Major Canadian Cities Research Articles

From A to F: Grading the Fiscal Transparency of Canada’s Cities, 2019

Financial presentations are key tools for Canadians who want to understand what their governments are doing with their money, and hold them to account. Unfortunately, Canada’s cities do not typically present information that lets Canadians do this. The problem is not so much their end-of-year financial statements as their budgets: nearly every major Canadian city presents budgets that separate current spending and capital spending on big-ticket items, and use accounting and aggregation methods that are inconsistent with their financial statements. Worse, many make the key numbers hard to find and recognize, and councillors often vote these non-transparent budgets after the fiscal year has already started and money has gone out the door. Bad budgeting practices impede councillors, taxpayers and voters seeking accountability from city staff and elected representatives. Simple information, such as how much the municipality plans to spend this year, or how its spending plan this year compares with the previous year’s plan, is hard or impossible for a non-expert to find. Moreover, the differences between how the numbers appear in budgets and in year-end financial statements have real-world consequences. Budgets that exclude key services such as water and the user fees that fund them, for example, understate their claim on community resources. Budgeting the cost of capital items on an up-front, cash basis, rather than recording the relevant expenses over the useful life of the asset through accrual accounting, exaggerates the cost of infrastructure investments, hides the cost of pension obligations, and undermines intergenerational fairness by mismatching costs and benefits over time. This report card grades the financial presentations of 31 major Canadian municipalities, based on their most recent budgets and financial statements. Of those we assessed, Durham Region, Windsor, London, Quebec City, Laval and Longueuil fail, providing little information in reader-friendly form. More happily, Vancouver garners an A+ for the clarity and completeness of its financial presentations, followed by Surrey and Richmond, each with an A-. Our overarching recommendation is that municipal governments should present budgets using the same public sector accounting standards (PSAS) and format that they use in their year-end financial statements. Most do not, and those that present supplementary PSAS-consistent information in their budgets typically do not do it in userfriendly ways. One key implication of this change would be that municipal budgets would use accrual accounting with respect to capital, recording revenues and expenses as assets deliver their services. Provincial governments that impede the preparation of PSAS-consistent municipal budgets – by mandating that cities present separate operating and capital budgets, for example – should stop doing so. Better would be to require cities to present PSAS-consistent budgets. Municipalities in provinces that continue to impede PSAS-consistent budgets can, and should, release the relevant information on their own. A second implication of this change is that municipal budgets, like municipal financial statements, would show city-wide consolidated, gross revenue and spending figures that represent the city’s full claim on its citizens’ resources and the full scope of its activities. Our second key recommandation is that cities should present and concillors should vote, budgets before the beginning of the fiscal year. These changes would help raise the fiscal accountability of Canada’s municipalities to a level more commensurate with their importance in Canadians’ lives.

Retrospective Study of Patients with Upper Extremity Clots Presenting to Emergency Departments in Tertiary Care Hospitals in a Major Canadian City in the Last Five Years

Objective: 5 year retrospective study of patients presenting to emergency departments at the four tertiary care hospitals in Calgary, Alberta with upper extremity (UE) deep vein thrombosis (DVT) to define the patient population, determine practice patterns and management of upper extremity clots. Methods: All adult patients with suspected upper extremity DVT presenting to any of the four tertiary care centers in the Calgary health region and who had undergone diagnostic imaging were included in the study. Ultrasounds and CT scans were obtained from the Diagnostic Imaging department from January 2014 to December 2018. Inclusion criteria included patients above 18 years of age and evidence of deep, superficial or catheter-associated upper extremity venous thrombosis on imaging. Exclusion criteria were any known cancer or life expectancy under 6 months. Basic demographic data were collected, in addition to disposition from emergency, choice of anticoagulant, duration of anticoagulation, history of thrombophilia and thoracic outlet obstruction (TOO) work-up. Results: 1236 patient records were reviewed, of which 151 (12.2%) were positive for UE deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and 114 (9.2%) for superficial vein thrombosis (SVT). Mean age was 47 years and 50.2% were males. Duration of treatment for both DVT and SVT ranged anywhere from no therapy to lifelong treatment, with an average of 5.01 months for DVT and 1.15 months for SVT. 22.5% of all DVTs were recommended lifelong therapy. 21 (18.4%) patients were treated for more than 45 days for SVT, of which only 9 had another indication for anticoagulation. Common risk factors identified for DVT included line associated thrombosis (17.2%), of which 38.5% were specifically PICC associated, trauma (2.6%) and intravenous drug use (2.0%). Anticoagulant agents for DVT included low molecular weight heparin (7.9%), direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) (39.1%) and warfarin (42.4%). 8.6% of the DVTs received no treatment. Follow-up was variable from the emergency department ranging from following up with the patient's own family physician to sending an urgent referral to General Internal Medicine, Hematology or Vascular surgery. 30.5% of the patients with DVT were referred to General Internal Medicine (GIM) outpatient, compared to 24.5% to Hematology and 33.7% to their family doctor. 29.8% of the patients with SVT were referred to GIM, 7.9% to Hematology and 66.7% to their family doctor. 39.7% of the people with DVT were tested for thrombophilia, of which 10% tested positive for any type of thrombophilia. 29.8% were tested for TOO, of which 48.9% were found to have TOO and 11.1% received surgery for same. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that there is significant variability in the management of upper extremity clots, highlighting the lack of literature in this field. Developing a structured, standardized approach along with ongoing provider education could help reduce this variability and optimize management of this patient population. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Vegetarianism and other eating practices among youth and young adults in major Canadian cities.

To estimate the prevalence and sociodemographic characteristics of youth and young adults in major Canadian cities with self-reported vegetarian dietary practices and examine efforts to alter their diets. Data were collected in autumn 2016 via web-based surveys. Respondents reported vegetarian dietary practices (vegan, vegetarian or pescatarian) and efforts in the preceding year to consume more or less of several nutrients, food groups and/or foods with particular attributes. Logistic regression models examined sociodemographic correlates of each vegetarian dietary practice and differences in other eating practices by diet type. Participants were recruited from five major Canadian cities. Youth and young adults, aged 16-30 years (n 2566). Overall, 13·6 % of respondents reported vegetarian dietary practices: 6·6 % vegetarian, 4·5 % pescatarian and 2·5 % vegan. Sex, race/ethnicity, self-reported frequency of using theNutrition Facts table and health literacy were significantly correlated with self-reported vegetarian dietary practice (P < 0·01 for all). Efforts to consume more fruits and vegetables (66·8 %) and protein (54·8 %), and less sugar (61·3 %) and processed foods (54·7 %), were prevalent overall. Respondents with vegetarian dietary practices were more likely to report efforts to consume fewer carbohydrates and animal products, and more organic, locally produced, ethically sourced/sustainably sourced/fair trade and non-GM foods (P < 0·01 for all), compared with those without these reported dietary practices. Nearly 14 % of the sampled youth and young adults in major Canadian cities reported vegetarian dietary practices and may be especially likely to value and engage in behaviours related to health-conscious diets and sustainable food production.

Comparison of land use regression and random forests models on estimating noise levels in five Canadian cities

Chronic exposure to environment noise is associated with sleep disturbance and cardiovascular diseases. Assessment of population exposed to environmental noise is limited by a lack of routine noise sampling and is critical for controlling exposure and mitigating adverse health effects. Land use regression (LUR) model is newly applied in estimating environmental exposures to noise. Machine-learning approaches offer opportunities to improve the noise estimations from LUR model. In this study, we employed random forests (RF) model to estimate environmental noise levels in five Canadian cities and compared noise estimations between RF and LUR models. A total of 729 measurements and 33 built environment-related variables were used to estimate spatial variation in environmental noise at the global (multi-city) and local (individual city) scales. Leave one out cross-validation suggested that noise estimates derived from the RF global model explained a greater proportion of variation (R2: RF = 0.58, LUR = 0.47) with lower root mean squared errors (RF = 4.44 dB(A), LUR = 4.99 dB(A)). The cross-validation also indicated the RF models had better general performance than the LUR models at the city scale. By applying the global models to estimate noise levels at the postal code level, we found noise levels were higher in Montreal and Longueuil than in other major Canadian cities.

Climate Data to Undertake Hygrothermal and Whole Building Simulations Under Projected Climate Change Influences for 11 Canadian Cities

Buildings and homes in Canada will be exposed to unprecedented climatic conditions in the future as a consequence of global climate change. To improve the climate resiliency of existing and new buildings, it is important to evaluate their performance over current and projected future climates. Hygrothermal and whole building simulation models, which are important tools for assessing performance, require continuous climate records at high temporal frequencies of a wide range of climate variables for input into the kinds of models that relate to solar radiation, cloud-cover, wind, humidity, rainfall, temperature, and snow-cover. In this study, climate data that can be used to assess the performance of building envelopes under current and projected future climates, concurrent with 2 °C and 3.5 °C increases in global temperatures, are generated for 11 major Canadian cities. The datasets capture the internal variability of the climate as they are comprised of 15 realizations of the future climate generated by dynamically downscaling future projections from the CanESM2 global climate model and thereafter bias-corrected with reference to observations. An assessment of the bias-corrected projections suggests, as a consequence of global warming, future increases in the temperatures and precipitation, and decreases in the snow-cover and wind-speed for all cities.

P005: An opportunity to reduce morbidity in delayed postpartum hemorrhage: Multicentre analysis of tranexamic utilization in the emergency department

Introduction: Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity worldwide. Tranexamic acid (TXA) has been shown to be efficacious and safe in reducing mortality and morbidity if given within 3 hours of bleeding onset. Delayed PPH of more than 24 hours after delivery is a rare but high-risk ED presentation that requires timely management with TXA. This study aims to evaluate the patterns of TXA administration to treat delayed PPH in the ED using a retrospective review of medical reviews from 4 centres across a major urban Canadian city. Methods: We conducted a retrospective medical record review of patients presenting with PPH to 4 large urban EDs from 2013 to 2017; from 1.5 million ED visits, using a search for ICD-10 diagnostic codes of interest. Of these, the study cohort included only patients that were admitted to the hospital. Univariate analyses using Chi-squared tests and t-tests for non-continuous and continuous variables, respectively, were used to determine patient demographics and clinical characteristics significantly associated with TXA administration. Results: A total of 238 patients were included in the study cohort. Of these patients, 72.7% presented to the ED with mild hypovolemic shock, defined by a shock index score greater than 0.6. A total of 12.6% (95% CI 0.09-0.17) of patients were given TXA for PPH management in the ED. 67% (95% CI 0.47-0.82) of patients received the TXA within 3 hours of triage, whereas 33% (95% CI 0.18-0.53) received it after 3 hours, with the total mean time at 3.43 hours. 4.2% of patients required a blood transfusion and 2.9% required surgery. Univariate analyses indicated that greater maternal age (p = 0.028), lower hemoglobin levels (p = 0.014), higher shock index scores (p = 0.001), greater heart rate (p = &amp;lt; 0.001)), and use of oxytocin (p = &amp;lt;0.001) or blood products (p = &amp;lt; 0.001) in the ED were all significantly associated with TXA administration. Conclusion: The results from this study demonstrate that only 13% of delayed PPH patients presenting to the ED received TXA, and among those treated, 66% received TXA within 3 hours of presentation. The use of TXA was correlated with variables associated with an increased risk of morbidity. Given the rarity of delayed PPH presentation to the ED, the development of a treatment algorithm is recommended to ensure higher levels of timely TXA administration.

DOMESTIC RADON EXPOSURE AND CHILDHOOD LEUKAEMIA AND LYMPHOMA: A POPULATION-BASED STUDY IN CANADA.

In this paper, we revisit the possibility, first raised using a data set collected in the 1970s, that there is a link between average radon concentrations and the incidence of childhood leukaemia and lymphoma in Canada. Following the launch of the National Radon Program in 2007, Health Canada completed a long-term radon survey in 33 census metropolitan areas (CMAs), which covers about 70% of the Canadian population. We used this data, together with leukaemia and lymphoma incidence rates among children (0-14 years of age) in the past decade (2006-15), and tried to link the city-level average radon concentrations to the leukaemia and lymphoma incidence rates in 33 major Canadian cities. Analyses were conducted for six subtypes (ALL, AML, CMD, HL, NHL and BL) of leukaemia and lymphoma. Estimated doses to red bone marrow from domestic radon exposure were low and we did not find any association between radon exposure at home and the increased risk for developing leukaemia among children under 15 years of age living in the CMAs. The results indicate a slight positive association for AML among 1-4 year males in CMAs of Peer Group C and NHL among 5-9 year females in CMAs of Peer Group A; however, these should be interpreted with caution owing to the crude exposure assessment and possibilities of other confounding factors.

Special weapons and tactics teams in Canadian policing: legal, institutional, and economic dimensions

ABSTRACT Despite extensive social science analysis of special weapons and tactics (SWAT) team deployment across the United States, the phenomenon in Canada has been overlooked. Drawing from data on deployments disclosed under freedom of information (FOI), legal decisions, and media data, our findings reveal that the use of SWAT teams have escalated in many major Canadian cities. Public police now deploy SWAT teams across Canada for routine law enforcement activities such as warrant work, traffic enforcement and other routine tasks, as well as responding to mental health crises and domestic disturbances. We then develop three sociological explanations for the rise and current use of SWAT teams in Canadian policing. We draw from sociologies of law, institutionalism and institutional effects, and field/capital. This paper concludes with reflections on the implications for public policing and avenues for future research on police militarisation in Canada and beyond.

Evaluating equity and accessibility to jobs by public transport across Canada

Accessibility, or the ease of reaching destinations, is increasingly being used and examined in both literature and practice. The most common accessibility metric, the cumulative opportunity measure, is often computed as the number of jobs that can be reached within a certain time frame. Aggregating all jobs, however, often inflates the opportunities that can be reached by socially vulnerable residents, which could feed into and/or generate inadequate policy decisions. This study therefore develops the measure of accessibility to low-income jobs for vulnerable residents by public transport, specifically taking into account realized travel times by these vulnerable individuals. This fine-grained measure, computed across 11 major Canadian cities, is a modified place-based accessibility metric that incorporates facets of person-based metrics, allowing planners and policy makers to propose more targeted interventions to improve the quality of life of their cities' most vulnerable populations. The study further allows for direct comparisons between the impacts of variation in accessibility levels between different regions to help create best practices in land use and transport planning.

Food sources among young people in five major Canadian cities.

To examine food sources among young people in five major Canadian cities. As part of the 2016 Canada Food Study, respondents aged 16-30 were recruited from five Canadian cities (Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Edmonton, and Vancouver) using in-person intercept sampling and completed an online survey (n = 2840 retained for analysis). Descriptive statistics were used to summarize food preparation and purchase locations. A linear regression model was fitted to examine correlates of the proportion of meals that were ready-to-eat or prepared outside the home. In total, 80% of meals were prepared at home and 20% were prepared outside the home. More than 25% of meals prepared at home were ready-to-eat/box food. Of all meals consumed, 42% were either ready-to-eat/box food prepared at home or prepared outside the home. Food for meals prepared at home was purchased predominantly at grocery stores/supercentres while meals prepared outside the home were purchased predominantly at fast food/quick service/coffee shop outlets. Respondents who were younger, identified as Aboriginal, had obesity, had no children, lived in residence at school, university, or college, and reported poorer cooking skills reported more meals that were ready-to-eat or prepared outside the home. The current findings indicate that a substantial proportion of meals consumed by young people consist of meals either prepared outside the home or ready-to-eat/box food prepared at home. Dietary recommendations should highlight basic patterns of food preparation and eating, such as limiting ultra-processed food and food prepared outside the home.

Elevating access: Comparing accessibility to jobs by public transport for individuals with and without a physical disability

Equal access to opportunities has emerged in public transport planning as a social objective that many transport agencies are trying to achieve. Yet in practice, not all public transport agencies are currently providing urban residents with comparable levels of service due to physical barriers in the public transport network that can significantly hinder the ability of individuals with physical disabilities to access opportunities. In countries without a strong federal accessibility act and/or with major financial constraints, some public transport agencies fall behind in applying universal access design principles, making it even harder for people with a physical disability to access opportunities. The objective of this study is to develop a methodology that can be used by public transport agencies or disability advocates to clearly highlight and quantify the performance of the public transport network in a region, in terms of providing transit services to people in a wheelchair and compare that to the service offered to an individual not in a wheelchair. In this study we use accessibility, the ease of reaching destinations, by public transport as the key performance measure in two major Canadian Cities (Montreal and Toronto). Furthermore, we focus on job accessibility in the most socially vulnerable census tracts in both cities, to evaluate levels of job accessibility for wheelchair users residing in socially vulnerable areas. The findings from our study show striking contrasts between the numbers of accessible jobs by public transport for wheelchair users compared to the general population. On average, wheelchair users in Toronto have access to 75% of jobs that are accessible to users that are not in a wheelchair, whilst their counterparts in Montreal have access to only 46% of the jobs accessible to other users. This research is expected to highlight for public transport engineers, planners, policy makers and advocates for those with disabilities, the importance of universal access in a region, especially along public transport networks, using a widely used land use and transport performance measure.

Benefits of latent thermal energy storage in the retrofit of Canadian high-rise residential buildings

Apartment buildings in major Canadian cities make the largest share of the residential stock. However, their poor performance is often characterized by indoor thermal discomfort conditions and high-energy consumptions. Therefore, decreasing the energy demand of high-rise residential buildings through energy retrofits is critical. In the recent years, the adoption of thermal energy storage has often been proposed to stabilize indoor temperatures and to reduce the energy demand for space conditioning in buildings. In this study, the benefits of passive latent thermal energy storage systems are investigated by integrating phase change materials (PCMs) into walls and ceilings of apartment units. A hybrid PCM system with a thickness of 2 cm composed of two PCM products with melting temperatures of 21.7 °C and 25 °C respectively, is investigated. The effectiveness of this composite PCM system is evaluated by quantifying the changes in indoor temperatures and energy demands for apartment buildings in the climate conditions of Toronto and Vancouver. A parametric analysis considering the building window to wall ratios, orientations and temperature set points is performed using simulations done with EnergyPlus™. The results show that the composite PCM system improves the indoor temperatures in both climates by reducing temperature fluctuations and balancing temperature peaks. Overall, the adoption of this system results in the reduction of cooling energy demand by 6% in Toronto and 31.5% in Vancouver. The results showed the benefit of applying two PCM melting points in one zone as an effective method for annual indoor temperature regulation, especially in Toronto.

The knowledge economy city: Gentrification, studentification and youthification, and their connections to universities

We investigate the spatial relationships among three prominent facets of contemporary urbanism – gentrification, studentification, and youthification – in the context of Canadian post-secondary educational institutions (universities and colleges). We conduct the analysis in three major Canadian cities with substantial knowledge economy sectors using confidential Statistics Canada census files, which include information on individuals and their geographies, and the location of universities and colleges, by enrolment size. We document ‘spillover’ effects of expansions in student enrolment and the building of campuses by analysing the geographic correlations among universities and gentrification and youthification. Studentification and youthification are to some extent coincident but not entirely, whereas the connection to gentrification is more complex. Our work provides novel insight into the ways the three different facets of contemporary urbanism overlap and contribute to our understanding of how universities and colleges, as hallmarks of the knowledge economy, influence the social geography of cities.

Breaking the silence of racism injuries: a community-driven study

PurposeInjuries resulting from racism are largely hidden by silence. Community services to provide healing from racism are missing in at least one Canadian city. The purpose of this paper is to identify the injuries suffered by immigrants who experienced racism and discuss the development of culturally appropriate programs and tools to address injuries from racism.Design/methodology/approachParticipants representing visible minorities service providers from non-profit, public-funded organizations in a major Canadian city took part in two focus groups. Data from focus groups were thematically analyzed.FindingsRacism produces traumatic and persistent psychological, social and intergenerational injuries. An ostensible gap exists in services, professional education and skills to address the psycho-social effects of this complex problem. The complicity of silence in both dominant and subordinated groups contributes to its perpetuation. A dearth of screening and assessment instruments is a barrier in identifying individuals whose mental health and addiction problems may have underlying racism-related etiology. Creation of community healing circles is recommended as a preferred method over individual “treatment” to expose and deconstruct racism, strengthen ethnic identity and intergenerational healing.Research limitations/implicationsThese qualitative findings were generated based on the perspectives of a small purposive sample (n=8) of immigrant service providers and immigrants from one Canadian city. Many of these findings are consistent with the existing literature on internalized racism and racism injuries. Generalizability to the wider population of the province and of Canada requires further research.Practical implicationsPractitioners in health and social care as well as educators need to understand the injuries and internalized effects of racism to provide appropriate services and leadership. Development of anti-racism professional knowledge and skills, healing circles, and assessment instruments will contribute to deconstructing racism and mitigating its injuries.Originality/valueCommunity-driven studies exploring racism and the lack of services to address the issue are scarce. This study pulls together the experience of service providers and their insights on ways to break the detrimental silence surrounding racism.

Police Militarization in Canada: Media Rhetoric and Operational Realities

Abstract This paper examines police militarization in Canada between 2007 and 2017. We contrast media and police accounts of militarization with special weapons and tactics (SWAT) team deployment records disclosed under freedom of information (FOI) law. Discourse analysis reveals a series of armoured vehicle purchases has been justified by police claims about the danger faced by police officers, and the need to keep police officers and the public safe. Media and police accounts thus suggest militarization is limited. However, our FOI research shows planned and unplanned deployment of SWAT teams have risen in major Canadian cities and are higher in some cases than those reported by Kraska on public police militarization in the USA. After revealing this juxtaposition between media rhetoric and the organization and operational reality of police militarization, we reflect on the implications of police militarization in Canada and the challenges that police may face in communications about armoured vehicle purchases as public awareness of SWAT team use rises and police legitimacy is questioned.

The Expansion and Normalization of Police Militarization in Canada

Despite extensive analysis of police militarization in the United States (US), the case in Canada has been overlooked. Building on Kraska’s (in Policing 1(4):501–513, 2007) framework of police militarization indicators, this paper examines militarization within Canadian police forces between 2007 and 2016. Drawing from data on deployments disclosed under freedom of information law, our research shows deployment of special weapons and tactics (SWAT) teams have escalated in many major Canadian cities and are even higher in some cases than those reported by Kraska on militarization of US public police. We show how SWAT teams are increasingly used by public police for routine police activities such as warrant work, traffic enforcement, community policing, and even responding to mental health crises and domestic disturbances. We also analyze data on SWAT team growth, and benchmarking between police service SWAT units. We conclude by reflecting on the implications for public policing in Canada and avenues for future research on police militarization and police violence in Canada and other countries.

Coaches’ Experiences Learning and Applying the Content of a Humanistic Coaching Workshop in Youth Sport Settings

The purpose of this study was to develop and deliver a humanistic coaching workshop, as well as investigate coaches’ perceptions of this workshop and their experiences using humanistic coaching. Participants were 12 coaches of grade 7–11 basketball teams from schools in low socioeconomic communities in a major Canadian city. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and personal journals. An inductive thematic analysis revealed coaches perceived the workshop to be effective in teaching the humanistic principles and how to apply them in youth sport settings. The perceived strengths of the workshop included the group discussions, use of videos, practical coaching examples, and learning about the findings from empirical studies. The participants applied the humanistic principles with their teams by asking questions that guided athlete learning and by requesting feedback about various individual and team matters. Despite facing challenges such as increased time and effort to implement humanistic coaching principles, the participants reported positive outcomes in their athletes related to autonomy, communication, motivation, and willingness to help teammates. These results are discussed using literature on youth sport coaching, knowledge translation, and youth development through sport. Findings from this study can be used to enhance youth sport coach training protocols.

Sociodemographic Correlates of Clinical Laboratory Test Expenditures in a Major Canadian City

The increasing cost of clinical laboratory testing is a challenge in our health care system. This study aims to calculate the annual clinical laboratory test costs attributed to patients in a major Canadian city and to correlate them to their sociodemographic variables. Retrospective cohort study involving patients who received clinical chemistry, hematology, and microbiology tests in 2011 in Calgary, Canada (n = 610,409). Test volumes were obtained from a laboratory informatics database. Total expenditures per patient were calculated using estimated test costs and then combined with the 2011 Canadian Census Household Survey results to infer sociodemographic correlates. While more women received laboratory testing (58.4%), men had slightly higher testing costs per capita. Except for Chinese, visible minority and Aboriginal populations had higher testing costs. There was an inverse correlation between testing cost and household income, and accordingly, higher costs were found in those without postsecondary education and the unemployed. Furthermore, hotspot mapping revealed the geographical distribution of patient test costs within the city. There is variation in testing costs for patients among different sociodemographic variables.

Do House Price Spillover Across Main Cities of Canada and China? - Evidence from Causality Analysis

Recently, soaring housing prices in major Canadian cities such as Vancouver and Toronto have raised concerns among residents and policy makers. There is a wide spread belief that the overheating of these real estate markets is due to foreign buyers. If confirmed, the link between outside investments and local markets could have serious implications. However, direct verification is difficult since the data of nationalities of the purchasers is not available, at least until recently. In this paper, we use statistical analysis to address this issue indirectly by studying causal relationships between Toronto, Vancouver and Shanghai and examining possible spillover effect of house price development in Canada and China cities from 2009 to 2016. We use unit root test, co-integration test, error correction model and Hsiao’s Granger test to explore the long- and short-run causal relationships. We found that both Toronto and Vancouver housing markets have a causal relationship with the Shanghai housing market. And the causality relationship from Chinese to Canadian housing markets supports the argument that there is a direct housing price spillover effect through Chinese investment in Canadian real estate over the last decade. However, the response of Toronto and Vancouver housing markets to the Shanghai market differs significantly. Between Toronto and Shanghai, both long- and short-run causality relationships exist, while between Vancouver and Shanghai, only short-run causality is found. A possible explanation is that more immigrants and greater real estate investment move to Vancouver in recent years, leading to higher price volatility in Vancouver than that in Toronto.

Interaction of Gender and Hepatitis C in Risk of Chronic Renal Failure After Liver Transplantation

Background. Chronic renal failure (CRF) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in post-liver transplantation (LT) recipients. The risk factors associated with the development of renal dysfunction are not clearly elucidated. Objectives. To examine the risk factors in the development of CRF in these patients.Material and methods. Retrospective case-cohort of liver transplant patients without baseline kidney dysfunction who developed chronic renal failure during their follow-up.Results. Of 370 patients, 254 met the inclusion criteria. 30% (76) of these patients had CRF of which 57% (43) were male. Age, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at discharge, and HCV infection were found to be risk factors for CRF post-LT. The odds ratio of developing CRF was 1.4 (0.6-3.3) in males with HCV, 1.6 (0.7-3.9) in females without HCV and 4.4 (1.5-13.2) among females with HCV when compared to men without HCV.Conclusions. In this cohort of LT receipients of a major Canadian city, age, eGFR, and HCV infection were risk factors for CRF. Female gender and HCV increased this odds by a factor of more than 4.