Mark Holland

A growing body of evidence, showing that Canada’s most common insecticides are more dangerous to human health than previously thought, has not been fully assessed by this country’s pesticide regulator, Canada’s National Observer has found.

Six of 11 key executives for Canada's largest pesticide and agrichemical lobby group held senior government positions with this country’s pesticide and food safety regulators for years before starting their current positions, a new analysis reveals.

"It's like pesticides have constitutional rights and they are innocent until proven guilty," said Elizabeth May, the federal Green Party leader, who first entered politics in the 1980s to fight excessive pesticide use.

Streams that run through Prince Edward Island's potato country are contaminated with levels of an environmentally-destructive pesticide that exceed federal safety regulations, Canada's National Observer has found.

Health Canada is investigating after Canada's National Observer revealed that government officials supported efforts by the pesticide industry to discredit a researcher's findings and overturn a proposed ban on a class of pesticides harmful to bees, the environment and human health.

The pharmacare bill that was central to a political pact between the Liberals and NDP become law on Thursday after the Senate passed the bill without making any changes.

The government has been unable to put any of its own business before the House of Commons for a full week, and the Conservatives on Thursday said that's the result of Liberal "corruption."

Health Minister Mark Holland is expected to provide an update on the federal government's dental-care program today.

Health Minister Mark Holland says the government is open to adding more medications to the list of drugs covered by its proposed pharmacare program.

The Liberals and the New Democrats full-throatedly pledged to stop the Conservatives from blocking their pharmacare legislation in the House of Commons on Monday — even though the two parties have more than enough votes to bypass the Opposition.

Health Minister Mark Holland announced tweaks to Ottawa's new dental-care plan on Wednesday in a bid to get more dentists, hygienists and oral-health care providers to participate.

Approximately 61 per cent of dentists surveyed by their provincial associations earlier this month said they weren't planning to sign up for the program based on the information they had at the time, the Canadian Dental Association said. 

Under the proposed deal, the province would receive an additional $900 million a year over 10 years for health care.

The bill Health Minister Mark Holland tabled in the House of Commons on Thursday is only the first step toward a possible pharmacare program.

British Columbia's seniors advocate welcomes newly announced federal funding for seniors' health care, and says she's particularly excited about the promise to support seniors at home.