March 25th marked the eighth annual Back Up Your Birth Control Day of Action, a day to “raise awareness about and increase access to emergency contraception (EC).” You can find a fact sheet about EC (also known as Plan B ® or the 'morning after pill') on the Back Up Your Birth Control website, which includes info like:• EC is designed to help prevent pregnancy AFTER unprotected sex or the failure of other birth control methods.In the United States women eighteen and over can currently purchase Plan B pills without a prescription but earlier this week a federal judge ordered the Food and Drug Administration make EC available over the counter to women as young as 17.
• EC is a higher dosage of the same hormones found in many types of regular birth control pills.
• It can be taken within 5 days of unprotected sex or birth control failure but EC is most effective when taken as soon as possible after unprotected sex or the failure of other birth control methods. In the first 24 hours after intercourse, Plan B can prevent 95% of expected pregnancies.
• EC is NOT the “abortion pill” and will not terminate an existing pregnancy or cause birth defects if a woman takes it when she is already pregnant.
The judge ruled that the FDA had “improperly bowed to political pressure from the Bush administration in 2006 when it set 18 as the age limit...The agency has 30 days to comply with the order, in which the judge also urged the agency to consider removing all restrictions on over-the-counter sales of Plan B.”
Back in 2006 the FDA had also ordered that Plan B be stocked behind pharmacy counters, in contrast to other over-the-counter contraceptives like condoms, in order to enforce the age restriction.
So this current ruling is excellent news for young American women! If you find yourself in need of emergency contraception, timing is crucial and women of any age shouldn't have to jump through hoops to prevent pregnancy when there's a product that will safely help them do that on the market.
In theory, over the counter access to Plan B is something that Canadians of all ages already have. Last May the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities accepted a recommendation that Plan B be made available on drugstore shelves rather than behind the pharmacy counter, making Canada (with the exception of Quebec) the fifth country to allow emergency contraceptive pills to be sold as an over-the-counter product.
Unfortunately, the reality of EC access is different. Seven pharmacists I contacted within my Ontario town this past November all told me they kept Plan B pills behind the counter. This was also the case in drugstores I contacted in Brampton and Scarborough. In further researching this situation I found that while the Ontario College of Pharmacists follows the NAPRA policy, the College doesn't regulate the placement of products within a pharmacy. So while a pharmacist is now permitted to put Plan B on the general shelves along with Tylenol or mouthwash, they aren't obligated to. Which pretty much leaves us with the 2004 status quo here—which was when Plan B became available without a doctor's prescription and changed to behind the counter status.
Some Ontario pharmacists cite fear of theft as the big reason Plan B remains a behind the counter drug in all but name but I'm more concerned about people (especially young or vulnerable people) who may feel daunted at the thought of requesting emergency contraception from their pharmacist and therefore risk going without. I'm hoping that this new U.S. federal court ruling will inspire the States to get it right and do a better job of removing hoops to EC access than we've done up here so far.
I know that if, when writing I Know It's Over, buying Plan B pills had been as simple as dropping by Shoppers Drug Mart and tossing the pills into a basket along with a tube of toothpaste, the intelligent but frightened sixteen year old characters at the centre of my story would have done just that and I would've had to pen a very different novel.
I'm not certain if Ronald McDonald is actually a Canadian citizen but surely that's a technicality we could iron out by slipping him a passport (we should also get him a decent suit). McDonald's, unlike so many companies located in Canada, is still showing a very healthy profit. McDonald's is one of only two companies in the Dow Jones industrial average whose share price rose in 2008 (the other was Walmart). Also, McDonald's, 
The Green Party leader was the clear winner of the national election debates in October when she tore into Harper's utter lack of concern for the environment, his disdain for our socialist style healthcare system and the fact that he seemed completely oblivious to looming economic woes. Let's recall for a moment (and groan) how Harper, during those debates, stated that Canadians weren't worried about their jobs. Elizabeth May has a handle on what Canadians want and that's not handing along the festering open sore that is the Alberta tar sands for future generations to clean up. It's not clinging to our dependence on fossils fuels up until the very last second that life as we currently know it becomes unliveable. May wants innovation, new ways for the country to earn its living. Also, unlike Ronald McDonald, she already has an appropriate wardrobe ready to go.
Speaking of wardrobe, who looks better in a suit than Canadian comedian Rick Mercer? Mercer's wicked sharp wit would skewer his opponents during Parliamentary question periods. He knows the issues, the players and all the angles and with the economy going down in flames we may as well go down howling with laughter.
Canadian novelist and environmentalist Margaret Atwood is passionate about wildlife conservation. Her eloquence and intelligence are unrivalled. In addition, Atwood's talent for envisioning dystopia scenarios (The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake) could help us detect and navigate our way around potential real life science gone wrong and fundamentalist threats. Following the motto Offred discovers scratched in her cupboard in The Handmaid's Tale alone could take us far: Don't let the bastards grind you down. 
Our wonder boy of the future—Pierre Trudeau's eldest son—could be the wonder boy of today. Why wait? So what if he's still a little rough around the edges, it seems we could use a little raw dynamism at the moment. That soulless ultra bland I could beat a lie detector test before my morning coffee persona Harper wears isn't doing the nation any good. Get ready for your close-up, Justin!
I realize not many of you know him so you'll have to take my word for it but the superintendent of the building I've lived in for the past eight years doesn't threaten to call an election whenever he receives a complaint (or make an equivalent super gripe which I suppose would be something along the lines of, "Well, you just see if you can find another super who would do half as good a job!"). Everyone's problems are his problems. He may not be happy about having to deal with them but he does the best he can, as amiably as possible. He's transparent (unlike our current PM) about the building's issues, even when they're unpleasant, and accessible (unlike our current PM who has done all he can to keep Canadians in the dark, including keeping the press at as great a distance as possible). If you left Stephen Harper the keys to your apartment when you got home from vacation you'd likely find he'd sold it to the highest bidder. When cornered he would blame said sale on the nearest member of the Liberal party and proceed to solicit a donation to the Conservative party. With my super, there are no such concerns and with my super in charge of the nation, we would all be able to rest easy.
We already know and love him and okay, I realize he already has a full-time gig as President of the United States but with just a tenth of their population how much tougher could it be for him to manage us too? If we could get him on our side we'd finally be able to stop fretting about the threat of American protectionism. Also, Barack is already pals with our Governor General Michaëlle Jean so heaven forbid (because we don't want to encourage this kind of behaviour!) he should ever need to prorogue Parliament MJ is bound to give him the thumbs up. One thing though, and this is a BIG one, Obama's support of same sex civil unions but not marriage would have to change. It's gotta be the full deal, Barack! If Stephen Harper (who is no ardent supporter of human rights) can be the PM for a country that recognizes the right of same-sex couples to marry, you should be able to get with the human rights program too.
These two Blue Rodeo frontmen have spent years travelling this great land of ours and have never shied away from social criticism. They've lent their musical talent to such causes as disarmament and the endangered West Coast rainforest and have spoken out in favour of native rights. They also know how to unload a couple albums (11 not including solo albums and greatest hits compilations!) and could help us figure out how to sell Canadian artists (and musicians, filmmakers, novelists etc.) and tourism to an international market. The country could use some clean $. Closing argument in their favour - the following lyrics from Love and Understanding:
