Minister for Health & Wellness

The year is in full swing, and for many January 1st offered a much needed fresh start to take on the challenges- new and old- of the new year.

It is important to give ourselves permission to start over and reset, as well as to identify the things that no longer serve us and which we wish to change. However, that permission should not be something that we allow ourselves only once per year, as many people do when setting their New Year’s resolutions.

Thus, this month’s spotlight focuses on putting mental wellness at the forefront of the reset, including in goal setting, and provides local resources in the form of a mental health service providers list.

Food safety is also highlighted as a key component of overall wellness that warrants more attention. Our efforts to improve the quality of the foods that we eat should be supported by the appropriate handling, preparing and storing of our food.

I am also pleased to be able to share some information on the work that the Ministry of Health and Wellness has been undertaking when it comes to public health gains in the area of tobacco control. The FCTC is an important framework that will strengthen health and wellness for decades to come.

And, as always, our epidemiology corner provides us with our monthly COVID-19 update. In light of queries from the public, our team has included additional information on SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequencing to provide local context to the questions of dominant strains within our community.

My team at the Ministry of Health and Wellness and I remain committed to achieving our nation’s health and wellness goals for 2023 and beyond.