Awkward moment or conscious message? Political experts weigh in on Danielle Smith-Justin Trudeau handshake

the prime minister Tuesday is another example of leaders from the western province hesitating before shaking Justin Trudeau’s hand, say political experts. Smith, in the nation’s capital for the First Ministers’ Meeting on health care, and Justin Trudeau exchanged brief remarks during a photo opportunity to discuss yet-to-be-tabled legislation addressing the energy transition to a lower carbon future.

The meeting began with Trudeau reaching for a handshake and Smith offering a somewhat hesitant palm.

The prime minister smiled, took her hand and held it as Smith presented a clipped smile. “It was incredibly awkward,” said Keith Brownsey, an author and Mount Royal University political scientist. “When I grew up, if you didn’t shake someone’s hand who offered a hand and you didn’t shake it, you were being extremely rude,” he added. While Smith’s terse exchange may not have been planned, Richard Sutherland, a Mount Royal University political scientist, said it still sent a message of hesitancy.

“Keeping your distance politically means sometimes keeping your distance physically when actually confronted with the prime minister,” Sutherland said. “It does send the message that Smith is not altogether comfortable with this moment,” he added. “Part of it may simply be recognizing that it is awkward [to meet] someone that you have been really running against politically for the last almost a year. “It is kind of an interesting moment when you are finally confronted with this person right there in front of you.”

In the fall, Smith’s first sitting as premier was dominated by the passage of the sovereignty act, legislation giving her government the ability to challenge what it determines to be federal overreach.

Last month, she vowed to “fight” Trudeau’s government over the “just transition” framework, which she believes is phasing out the province’s oil and gas sector.

Source:.edmonton.ctvnews.ca

Canadian doctors spend 18.5 million hours on unnecessary paperwork, says new report

Canadian doctors spend 18.5 million hours per year on unnecessary administrative work — the equivalent of more than 55 million patient visits — a report published Monday

The spectacle of most Quebec politicians lining up to condemn Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s first special representative on combating Islamophobia, because of an op-ed she wrote in July 2019 with Bernie Farber makes these politicians look like bullies. If she showed “contempt towards Quebec” as Quebec Premier François Legault contends, then so did Farber, chair of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network and life-long advocate against hatred in all forms, and I do not believe that.

Elghawaby and Farber made points that should have left readers uncomfortable about Quebec’s Bill 21, so they seem to have achieved that objective. Elghawaby’s new job by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says. Dr. Leisha Hawker, president of Doctors Nova Scotia, which represents all licensed physicians in the province, said eliminating paperwork redundancies and shortening medical forms can improve patient care and reduce burnout experienced by doctors. “A lot of physicians are typically doing this work after hours, early in the morning before clinics open, on nonexistent lunch breaks, or after the sun goes down,” Hawker said in an interview. She said administrative work typically involves “navigating clumsy electronic medical records or filling out forms.” A physician spends more than 10 hours a week on medical paperwork, she said, much of which is required by the provincial government for programs like isn’t about making people comfortable but about making people question their own biases. It sounds like she’s the right person for the job. By; Fred Maroun, Ottawa

Let’s really try to understand each other

Whether Amira Elghawaby stays or goes as Canada’s special representative on combating Islamophobia, we would all be well advised to better distinguish between the effects of a law and the intentions of its supporters. For those of us who feel targeted by Bill 21, it can be hard not to assume that its millions of proponents wish us harm or wish us gone. Some of them certainly do. But it’s pharmacy care or disability support.

Hawker said that some medical forms are necessary, but many are longer and more detailed than they need to be.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business report, titled “Patients before Paperwork,” recommends that provinces reduce red tape in medicine by 10 per cent.

The federation estimates that nationally, 10 per cent less paperwork would save time equivalent to 5.5 million patient visits.

Hawker said both doctors and patients would see the benefit.

“If we improve the efficiency of the forms by 10 or 20 per cent _ because of the sheer volume of time that forms take to be completed by physicians _ that would be a pretty dramatic improvement,” she said. In Nova Sco- tia, she said, a 10 per cent reduction in time spent on paperwork would theoretically allow for about 150,000 more patient visits per year. “The things that bring physicians joy in medicine are actually talking to patients and helping improve their health and their lives. Anything that’s taking physicians away from direct patient care is contributing to burnout,” she said. Laura Jones, an executive vicepresident with the business federation and co-author of the report, said in an interview Monday that Nova Scotia is leading the way in Canada in reducing red tape in medicine. She said that as Canadians worry about strain on the health system, looking at reducing unnecessary administrative work efficiency is “too often overlooked.”...

Source:.globalnews.ca more constructive to engage seriously with their ideas about secularism, gender and cultural vulnerability, all of which can be espoused by good people, even if we strongly disagree. At the same time, it’s not good enough for those who like Bill 21 — or those who enacted it — to simply say they aren’t driven by ill will. You’re supporting something that makes many of your fellow Quebecers feel hurt and unwelcome. If you really believe that religious minorities can flourish in a society with this law on the books, prove it. Don’t attack us when we express how we feel; support and defend our communities, and make genuine efforts to understand and ad- dress our concerns.