Many Canadians underwent radiation treatment for benign illnesses in the 1940s and 1950s. There has been no systematic investigation or education campaign to alert those patients to their increased risks of thyroid cancer today.
The sun emits harmful rays 365 days a year, even when cloudy or rainy. Children must be protected or they may develop cataracts at an earlier age and run the risk of skin cancer of the eyelids.
In many urban poor areas such as slums, programmes by governments and NGOs are established to help families and mitigate malnutrition. But are these effective?
Adults must let go of their fears of injury and kidnapping. Children need free outdoor play to build physical immunity, psychological health, executive functioning and social skills.
In 2010, approximately 1 million children under the age of 5 were not counted in the census. That meant less state funding for critical services like Early Head Start and SNAP.
For many working women, motherhood is a major interruption to their career. Some eventually work their way back up to full-time work, but there are many other paths that women might follow.
Professor, Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary