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Moustaches for Men’s Health – The Meaning of Movember

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It’s that time of year again! Whether it’s your least favorite month, or this is your time to shine – Movember is back! 

 While the fun is certainly in the facial hair … Movember is more than just the opportunity to fill in those mutton chops or grow a socially acceptable handlebar moustache. The meaning of this month goes further than flexing the best (or worst) facial hair fashion, it’s the chance to take part in a global movement to support and promote men’s health.


“The moustache is something of a Trojan Horse that encourages men to engage with their health and talk about the things they often don’t, but should,” says Mitch Hermansen, Western Canada Lead for Movember, “There’s no such thing as a bad moustache. They can all start conversations and save lives.” 

Founded in 2003 among four friends, Movember is now the world’s leading men’s health charity, with more than 6 million global supporters all committed to changing the narrative surrounding male health and helping men live “happier, healthier, longer lives”.


The average life expectancy of a man is 6 years shorter than that of the average woman. Movember is working to minimize this gap by focusing on the three factors that pose the greatest risk to mens health worldwide: prostate cancer, testicular cancer and suicide.  

Globally, there are 9.9 million men living with or experiencing the effects of prostate cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men, with 1 in 9 men being diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, and approximately 1 in 41 men dying as a result.

Testicular cancer is the world’s most common cancer among men ages 15-39, and the American Cancer Society estimates 1 in every 250 males will develop testicular cancer during their lifetime. Education, early detection and effective treatments have put the survival rate for this diagnosis at greater than 95%, however the long-term side effects and impacts can have lasting negative implications on quality of life for survivors. 

The Movember foundation works to minimize the global impact of these dominant male cancers by funding initiatives and collaborating with innovative global organizations that promote education, early detection and personalized and affordable treatment. 

As a holistic men’s health organization, the Movember approach prioritizes mental health as much as physical. Globally, the male suicide rate is shockingly high, with one man dying by suicide every minute of every day, and 6 out of 10 suicides being committed by men (1).

Movember examines and addresses the complex structural factors that contribute to the male suicide rate and keep men from speaking out and seeking help. “We provide men with the tools, avenues and resources to support and engage with their own mental health,” says Hermansen, “as well as ways to support one another.” By facilitating a global conversation surrounding male health and focusing on the three top health risks men currently face worldwide, Movember aims to reduce the number of men dying prematurely by 25% by the year 2030.

This November, there are 4 opportunities to get involved with Movember and contribute to men’s health.

1. Grow your own Mo and raise funds with your face
2. Run or walk 60 km as a part of Move for Movember in recognition of the 60 men lost to suicide each hour, every hour
3. Gather a group and Host a virtual Mo-Ment, and have a good time for a good cause
4. Design your own fundraising challenge and Mo Your Own Way.

 


Visit movember.com to learn more about men’s health and how to get involved, or to create a profile and start fundraising.

For more stories, visit Todayville Calgary.

Alberta

Federal taxes increasing for Albertans in 2025: Report

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From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

By Kris Sims 

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation released its annual New Year’s Tax Changes report today to highlight major tax changes in 2025.

The key provincial tax change expected for Alberta is a reduction in the income tax rate.

“The Alberta government promised to reduce our lowest income tax bracket from 10 down to eight per cent and we expect the government to keep that promise in the new year,” said Kris Sims, CTF Alberta Director. “The United Conservatives said this provincial income tax cut would save families about $1,500 each and Alberta families need that kind of tax relief right now.

“Premier Danielle Smith promised to cut taxes and Albertans expect her to deliver.”

Albertans will see several federal tax hikes coming from Ottawa in 2025.

Payroll taxes: The federal government is raising the mandatory Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance contributions in 2025. These payroll tax increases will cost a worker up to an additional $403 next year.

Federal payroll taxes (CPP and EI tax) will cost a worker making $81,200 or more $5,507 in 2025. Their employer will also be forced to pay $5,938.

Carbon tax: The federal carbon tax is increasing to about 21 cents per litre of gasoline, 25 cents per litre of diesel and 18 cents per cubic metre of natural gas on April 1. The carbon tax will cost the average household between $133 and $477 in 2025-26, even after the rebates, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

Alcohol taxes: Federal alcohol taxes will increase by two per cent on April 1. This alcohol tax hike will cost taxpayers $40.9 million in 2025-26, according to Beer Canada.

Following Budget 2024, the federal government also increased capital gains taxes and imposed a digital services tax and an online streaming tax.

Temporary Sales Tax Holiday: The federal government announced a two month sales tax holiday on certain items like pre-made groceries, children’s clothing, drinks and snacks. The holiday will last until Feb. 15, 2025, and could save taxpayers $2.7 billion.

“In 2025, the Trudeau government will yet again take more money out of Canadians’ pockets with payroll tax hikes and will make life more expensive by raising carbon taxes and alcohol taxes,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should drop his plans to take more money out of Canadians’ pockets and deliver serious tax relief.”

You can find the CTF’s New Year’s Tax Changes report HERE.

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Alberta

Fraser Institute: Time to fix health care in Alberta

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From the Fraser Institute

By Bacchus Barua and Tegan Hill

Shortly after Danielle Smith was sworn in as premier, she warned Albertans that it would “be a bit bumpy for the next 90 days” on the road to health-care reform. Now, more than two years into her premiership, the province’s health-care system remains in shambles.

According to a new report, this year patients in Alberta faced a median wait of 38.4 weeks between seeing a general practitioner and receiving medically necessary treatment. That’s more than eight weeks longer than the Canadian average (30.0 weeks) and more than triple the 10.5 weeks Albertans waited in 1993 when the Fraser Institute first published nationwide estimates.

In fact, since Premier Smith took office in 2022, wait times have actually increased 15.3 per cent.

To be fair, Premier Smith has made good on her commitment to expand collaboration with the private sector for the delivery of some public surgeries, and focused spending in critical areas such as emergency services and increased staffing. She also divided Alberta Health Services, arguing it currently operates as a monopoly and monopolies don’t face the consequences when delivering poor service.

While the impact of these reforms remain largely unknown, one thing is clear: the province requires immediate and bold health-care reforms based on proven lessons from other countries (e.g. Australia and the Netherlands) and other provinces (e.g. Saskatchewan and Quebec).

These reforms include a rapid expansion of contracts with private clinics to deliver more publicly funded services. The premier should also consider a central referral system to connect patients to physicians with the shortest wait time in their area in public or private clinics (while patients retain the right to wait longer for the physician of their choice). This could be integrated into the province’s Connect Care system for electronic patient records.

Saskatchewan did just this in the early 2010s and moved from the longest wait times in Canada to the second shortest in just four years. (Since then, wait times have crept back up with little to no expansion in the contracts with private clinics, which was so successful in the past. This highlights a key lesson for Alberta—these reforms are only a first step.)

Premier Smith should also change the way hospitals are paid to encourage more care and a more patient-focused approach. Why?

Because Alberta still generally follows an outdated approach to hospital funding where hospitals receive a pre-set budget annually. As a result, patients are seen as “costs” that eat into the hospital budget, and hospitals are not financially incentivized to treat more patients or provide more rapid access to care (in fact, doing so drains the budget more rapidly). By contrast, more successful universal health-care countries around the world pay hospitals for the services they provide. In other words, by making treatment the source of hospital revenue, hospitals provide more care more rapidly to patients and improve the quality of services overall. Quebec is already moving in this direction, with other provinces also experimenting.

The promise of a “new day” for health care in Alberta is increasingly looking like a pipe dream, but there’s still time to meaningfully improve health care for Albertans. To finally provide relief for patients and their families, Premier Smith should increase private-sector collaboration, create a central referral system, and change the way hospitals are funded.

Bacchus Barua

Director, Health Policy Studies, Fraser Institute

Tegan Hill

Director, Alberta Policy, Fraser Institute
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