Complex and Unique HIV/AIDS Epidemic Among Aboriginal Canadians

Dec. 4, 2006 — Among the HIV/AIDS patients seen at the Vancouver Native Health Society, aboriginals are often diagnosed late and have low CD4 T-cell counts and high viral loads. Opportunistic infections rarely seen now among the majority white gay males who comprise Canada’s HIV/AIDS cases are still being diagnosed by VNHS’s nurse Doreen Littlejohn: Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, Mycobacterium avium complex, and cytomegalovirus.
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Funding delay threatens Arctic health study

Dec. 22, 2006 — Next summer, researchers with the icebreaker CCGS Amundsen want to travel the coasts of Labrador, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories to complete their study on Inuit diet and health.
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Getting a better picture on the Arctic: Integrated research gives new insights into environment, health of natives

Dec. 16, 2006 — In Louis Fortier's view, Arctic research in Canada has too long resembled the Hindu fable of the six blind men examining an elephant.
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Trans fat levels high in North, scientist says

Dec. 14, 2006 — Trans fats and sugar are on their way to becoming a major threat to human health in the North, an expert says. Traces of trans fatty acids in Inuit and some First Nation communities are now three times higher than in Europe, and twice as high as in southern Canadian cities, Éric Dewailly told a conference in Victoria this week.
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Disputes sour new food guide

Dec. 14, 2006 — The struggle to revise Canada's food guide to reflect the country's diversity is proving difficult, and weeks before the new version is due, it is still mired in controversy.
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Health minister releases updated pandemic flu plan for health sector

TORONTO, Dec. 9, 2006 — The federal government released the latest version of Canada's pandemic influenza plan Saturday, the first official update of the plan in nearly two years.
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Reporting progress on plan of action for drinking water in First Nations communities

OTTAWA, Dec. 7, 2006 — The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians, today tabled a report from the expert panel on Safe Drinking Water for First Nations.
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Canada's New Government and The Assembly of First Nations Agree to a New Joint Workplan on First Nations Health

OTTAWA, Dec. 7, 2006 — Today, at a Special Chiefs Assembly, the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health and Phil Fontaine, the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, signed a joint workplan developed by a newly formed Task Group that aims to improve the effectiveness of the First Nations health system over the short and long-terms.
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Cree cures may curb diabetes epidemic

Dec. 4, 2006 — Amid the epidemic of diabetes sweeping through Canada's aboriginal people, a few Cree in northern Quebec have reputedly found life-altering help from an intriguing source.
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Politicians and native leaders renew commitment to improving native health

VANCOUVER, Nov. 28, 2006 — Canadian aboriginal leaders and politicians were adamant Tuesday that progress will be made in closing the gap in health statistics that exists between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people in Canada.
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Métis National Council looks forward to next steps National Summit on Aboriginal Health

VANCOUVER, Nov. 28, 2006 — The Métis National Council ("MNC") is pleased to play a role in the first ever "National Summit on Aboriginal Health."
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National Chief Phil Fontaine Applauds Unwavering Commitment to 2005 First Ministers Meeting Plan at National Summit

OTTAWA, Nov. 28, 2006 — Today, National Chief Phil Fontaine co-chaired the first ever National Aboriginal Health Summit with Premier Gordon Campbell of British Columbia.
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Canada's new government pleased to participate in Aboriginal Health Summit

OTTAWA, Nov. 28, 2006 — The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health Canada, today represented Canada's New Government at the Aboriginal Health Summit in Vancouver via videoconference. This day-long Summit stemmed from a commitment by Western Premiers in May 2006, to work with Aboriginal peoples in an effort to reduce the difference in health status between Aboriginal peoples and the general Canadian population.
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Tragedy or Triumph: Canadian Public Policy and Aboriginal Addiction

TORONTO, Ongoing series ( November 18, 2006) — Marie Wadden is a journalist who has been concerned about the problems of addiction in Canadian Aboriginal communities since first visiting Davis Inlet in 1978. Her passion for the subject earned her the 2005 Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy and led her to a year-long, cross-country trek to look at the causes, effects and potential solutions to the addiction crisis among Aboriginals.
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