A Healthy Society: How a Focus on Health Can Revive Canadian Democracy

A Healthy Society, Updated and Expanded Edition, is one doctor's vision for a new approach to politics - and a new approach to building a healthier world. Drawing on his experiences as a family physician, Dr. Meili argues that health delivery too often focuses on treatment of immediate causes and ignores more fundamental conditions that lead to poor health. The social determinants of health - income, education, employment, housing, the wider environment, and social supports - have far more impact than the actions of health care providers.

This updated edition describes the positive steps that have been taken since the publication of the first edition. It includes expanded discussions of basic income, poverty reduction strategies, innovative housing polices, carbon pricing, and the role of health professionals in working for health equity, as well as new chapters on poverty, food security, and climate change. This book breaks important ground, showing us how a focus on health can change Canadian politics for the better.