#5SmartReads - April 7, 2022

Sonal currently lives in BC, Canada with her husband, two girls, and her dog. Born and raised in Charlotte, NC, Sonal left her career in pharm and agriculture to pursue culinary arts and pastry at The Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. From there she has worn many hats as a business partner to her husband, stay at home mom, blogger by passion, and now freelancer for a wine consulting company and writer for several digital publications. She is currently studying for her WSET level 3 exam- a global certification in wine education. She's switching things up a little bit and sharing news about her current country of residence, Canada.

Canadian Politics: Understanding Canada’s Political System (Radio Canada International)

The first full year I lived in Canada wasnt 2015 which also happened to be election year for the Prime Minister. It was the year Justin Trudeau was elected to office. Watching the entire process unfold was definitely a culture shock as the vibe of campaigning was very different from what I had seen in US elections.

This article really helps break down the Canadian political system and has helped me understand more about similarities and differences between the US and Canada.

Canada’s Healthcare System Scores Poorly Against Peers (Canadian Health Technology)

“Because Canada finishes ahead of the United States, people say ‘ha, we’re better than the Americans,’ but we’re second last out of 11 countries. That is not acceptable.”

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve had to talk and compare the healthcare system between the US and Canada… Well I honestly don’t even want that dollar. The fact of the matter is it’s not enough to always say “At least it’s better than the US.” Social health care does have its benefits but is it fair to ask somebody to wait six months to year to see a specialist? Is that supposed to be a normal standard and fair trade for “free” healthcare?

I don’t think so and I find that extremely unacceptable. Imagine all of the diseases that are delayed because lag in getting the needed scans. Not to mention the billing caps that doctors have which limits their availability to take new patients. I personally struggled establishing a relationship with a PCP (family doctor) since many doctors rarely take new patients making it difficult to maintain consistency in routine visits and establishing trust in care. I’m not going to argue which is better, however having paid into both systems in my adulthood I see obvious pros and cons, and both need to do better.

Dozens Of Indigenous Communities In Canada Still Lack Clean Water: 'People Are Going Thirsty (The Observers)

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively donated $500k to Water First Education & Training and it has brought to light again the gravity of how clean water is scarce in Indigenous communities.

“There are currently 36 long-term water advisories in place affecting 29 indigenous communities across Canada as of January 25, 2022.”

From the problem stemming from colonization and poor infrastructure to incomplete promises from the Prime Minister, it’s understandable to see how these communities feel neglected. Read through to see some horrifying stats and numbers of how long some communities have gone without clean water.

WHO Refuses To Accept Quebec's Medicago COVID-19 Vaccine Over Company's Tobacco Ties (CBC News)

After experiencing the lag of vaccine delivery in Canada, it is comforting to know that a domestic vaccine has been approved by Health Canada, however, "Without WHO approval, it will be much more difficult to deliver the vaccines in low- and middle-income countries.”

Basically Canada will have over 20 million doses ready to go domestically in May but do you feel comfortable without WHOs support?

North American Seasonal Fire Assessment and Outlook (National Interagency Fire Center, Natural Resources Canada, Servicio Meteorológico Nacional)

Forest fires are now becoming a regular part of summer is affecting communities on both sides of the border. This pdf breaks down North America and predictions for fires this year. Well this is something I may not have taken interest in several years ago, I find it hard to turn a blind eye when it has been obvious how much travel plans have been affected as well as agriculture. A quick example would be how smoke taint presents in wines of vintages affected my forest fires