Geographic access to emergency treatment remains an important public policy concern as rural emergency medical systems respond to various pressures to centralize services. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are effective tools to... more
Geographic access to emergency treatment remains an important public policy concern as rural emergency medical systems respond to various pressures to centralize services. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are effective tools to determine what proportion of a given population is adequately served by existing or proposed service distributions. This study compares 2 GIS approaches to determining whether recent standards of emergency care access established by the British Columbia Ministry of Health Services are being met in Northern British Columbia. In particular, we compare results obtained using the more commonly used straight-line, or "as the crow flies," method with those obtained using a more sophisticated method that estimates travel time using digitally referenced road network data. Both methods reveal that provincial standards of emergency access are not being met in Northern British Columbia. In terms of comparing the 2 approaches, the network technique indica...
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Rural nurses require access to education that exposes them to the most up-to-date information and skill development. However, since most education opportunities are located in urban centers and focused on providing skills to urban nurses,... more
Rural nurses require access to education that exposes them to the most up-to-date information and skill development. However, since most education opportunities are located in urban centers and focused on providing skills to urban nurses, geography effectively acts as a barrier to accessing education that meets the needs of rural nurses. The Rural Nursing Certificate Program is a post-basic education program that addresses these concerns by providing rural-relevant content online, with limited campus sessions. Does online delivery of rural nursing curriculum overcome challenges related to geography? This study employed surveys with some open-ended questions. Analysis included descriptive statistics and content analysis. Students reported that online delivery improved access. Benefits included not having to relocate; being able to continue working; and, flexibility. Challenges included travel for practical experiences and time management related to staffing shortages, personal-professional overlap and family responsibilities. Online learning improved access to nursing education. However, the realities of rural nursing made it impossible to completely overcome geography: sense of obligation to work overtime, cost and time of traveling to workshops and practicums, uneven access to the Internet and computer services, and distance from peer and university support remained challenges.
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In recent years, a buoyant global market for minerals has led to renewed interest in the mining sector as a means of generating economic growth in resource producing areas of developed nations. The development of new operations, however,... more
In recent years, a buoyant global market for minerals has led to renewed interest in the mining sector as a means of generating economic growth in resource producing areas of developed nations. The development of new operations, however, raises concerns around the impacts of mining activities on the environment, health and traditional ways of life of Indigenous peoples. Using the
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Indigenous peoples’ property rights are hotly debated in legal, policy, and academic circles across Canada. This article explores three such debates in which Indigenous peoples and lands are centrally implicated: debates over implementing... more
Indigenous peoples’ property rights are hotly debated in legal, policy, and academic circles across Canada. This article explores three such debates in which Indigenous peoples and lands are centrally implicated: debates over implementing fee simple ownership on Indigenous lands, over securing land rights through modern treaty making, and over matrimonial real property rights on Indian reserves. Each of these debates, we argue, revolves around a perceived “property gap”, a term we use to denote conflicting understandings of what property is (or should be), what it should accomplish, and a perceived absence or failure in property law. While such gaps are commonly identified as sites where Indigenous and Western ideas about property come into conflict, creating absences or discontinuities that need mending, they can also be understood as openings where taken-for-granted conceptions of property are “up for grabs”. The property debates examined here reflect ongoing struggles over geography, highlighting contention over who can legitimately claim “ownership” over certain spaces and who can control how lands are used and governed. More broadly, they reflect efforts to “locate” Indigenous peoples vis-á-vis the modern settler state of Canada. Rather than working to “fix” these property gaps through imposition of dominant Western property ideas and structures, we stress the need to explore a broader range of property options at these sites, including those shaped by Indigenous understandings of property and geography.
