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In this padlet we will learn what scarcity is and where it exists in the Canadian economy.

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Relevance: Drug Shortages in Canada

Useful Information: This website is an example of the drug shortages happening in Canada for drugs the the consumer needs. A great example would be the recent shortages of cannabis due to the high demand of supply.

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Welcome to Drug Shortages Canada, the website for reporting drug shortages and discontinuations in Canada. The Food and Drug Regulations require drug sellers to report when they are not able to meet demand for a product or when they stop selling a product. Information about the website and the regulations can be found on the Resources Page.

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Relevance: Scarcity of Physicians in Canada vs other wealthy countries

Useful Information: Canadian Physicians are in low supply while the demand remains very high. "Training more physicians in medical schools, and funding more residency openings, are obvious government initiatives to help increase the supply of doctors in Canada. However, they are also relatively expensive initiatives." The government pays out large amounts of money to fund training for more Doctors in Canada. You see the scarcity when you visit a Clinic and experience the amount of time you wait to see the one or two Doctors working. Compared to the hundreds and/or thousands of people who visit a walk-in clinic or emergency room a day these Doctors are scarce.

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While health care is a dynamic service characterized by the continual introduction of new drugs and medical devices, physicians remain at the centre of health-care delivery. It's therefore worth noting that Canada lags well behind almost all developed countries in the availability of physician services.

Specifically, Canada ranks 29th out of 33 high-income countries for the number of practising physicians relative to the population. Unless physicians in Canada are much more productive than physicians in other high-income countries, the data suggest that Canada suffers from a relative scarcity of physician services.

Media reports of Canadians who actively (yet unsuccessfully) look for regular family doctors, as well as historically long wait times for consultations with specialists and treatment by specialists, also suggest Canadians would be better off if the relative supply of physicians increased.

However, despite recent growth in domestic and foreign-trained physicians practising in Canada, a new Fraser Institute study projects only a small increase in the physician-to-population ratio from now until 2030, given expected population growth over the period.

Specifically, assuming that the supply of foreign-trained physicians follows its recent trend, the ratio is projected to increase from 2.74 physicians per thousand Canadians in 2015 to 2.97 per thousand in 2030. If this projection is reasonably accurate, the relative supply of physicians in Canada in 2030 will be almost 13 per cent below the current average physician-to-population ratio in other wealthy countries. Crucially, the scarcity of physicians in Canada will be exacerbated by an aging Canadian population that will likely increase the per-capita demand for health-care services.

And finally, a decrease in the average number of hours Canadian doctors will work in the future (as anticipated by the Canadian Medical Association) will make matters worse.

So what can be done to address this growing problem?

Training more physicians in medical schools, and funding more residency openings, are obvious government initiatives to help increase the supply of doctors in Canada. However, they are also relatively expensive initiatives.

Other policies might more efficiently address the relative scarcity of physician services.

For example, greater use could be made of nurse practitioners and physician assistants, including for relatively uncomplicated medical procedures.

Another, perhaps more contentious initiative, would be to implement some degree of patient cost-sharing for basic medical services in place of "first-dollar coverage" where government insurance covers all costs of basic medical services. Other countries with universal health-care coverage including France, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Sweden practise cost-sharing. And in these countries, appropriate protections are usually established for low-income patients and those with chronic health conditions. Cost-sharing should discourage relatively unimportant uses of valuable medical resources, including physician time via doctor's appointments and other services.

Clearly, any set of policy initiatives meant to mitigate Canada's physician scarcity problem will take time to design and implement. But continuing an unproductive debate about whether Canada has "too many" or "too few" doctors will simply delay needed change and contribute to even greater inconveniences and other economic costs, as Canadians wait longer and search harder for physician services.

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Canada has a scarcity of doctors, and it may get worse: op-ed

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While health care is a dynamic service characterized by the continual introduction of new drugs and medical devices, physicians remain at the centre of health-care delivery. It's therefore worth noting that Canada lags well behind almost all developed countries in the availability of physician services.

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Relevance: Forestry is slowly bringing down the population of Tree's, plants, and habitats of the animals who recognize that land as their home.

Useful  Information: I picture this image as a community, which it is. When food and shelter become diminished, you are forced to go out of your way to find a means of purchasing the goods/services, or making the effort to move your life somewhere that the goods/services are more readily available. Sometimes you need to pay to play.

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Relevance: This image I feel is very powerful because it truly shows us what scarcity is in one glance.

Useful Information: The photo gives us a clear example of what scarcity is. The choices are clearly limited compared to normal. There were only so many items produced to serve the needs and demands of the community. Must be Christmas!

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Relevance: I chose this photo to illustrate the image of scarcity I see in my own mind.

Useful Information: When I see cracked and dried up land, I immediately know that the water has been run dry. The animals I picture around this once drinking hole are fighting over who gets to drink out of the small puddle or lick the moisture from the leaves. (If there even are leaves to eat) There is snow at the top of the mountain and some may choose to make the trek to the top,  others however may not have the ability to do so. They will not have their needs fulfilled. There is a scarcity in resources.

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Relevance: A very easy to learn video about shortage and surplus for students beginning to learn about economics, scarcity to be exact.

Useful Information: This video teaching people the difference between shortage and surplus. Shortages occurs when there are not enough, a surplus is when there is too much product. It gives great examples like supermarkets and technology sales. It is a great way to learn the difference between something that is scarce and something that still has a large supply to balance with the demand.

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Relevance: Video #2 shows how wants and needs are decided by the consumers based on what they want and what they really need. Assuming they don't have enough money for both items.

Useful Information: The video tells us about resources available for production such as; land, labor and capital. It helps us to understand why we make the choices we do, and how are choices affect the economy and production of goods and services we want and need.

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Relevance: The goal of building a better Canada strategy rather than a bigger one.

Useful Information: This website talks about the cost of products then vs now. It explains how when oil and copper were in abundance, the cost was lower to buy and produce. Now that oil is more scarce, it requires more work to acquire and produce.

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Relevance: This video tells us and gives examples of scarce resources in the economy. It also teaches how you may decide who gets the scarce resource

Useful Information: Allocating scarce resources is an important problem in economics. This video shows some solutions and actions in which to take when scarce resources are in demand by consumers who either need or want the product or service.