The Supreme Court of Canada will rule Friday on whether British Columbia has to hand millions of patients’ health information over to tobacco giant Philip Morris International. It’s the newest chapter in the province’s legal fight to force cigarette makers like Philip Morris to compensate the province for the cost of treating tobacco-related illnesses — a battle that started way back in the …

Promising new research enables scientists to use a blood test to screen for different types of cancers at early stages. The test, known as a liquid biopsy, is used to screen for DNA from cancer cells and was able to detect 10 different cancers with good accuracy. Dr. Eric Klein from the Taussig Cancer Institute at Cleveland Clinic in the …

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland on Wednesday reiterated Canada’s opposition to proposed U.S. steel tariffs due to come into force next week, as pressure mounts to seal a quick deal on updating NAFTA. Freeland also told reporters that Canada remained against the U.S. idea of introducing a sunset clause that would allow one of the three North American Free Trade …

City council has voted to reduce property taxes by 50 per cent for some culture hubs and creative spaces. With these spaces facing significant increases in property assessments in recent years, much like businesses on Yonge St, Councillor Joe Cressy (Trinity-Spadina) led the effort to establish a new tax subclass to make operating in Toronto more affordable. “The high property …

The historic flooding that Tropical Storm Harvey unleashed on Houston will likely worsen as federal engineers release water from overflowing reservoirs to keep it from jumping dams and surging uncontrollably into the homes they protect, officials said on Monday. Some 30,000 residents of the nation’s fourth-largest city were expected to be left temporarily homeless by Harvey, which became the most …

The John Horgan government is taking swift action to reduce poverty in British Columbia by lifting income assistance and disability assistance by $100 a month. The Liberal government left B.C. with the highest poverty rate in the country. Reversing that trend will take time, but today’s increase – which needs 60 days to take effect — is a good first …

Dementia, which includes Alzheimer’s disease, is one of biggest health concerns for aging people. Health officials estimate that 47 million people around the world currently live with dementia; triple that number might be affected by 2050. For any condition—including dementia—any ways to prevent it before it can cause symptoms or damage is the most reliable way to control it. And …

Not long ago, and for reasons he couldn’t fully explain, Dr. James Simon saw a number of women within a short period of time with a remarkably similar complaint — orgasmic cephalgia, or a sudden, severe explosive headache upon orgasm. When the George Washington University obstetrician-gynecologist and his then-senior resident started looking into post-coital, orgasmic migraines, they discovered “a bunch of these cases” of …

Ben Mol isn’t exactly sure why a procedure that’s been around since 1917 helps women get pregnant — only that if it didn’t, he likely wouldn’t be here. Mol is the lead investigator of a large new study that found the century-old procedure, an X-ray diagnostic test that involves flushing out a woman’s fallopian tubes, may for many women be just as effective, cheaper …

Gluten-free foods should not be considered a healthy substitute to regular food because they usually contain high levels of fat and sugar, and low levels of protein, experts have said. Researchers from European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) have called for the widespread reformulation of gluten-free products so they match the products they replace. The warning follows …