Healthcare

Healthcare is an important civic issue, especially in Canada, because it is a universal

system which means everyone depends on it. Without our healthcare systems working properly,
our whole country will collapse and people will start dropping like flies. Canada’s healthcare
system is a universal system, which means it is payed by taxpayers and anyone can access it.
Governments use this method of healthcare for the advantage of being accessible to everyone,
at the tradeoff of quality.

Going into this course, I knew there were some problems with the healthcare system in
Canada, but I did not think they were to much to worry about and would solve themselves over
time. Now, my position on this issue is that there needs to be private healthcare options made
available, and more doctors need to be hired in the public health system. There is far too much
backlog for our overworked staff, and patients are having to wait so long (up to 5 years) to get
necessary surgeries that many decide to go down to the USA to get them done and pay the
price for private healthcare instead. However, some people cannot afford to do this financially,
or they cannot afford to do this because they do not have the time too. According to Vitalitie, an
average of 1.79 deaths occurred per 1000 visits to the emergency room, and the very long wait
times in emergency rooms and waiting for surgeries is the cause for the death in nearly every
case.

The government is trying to help change this, as the federal government distributed 2
billion dollars to medical care systems across Canada, and Ontario is investing 300 million into
private healthcare to help take care of 25% of cataract surgeries per year. This change is much
needed because our healthcare system would eventually collapse if it kept heading down the
path it was on, and any relief for doctors the can be made possible should me made possible.

Mental Health

Mental health is a problem everybody across Canada and the rest of the world is dealing
with some way or another, and many not even realize it. Our mental health is the most important
thing for all of us, because you will never be as productive, happy, or strong with bad mental
health.

My position throughout this course not only stayed the same, but it actually got stronger
as it went on. I always knew mental health was a serious issue, but I never looked into it at all or
bothered to help my own. In September however, I started making changes to my daily habits
that have helped greatly with my mental health, and I have started to help others with theirs. I
think mental health is a very underrated issue, as it affects everybody on this planet in some
way or another and can be detrimental to your every day life. Despite this, bad mental health
can be treated in a matter of weeks in some cases without the help of a doctor. Habits like
meditation, journaling, exercise, and eating nothing but healthy food daily with discipline will
greatly reduce symptoms of mental health shortly after starting, and we are lucky enough to
have people all across the internet to help you and guide you to a better life.
 I do not like the idea of compulsory credits, as no student should have to take a certain
course a certain number of times to graduate, especially if the course will offer no value to them
in the future. However, civics is one of the few courses I think there is definitely value in taking.
It teaches you about politics, something everyone will have to deal with at some point in their
life, voting, and other political topics that have value in learning.