Latest news with #expertPanel
The Independent
10 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Why the assisted dying bill could be voted down
Kim Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is undergoing its third reading and final Commons vote, marking a historic parliamentary moment. The Bill, which previously passed its second reading with a 55-majority on principle, faces a very close vote, with predictions ranging from a narrow win to a narrow defeat. If passed, the Bill would permit the state to end lives for terminally ill individuals with six months to live, allowing doctors to offer it as an option. A significant change to the Bill removes the requirement for a judge to sign off, replacing it with an expert panel, a safeguard cited by over 100 MPs in earlier debates. Concerns persist about the potential for the legislation to expand over time, with critics pointing to other countries where similar laws have broadened beyond terminal illness to include mental health and other issues.
Globe and Mail
19 hours ago
- Health
- Globe and Mail
Victoria city council endorses plan to address homelessness, addiction and mental illness
The City of Victoria has endorsed a community safety and well-being plan aimed at tackling the complex and 'entangled challenges' of homelessness, addiction and mental illness playing out on city streets. The report contains dozens of recommendations aimed at all levels of government across eight sectors, including housing, health care, service delivery, and policing and justice. 'Collectively, we are feeling the consequences of compassion fatigue, and a growing 'scarcity mindset,'' the report said. 'This plan recognizes these tensions, and the anger, frustration and vulnerability that exists on all sides, and seeks the balance among them.' Two years ago, Mayor Marianne Alto initiated the process of creating the 79-page document, which is aimed at responding to increased social disorder and a public perception of diminished safety. Its recommendations are the product of an 11-member expert panel. A survey by the Downtown Victoria Business Association published earlier this month found downtown businesses had reached a "tipping point‚" saying many of them won't survive without meaningful efforts to reduce street disorder such as open drug use, camping in doorways and on sidewalks, and repeat criminal activity. The Globe and Mail spent months speaking with Victoria residents, business owners, police officers, local politicians and drug users in an effort to chronicle the impact of the decline of Pandora Avenue, the epicentre of the city's fentanyl crisis. The story, published last month, put Premier David Eby on the defensive in the legislature as he highlighted his government's efforts to create more supportive housing. Poisoned: How fentanyl transformed Victoria's Pandora Avenue from downtown hub to open-air drug market During discussions about the report with city council Thursday, Ms. Alto said the process involved 'extraordinarily challenging conversations' and thanked those involved. 'The most important thing for us to say is it's time now for us to act,' she said. City staff will now assess the plan's budget implications, and examine the policy changes it requires with an aim to report back to council in the fall, before 2026 draft budget deliberations. The city manager will also implement preliminary actions within the existing budget. The report's recommendations included urging the city to explore the feasibility of small-scale tiny homes for the unhoused, increasing funding to maintain the cleanliness of public spaces, supporting local businesses with graffiti removal and creating more public amenities, such as micro-plazas and benches. But the report noted that many levers to improve the downtown situation are the provincial government's responsibility. Its recommendations to the province include expanded supportive and complex care housing and reforming police budget rules to recognize a municipality's ability to pay. It also requests the province allocate resources directly to municipalities if they 'are expected to continue to respond to local homelessness and its impacts.' Victoria is spending millions to tackle its homelessness crisis, stressing taxpayers From Ottawa, the report calls for the adoption of bail reform policies that would see repeat and violent offenders held within institutions for longer, while increasing emphasis on rehabilitation and community-based intervention programs. It also recommends the creation of a national encampment and homelessness response plan. The panel, supported by city staff, included experts in social-service provision, law enforcement, fire and emergency response, public health, business leadership, local neighbourhoods and local Indigenous knowledge. Jonny Morris, chief executive of the Canadian Mental Health Association's British Columbia division and a member of the panel, likened the existing health care response to the current crisis to focusing cancer care on its final stages. 'Right now, it can absolutely be argued that our health care system – nationally, provincially – does spend the majority of its mental-health resources on Stage 4 interventions: emergency psychiatric hospitalizations, involuntary care, intensive crisis responses,' he told council Thursday. 'Meanwhile, Victoria is a municipality spending significant resources on the community impacts of those health care gaps, police responding to mental-health crises, bylaw, people discharged with nowhere to go, services, court processing. The health care recommendations in this plan rebalance the system.' Marg Gardiner, the lone councillor not to endorse the plan, said the root cause of disorder on the streets is drug addiction and the failure to provide rehabilitation. She blamed decisions by the province and city for anchoring a drug subculture, and said the plan cannot be realized as is. 'I cannot give false hope to the general public that [a] solution will be found if this plan is fully endorsed,' she said.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Faking It reboot branded a 'fix' by viewers as award-winning series returns after a whopping 19 years off screens
The Faking It reboot has been branded a 'fix' by viewers as the award-winning series returned after a whopping 19 years off screens. Originally broadcast back in 2000 on Channel 4, the award-winning reality show set out to establish whether it is possible to train a person in a new skill, that is wildly different from their background. The participants then tried to pass themselves off as a professional in their new field to try and trick a panel of experts. Faking It has made a comeback, this time on Channel 5, and the new show aired its first episode on Tuesday evening (May 20). It saw Rex, a luxury estate agent from Surrey, attempt to learn how to be a butcher in a Northern street market in just four weeks. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. It saw Rex, a luxury estate agent from Surrey, attempt to learn how to be a butcher in a Northern street market in just four weeks At the end of his training, he had to convince a panel of experts he was the real deal. Armed with a fake Northern accent and a butchers apron, Rex put on his best act as a legit market trader called Rob. Two out of three were completely sold and only one said: 'There was something a little bit not quite there for me with the butcher.' However, some viewers felt the show was a 'fix' and didn't understand why the two panellists could not realise Rex was a fake butcher. Many took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their thoughts and posted: 'Oh come on. They're not much good as judges if they can't spot Rob's a fake. #Fakingit.'; 'I'm watching the judges pretending not to know which the fake guy was. #FakingIt.'; 'I'm calling b******* that two out the three didnt know Rex was #FakingIt.' However, some viewers felt the show was a 'fix' and didn't understand why the two panellists could not realise Rex was a fake butcher, while others praised the show However others praised the show and penned: 'A brilliant programme Tom #FakingIt So chuffed for Rex/Rob fooling the judges.'; 'Love that #fakingit is back on. Well done Rex! I had my doubts, but you smashed it!' Faking It first aired in 2000 with two pilot episodes, going on to release more episodes each year until, a final feature-length show in 2005.
Japan Times
15-05-2025
- Health
- Japan Times
Expert panel suggests Japan's government make childbirth free
The government should cover out-of-pocket childbirth fees, an expert panel said, as Japan seeks to reverse its declining population and shrinking pool of tax-paying workers. The government should "design a specific system by around fiscal 2026 to make standard childbirth expenses free of charge,' according to a proposal adopted on Wednesday by an expert panel tasked with investigating how to ease the financial burden of giving birth. Following the proposal, the health ministry will look into how to realize such a system, according to public broadcaster NHK. Officials at the ministry weren't immediately available for comment. Childbirth isn't covered by national health insurance in Japan. The government gives a subsidy of up to ¥500,000 ($3,402) to women giving birth, but those outlays didn't cover the full cost in about 45% of cases, according to data collected from May 2023 to September 2024. While the cost of giving birth can vary, it averaged about ¥518,000 in the first half of 2024, up from around ¥417,000 in 2012, the panel said, citing data provided by the health ministry. The proposal follows a child care policy package adopted in 2023 to reverse Japan's declining birthrate by supporting families with young children and helping to boost their finances. Births in Japan reached a record low in 2024, a worrying sign for the government as it tries to fund increasing social security costs for an aging population with a shrinking cohort of taxpayers and less tax revenue. The number of newborns fell to 720,988 last year, reaching a historical low in records going back to 1899 and extending a nine-year streak of declines, according to the health ministry.
