Published as a Letter to the Editor in the Westmount Independent, 16 April 2024 The Police Report (April 2, 2024, p10) headline “‘Flash mob’ thieves rob Sherbrooke boutique…” left me confused. Are the perpetrators thieves, or are they robbers? Fortunately, the body of the article helped to clear up the…
Read morePublished as a Letter to the Editor in the Westmount Independent, 2023-12-12. City Council has decided to reduce public meetings to one per month (November 28, p. 1), but will continue to hold “general committee” meetings, closed to the public, mid-monthly. How does this respect the Quebec Cities and Towns…
Read moreAnd, does “Mendelian Randomization” help answer this question? It is not uncommon for press reports of newly published studies in medicine, the social sciences, or economics, to describe a finding of a correlation between two variables as causative, that is, one variable causes the other. Often, the authors of the…
Read morePublished as a Letter to the Editor in the Westmount Independent, 2023-5-30 The Police Report on p. 3 of the Independent’s May 23 edition uses the word “overdose” in relation to incidents where individuals suffer serious and sometimes fatal effects from using opioids. “Overdose” suggests that the person either knowingly…
Read morePublished as a Letter to the Editor in The Suburban, 2022-11-30 Robert Libman, in his excellent opinion piece (Suburban 2022-11-23, p A13) alludes, among other issues, to the health and safety concerns posed to CSL residents living near the CP rail yard. In addition to the illness-promoting effects of noise…
Read moreLet’s remove card readers from one route as a pilot
Read moreThese cute little animals are prairie voles. Don’t they look happy, cuddled up to each other, sharing a warm nest and some yummy food? Now here’s a montane vole. This is a separate species, but closely related to the prairie vole. Cousins, you might say! Sort of hard to tell…
Read moreWhile governments and journalists blame selfish vaccine refusers for the high rates of hospitalization and ICU bed occupation of unvaccinated people, there are likely causes other than the vaccine itself.
Read more(Published on The Suburban’s website, 2021-7-28) The other day, I was looking for a set of earbuds, you know, the ones that come with Apple iPhones and have a microphone built in to one of the earphone cords. My latest iPhone no longer has an earphone jack, and I needed…
Read moreIntroduction As a geriatric psychiatrist, now mostly retired, I’ve been sceptical throughout my entire career about the existence of the entity labeled “schizophrenia”. And for many years, when the subject came up, I might tell bits and pieces of my relationship to this disorder. But the idea of putting this…
Read moreWhen I began my training to become a psychiatrist in 1981, my view of the world and the people in it underwent a radical transformation. I became aware of how power is exercised within relationships. When one person is an employee and the other a boss, it’s generally pretty clear.…
Read moreDoes the orientation of a motorcycle engine’s crankshaft and other rotating parts (eg, gears, clutch, driveshaft) affect the motorcycle’s handling? Reviews of motorcycles often mention how “light” certain bikes feel when being ridden, even for very heavy motorcycles. BMW is one brand often cited; Moto Guzzi riders are fanatically attached…
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Westmount Independent, published on 2021-2-16: I received in the mail, from the City of Westmount’s Traffic Advisory Committee (TAC), a poll addressed to the residents of Lansdowne between de Maisonneuve and Sherbrooke, soliciting our opinions on a proposal to move on-street parking from the…
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, posted online 2018-12-15 as a response to the Editorial “Take turmeric with a grain of salt” by Kirsten Patrick and Matthew B. Stanbrook CMAJ October 29, 2018 190 (43) E1270; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.181358 Wow, I’m impressed! The CMAJ has really gone…
Read moreLetter to the editor of the Westmount Independent, published in the 2020-8-25 issue I support the suggestion by Richard Lock at city council on August 3 to switch parking from the west to the east side of Lansdowne Ave. between Sherbrooke and de Maisonneuve. Not only would this provide more…
Read moreLetter to the editor of The Suburban, published in the 2020-9-16 issue. A couple of days ago, I was listening to a radio programme (“The Current” with host Matt Galloway, on CBC Radio One). The 7 Sept 2020 episode was a national call-in show, “How concerned are you about schools…
Read moreMore government is rarely the answer. Legault should use the tools he already has to bring about significant improvements. Published by the Montreal Gazette as an op-ed piece on 2020-5-20: Premier François Legault has suggested that private nursing homes could be “nationalized” in response to problems brought to light by…
Read moreHenry Olders, P.Eng, MD, FRCPC Affiliate Member, Dept of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada Abstract For many, the current COVID-19 pandemic creates fear and anxiety, to some extent because we lack control. The virus is invisible, even people we are close to could infect us, apparently healthy people may get…
Read moreThe following was published as a Letter to the Editor by the Westmount Independent on 2018-10-23, with the above title: With reference to the article by Martin Barry, “Westmount has no say on cell tower installation, says city official” (2018-10-9, p3) I would like to take issue with the interpretation…
Read moreThis Letter to the Editor was published in the Montreal Gazette on 2018-11-16. Re: “The new Champlain Bridge won’t be ready on time” (Montreal Gazette, Oct. 26) Over the past couple of years, I’ve observed the construction of the new Champlain bridge when I’ve crossed by bicycle from Westmount to…
Read moreThis letter to the Editor was published in the Montreal Gazette, 2018-10-17. Re: “Don’t drive even five hours after smoking pot: study” (Montreal Gazette, Oct. 16) While this study confirms the fears of many that marijuana use leads to impairment of tasks requiring concentration and rapid reaction times, the good…
Read moreBig pharma has been taken to task on multiple occasions for selectively publishing studies showing benefits for their products and “burying” research with negative outcomes. So it’s surprising that there is now a trend to publish studies showing negative or null results. In fact, a journal specifically devoted to publishing…
Read more
If Montréal Mayor Plante truly wants her administration to be remembered for something remarkable AND positive, here’s an idea: build an aerial cable car system for urban transport.
Read morePublished on linkedin.com on 2015-11-18 In Montreal these days, with later sunrises and early sunsets, many cycling commuters are going to and from work in the dark. I don’t know if this is particular to Montreal, but many of these cyclists have no lights on their bicycles, and additionally wear…
Read moreArticles supplied: Arends J, Bachmann P, Baracos V et al. ESPEN guidelines on nutrition in cancer patients. Clin Nutr. 2017;36:11-48. Stobäus N, Müller MJ, Küpferling S, Schulzke JD, Norman K. Low Recent Protein Intake Predicts Cancer-Related Fatigue and Increased Mortality in Patients with Advanced Tumor Disease Undergoing Chemotherapy. Nutr Cancer.…
Read moreMy wife and I recently bought a 2017 Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid vehicle. It suits our needs very well, as most of our trips are within its 40km all-electric range, but when we take longer trips, for example to Ottawa, we don’t experience range anxiety because the switch to…
Read moreEvery weekday morning, and often at other times, there is a line of cars backed up on Lansdowne south of Sherbrooke, waiting to turn left or right onto Sherbrooke. Not only is it extremely frustrating for drivers to wait through several cycles of the stoplights at Sherbrooke and Lansdowne, but…
Read moreThe following was published as an opinion piece in the Montreal Gazette, on 2017-11-14: I am excited by Valérie Plante and Projet Montréal’s election promise to improve public transportation in Montreal, and am sure that it will generate many excellent proposals. Here’s one that deserves attention: free public transportation. Let’s…
Read moreIn Montreal, the federal government is building a new bridge over the St. Lawrence river, to replace the aging Champlain bridge. There has been plenty of discussion about whether tolls should be charged to users of the new bridge. It goes without saying that actual users are highly reluctant to pay tolls,…
Read moreOn July 6, 2013 an unattended freight train carrying crude oil rolled down a hill and derailed in the downtown area of the city of Lac-Mégantic, resulting in a huge explosion causing the loss of 47 lives. Many Canadian cities are concerned about the possibility of a similar disaster in their…
Read moreYesterday we heard that the tusks from 7,000 dead elephants, which had been confiscated by Kenya from illegal poaching of ivory, was set afire. Kenya’s President is hoping that this will help end the illegal trade which kills elephants. But what is the consequence of reducing the supply of ivory for which…
Read moreI believe that there are many people in Canada who feel as I do, that the existing governmental structures are serving the needs of ordinary Canadians less and less. My proposal is that we create a new federal political party, and invite individuals like Marc Garneau and Andrew Coyne to…
Read moreWhen I was a medical student at McGill in the late 1970s, we learned a straightforward explanation for the cause of Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes in adults, accounting for about 90 per cent of all diabetes cases. We were told the insulin resistance responsible for…
Read moreI’ve been reading a most interesting book, titled “Deadly medicines and organized crime: how big pharma has corrupted healthcare,” by Dr. Peter Gøtzsche. Dr. Gøtzsche, a specialist in internal medicine and professor at the University of Copenhagen, co-founded the Cochrane Collaboration in 1993 and established the Nordic Cochrane Centre. The…
Read moreWith the Mike Duffy trial figuring prominently in the news these days, The NDP is renewing calls for abolition of the Senate. Instead of outright abolition of the “House of sober second thought” perhaps a major restructuring should be considered. Here is one suggestion: Reduce the size of the senate,…
Read moreYesterday I attended an all-day symposium at the Montreal Neurological Institute, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the founding of the McConnell Brain Imaging Centre. I went to hear talks by David Van Essen, Principal Investigator, The Human Connectome Project; Henry Markram, Director, The Blue Brain Project, and Coordinator, The Human Brain Project; and Robert…
Read moreWestern democracies are lining up to engage in bombing raids against Islamic State installations, citing the IS (aka ISIS, or ISIL) terrorists as particularly cruel and barbaric, a scourge that needs to be eliminated. We’ve seen the gruesome beheadings, and heard the warnings that Canadians may become radicalized, join IS,…
Read moreIn Canada and Quebec, the debate over the right to die with dignity, medically assisted suicide, and euthanasia is often heated. I am struck by the inconsistency, perhaps even hypocrisy, of governments that maintain that it is OK for individuals to commit suicide, but not to receive help from anyone…
Read moreThis was submitted as a Letter to the Editor of the Montreal Gazette, on 2013-5-25: re: “Angelina Jolie got it right” (Friday, May 24): Dr. Labos is to be commended for his clearly written article on mastectomy for BRCA positive women. However, he did not mention that these unfortunate women…
Read moreLetter to the Editor, submitted to the Montreal Gazette on 2008-8-28. Many companies provide parking at no charge for their employees. This represents a subsidy, as parking spaces involve considerable costs including initial construction, drainage, paving, lighting as well as ongoing expenses such as snow removal, security, and electricity. Never…
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Montreal Gazette. Quebec’s Minister of Health and Social Services, Philippe Couillard, trumpets his government’s injection of $56 million in new funding for the province’s beleaguered mental health system (Gazette, “Quebec making great strides in mental health”, 2006-5-15). This is very timely, as a report…
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Montreal Gazette. The City of Westmount, with financial support from the province, is erecting a section of transparent sound barrier (Gazette 2006-4-24, “Innovative barrier keeps view intact”, page A7) at the foot of Abbott avenue as a pilot project. If effective at significantly reducing…
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Montreal Gazette. One would think we had learned nothing from the U.S. experience with Prohibition, or the War on Drugs. Banning a substance such as alcohol or marijuana inevitably leads to the creation of a criminal underground which profits enormously, and supports a large…
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Montreal Gazette. Immigration Minister Judy Sgro believes that it is inappropriate for churches and other faith communities to provide sanctuary to refugee claimants who have been ordered deported after their hearings. It has been argued that churches should not usurp the role of democratically…
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Montreal Gazette. The federal liberals have made flouting the rules an art form, as demonstrated by the sponsorship scandal, Radwanski’s expense accounts, and the Shawinigate affair. Now, in Westmount, liberal incumbent Lucienne Robillard’s overeager campaign team are breaking the rules by erecting election posters…
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Montreal Gazette. The various arguments that have been made in favour of merging smaller municipalities into megacities have been demolished, one by one, as these undemocratically created monstrosities (monstrocities?) have failed to produce promised reductions in costs. It seems that the only remaining rationale…
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Montreal Gazette. The recent school board elections were noteworthy for the low voter turnout, and for the mysterious process whereby some voters who previously had been on the English school board electoral lists saw their names turn up on the lists for francophone school…
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Montreal Gazette. The strike of MTC maintenance workers is a terrible hardship for many people, but is it really necessary to limit service to a few hours daily and none on weekends? After all, it isn’t the bus drivers who are striking; it’s the…
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Montreal Gazette. Every couple of weeks or so, there appears an article about sleep, most recently “A mounting sleep debt is nothing to yawn about” (Gazette 2002-12-03) Typically, the authors decry the high prevalence of insufficient sleep, the deleterious effects of sleep deprivation, the…
Read moreWhen a patient’s wishes conflict with the doctor’s, or families disagree with medical teams about the treatment of a loved one, biomedical ethicists are often called in to help resolve the issues. Recent examples that made headlines include the case of Sophia Park, a twenty-five year old grad student, married…
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Montreal Gazette. It appears that the Quebec government is employing a timeworn ploy to get its way with regard to the just-introduced legislation on the forced merger of Quebec cities. The ploy is: when trying to get a deal, always ask for more than…
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Montreal Gazette. With reference to the article “Leading British doctors urge anesthetics for brain-dead organ donors” (Gazette, 20 Aug 2000, page A10), I find it surprising that the British Department of Health would reject in such a cavalier fashion the possibility that brain-dead individuals…
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Montreal Gazette. The recent shootings in Taber and Littleton have stirred up a great deal of commentary about the role of the media in promulgating violent behaviour. While the research seems to focus on the effects of watching violence on television or in the…
Read moreThe following was submitted on 1999-5-5 as a Letter to the Editor of the National Post: One theory about why we have armpit (and groin) hair: the hair shaftsprovide a larger surface area to enhance the diffusion of pheromones(chemical sex attractants) emitted by the apocrine sweat glands locatedat the bases…
Read moreThis essay was written while taking a fourth year Bioethics course as a medical student at McGill University. Henry Olders 7717465 27 April 1981 It seems that a large part of the energy being expended on the subject of biomedical ethics has to do with making decisions in situations where…
Read more