The Walrus is normally a magazine with high standards, and very good quality content, but I find the headline a little misleading or at least sensational. Canada's healthcare system is beloved, and has surely saved a far greater number of lives than it has put at risk. That said, most would prefer it be expanded and improved upon its current state.<p>Canada's healthcare system has long needed improvements in mental health capacities. I figure that is what they're trying to explicitly illustrate here. The result has been iterations of separate mental health institutes, leading to driving efforts like CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) in Toronto. Sadly, many remote regions do not have ready access to these kinds of resources. The northern regions of the provinces are particularly starved for social and medical resources.<p>Hopefully the article will have the enlightening and impactful effect I interpret its author having intended.
> The doctors were talking about what they’d decided, and one of them was kind of joking about it, saying there’s no homicidal plot or something. They said, ‘We think Johnny just got mad at the cat because the cat scratched him.’<p>Sadly, that doctor will likely continue their practice.
Would this have been handled better anywhere? It seems really hard to decide when to take action. I knew a family whose autistic son regularly injured them but they still kept him. I wouldn't have been surprised if he had killed them at some point.
Terrible article. Canadians live 2 years longer on average than Americans. And you're telling me the US mental health system would have been more pro-active? Come on.<p>"Hers was Sault Ste. Marie’s sole homicide of 2013."<p>How many small towns in the US can you say that of?