Family Day was celebrated earlier this week in Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, and last week in British Columbia. On the occasion of celebrating time spent with family, we urge you to keep in mind our friends and neighbours who long to be reunited with theirs.

Over the years NLS has been involved in many cases involving compulsive hoarding in a housing context, and we have learnt first hand the difficulty and complexity of such matters, as well as of the dearth of resources available to hoarders and their advocates. Today, compulsive hoarding is increasingly part of the public consciousness. Yet this complex issue is often reduced to garish portrayals on reality television or to stereotypical depictions in the media when recounting the actual or potential health and safety risks of such compulsive behaviour.

Last year, the Federal Government cut the Interim Federal Health Program to deny basic health care to refugee claimants in Canada. The move was strongly criticized by most stake-holders across the country, including immigration and refugee advocates, human rights activists, and doctors. Many believed that cuts to the Interim Federal Health Program were designed by the government to appeal to its core supporters but would not save the government any money. In fact, the cuts raised concerns about more expensive emergency treatment, and the spectre of a public health crisis if refugees were refused any preventative care or treatment.