this past week to SIX. It's been another appallingly bad week for proponents of pipeline safety and new oil infrastructure. If the industry's...

An issue that came before council last night could prove contentious enough to end up a platform issue in the upcoming provincial election, according to councillor Deb McIntosh. This after a presentation, at council’s regular meeting, by Dana Schmidt, of the Donna Schmidt Memorial Lung Cancer Prevention Society. The issue centres around radon-prevention measures in […]

British Columbians will soon notice they are paying less for many of the generic prescription drugs they need for their health. Starting April 1, a new drug pricing regulation will reduce the price of generic drugs to 25 per cent of the brand name price, from the current rate of 35 per cent of the brand name price. The price...