Law and Public Policy

D05(b) - Critical Perspectives on Health Policy

Date: Jun 12 | Time: 03:30pm to 05:00pm | Location: Zoom (see details/voir détails)

Chair/Président/Présidente : Sarah Marie Wiebe (University of Victoria)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Daniel Béland (McGill University)

Zoom Meeting Link | Meeting ID : 844 9708 1647 | Password: 997355

Régimes Fractals de Violence, de Mobilité et de Visibilité : Comprendre la Gouvernance Sécuritaire des « Anges Gardiens » au Canada pendant la Pandémie de COVID-19: Anne-Marie D'Aoust (Université du Québec à Montréal), Charet Brethomé (Université du Québec à Montréal)
Abstract: La première vague de la pandémie de COVID-19 s'est déclarée au Canada au printemps 2020. Au fur et à mesure que celle-ci faisait rage, les demandeurs d'asile et les migrants sans papiers travaillant dans le système de santé canadien ont été appelés « anges gardiens » et une politique publique et un programme exceptionnel portant ce nom ont été créés de décembre 2020 à août 2021 afin d'accélérer leur accès à la citoyenneté. Émergeants comme une catégorie limite (Star, 2010), les « anges gardiens » ont temporairement connu un renversement des logiques de maintien de l'ordre et de surveillance liées à la mobilité dont ils font habituellement l'expérience. Plutôt que d'être complémentaires, nous considérons que les relations entre mobilité/immobilité et visibilité/invisibilité en matière de sécurité et de surveillance sont fractales (Gal, 2002). Cette compréhension nous oblige à analyser comment les différents recalibrages spatiaux et temporels ont affecté les « anges gardiens », révélant d'intenses frictions politiques sur ce qui, et qui, devrait être le sujet de la surveillance et du contrôle. Pour ce faire, nous distinguons les technologies initiales de contrôle et de surveillance qui déterminent la mobilité et l'expérience des « anges gardiens » en tant que migrants sans papiers et demandeurs d'asile travaillant dans le secteur de la santé (1) de celles qui sont mises en œuvre dans la vie quotidienne (2). Nous les comparons ensuite au programme public de reconnaissance des « anges gardiens », qui repose sur l'idée de contrôles et de surveillance a posteriori (3).

Canadian Catholic Healthcare at the Nexus of Multiple Legal Regimes: Amélie Barras (York University), Andrea Paras (University of Guelph)
Abstract: What does it mean to be a public Catholic institution in Canada? How does this Catholic identity evolve and adapt with the increase secularisation and diversification of society, and with the rising awareness of the complicated legacy of Catholicism and colonisation in Canada? This paper explores those questions drawing on the material produced by the Catholic Health Alliance of Canada that support Catholic public healthcare institutions in Canada as well as on interviews with staff working in Catholic healthcare. Taking a legal pluralist approach the paper documents how Catholic healthcare institutions navigate between transnational canon laws and ethics, and human rights law. In so doing Catholic healthcare is situated in a web of national and transnational legal regimes. We also argue that this navigation takes different forms to adapt to societal changes (e.g. the authorization of MAID, the COVID pandemic, efforts to respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, the focus of Pope Francis on social justice). Shedding light on efforts to uphold the Catholic identity of publicly-funded institutions speaks directly to the ways in which Christianity continues to play a subtle, at times invisible, but still constant presence in Canadian society. It is a contribution to our understanding of the complex relationships and entanglement between state and religion, and directly debunks tropes that construct this relationship as one of clear separation.

Infertility and Policy Inequities: Surveying IVF Patients Pursuing Treatment Against BC’s ‘No Funding’ Policy: Jenna Quelch (University of Toronto)
Abstract: While often touted as a symbol of national unity, Canadian healthcare is rife with inequities and policy variation across provinces and territories. This variation is often most pronounced among contentious gendered health policies, including reproductive health services like in vitro fertilization (IVF). While the impacts of fertility treatment programs and funding are well documented, the voices of those most impacted by policy variations are often excluded, leaving a gap in both the literature and in policymakers’ understanding of their government’s policy agendas. To better understand the policy impacts of this variation, this paper examines the lived experiences of those affected by Canada’s “patchwork” of IVF policies. As one of only three provinces without funding or coverage for fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization (IVF), British Columbia is an outlier among its peer provinces. The study includes a survey of more than 200 women in this ‘no funding’ province, all of whom have experienced infertility and who either underwent or are pursuing IVF. The survey captures quantitative information related to both treatment outcomes and barriers to access as well as qualitative responses that detail the impacts of provincial policy variation and the inequities that result.

When a “Code Red” climate emergency hits home: An intersectional policy analysis of extreme heat exposure in British Columbia: Sarah Wiebe (University of Victoria)
Abstract: Informed by a planetary health lens and intersectional policy analysis, this paper examines emergency management, planning and policy responses to extreme heat in British Columbia. It includes a multilayered critical discourse analysis of the modernized Emergency and Disaster Management Act and the voices of those directly affected by extreme weather events in British Columbia based on community-engaged research. To flesh out and examine representations of vulnerability, articulated as priority populations or affected parties, this paper analyzes extreme heat events and climate adaptation policies at local, regional, and provincial levels of government, and enriches these with the stories of those with lived-experience of extreme heat exposure, including the June 2021 heat dome. Specifically, from a community-engaged participatory research approach, the voices of those most affected by extreme heat are elaborated and discussed, including the perspectives of priority populations such as seniors living in social isolation, newcomers, and those with perinatal lived-experience, such as pregnant and nursing bodies. The aim of this paper is to elaborate what intersectional policy analysis brings to the study of extreme heat exposure to impact and improve public engagement, emergency management, policy and planning in British Columbia and beyond. More information available via our project Story Map.