July, 2022
Complaints over Red Cross treatment prompt protest walk by First Nation fire evacuees in Manitoba
7 people began 625 km walk toward The Pas on Highway 6 Friday, vow to raise awareness of situation A small group of people evacuated from Mathias Colomb Cree Nation due to a wildfire risk are walking hundreds of kilometres back toward their community in protest of the treatment they say they’ve received from the Canadian Red Cross. The group of seven began the 625-kilometre walk northwest from Winnipeg to The Pas along Highway 6 on Friday and vowed to keep going in hopes of raising awareness of their situation. “WeRead more
‘He never did anything halfway’: Montreal volunteer fighter dies in Ukraine, mother says
Former firefighter Émile-Antoine Roy-Sirois, 31, died July 18, said American volunteer Marie-France Sirois hadn’t heard news about her son for days, until his best friend in the army called. “I knew it was the end,” she said. Her son, Émile-Antoine Roy-Sirois, 31, died on July 18, according to his friend, Adriel Martinez, an American volunteer in Ukraine. Roy-Sirois left Montreal in March to lend support to Ukrainian troops following Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24. Sirois is hoping to bring her son’s body back to Montreal after she spent months pleadingRead more
Airport woes got you down? Take the train and embrace ‘slow travel’ instead
Taking the scenic route can make the journey as magical as the destination, say rail enthusiasts Flight delays, cancellations and lost baggage, like many Canadians have faced during travel this summer, is not the best way to start a vacation. But there are alternatives — it just might take a little longer to get to where you’re going. “Slow travel can mean a lot of things to a lot of different people. To some, it could mean, say, visiting a destination and spending a lot of time there rather thanRead more
Canada’s bee colonies see worst loss in 20 years, explosion of mites blamed
Warm weather in spring 2021 favoured growth of parasitic bug that attacks, feeds on bees, expert says Nearly half of Canada’s honeybee colonies didn’t survive the winter, the largest rate of colony loss in the country in the last 20 years, according to preliminary data. “That’s pretty disturbing,” said Ernesto Guzman, president of the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists, which surveyed commercial beekeepers across the country. Many factors can lead to the deaths of bees, but Guzman said he assumes the main factor behind the losses is the varroa miteRead more
The Pope’s ‘penitential pilgrimage’ will focus on reparation, observers say
It’s been 35 years since a papal visit to an Indigenous community in Canada The last time the pope visited an Indigenous community in Canada was in 1987 when John Paul II stopped in Fort Simpson, N.W.T., on Dehcho First Nations land. There, he praised the role of Catholic missionaries, saying the “revival of your [Indigenous] culture and traditions that you know today is largely due to the initiatives and continuous efforts of missionaries.” “[Your ancestors],” he said, “knew by instinct that the gospel, far from destroying their authentic values andRead more
Vehicles may not be recovered from stricken MV Holiday Island
Northumberland Ferries cancels N.S.-P.E.I. ferry service through Sunday Ferry service between P.E.I. and Nova Scotia has been suspended for the weekend due to a fire that forced more than 200 passengers and staff to evacuate the MV Holiday Island on Friday. Northumberland Ferries announced Friday evening the ferry service between Caribou, N.S., and Wood Islands, P.E.I., would be cancelled for a second day due to the emergency situation at the MV Holiday Island. It said in an update Saturday morning that all crossings would also be cancelled through Sunday. On Saturday, passengers were toldRead more
Canada wins gold in men’s 4x100m relay at World Athletics Championships
De Grasse, Brown, Blake and Rodney capture Canada’s 3rd medal in Eugene Twenty-six years after Robert Esmie, Glenroy Gilbert, Bruny Surin and Donovan Bailey captured gold for Canada in the men’s 4×100-metre relay on a Saturday night in Georgia at the 1996 Olympics, another Canadian quartet of runners have struck gold again — this time on a Saturday night in Eugene, Ore. With a boisterous American crowd going crazy for the heavily-favoured U.S. track team at the World Athletics Championships, Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney and Andre De Grasse ran theRead more
RCMP’s psychological assessment of N.S. shooter called into question
Mountie review tried to explain gunman’s behavioural patterns before rampage A psychological autopsy commissioned by the RCMP about the gunman in Nova Scotia’s 2020 mass shooting lacked “fundamental” information and can’t be treated as reliable, according to two researchers who appeared before the inquiry investigating the tragedy Friday. In the months after Gabriel Wortman’s rampage in April 2020, an RCMP’s team — including in-house profilers and an RCMP forensic psychologist — attempted to understand his state of mind at the time of the shootings and identify any behavioural patterns. In June 2020, RCMPRead more
Quebec under pressure to solve shortage of judges who serve in Inuit communities
Court proceedings for entire week cancelled due to shortage of personnel Quebec’s Inuit and legal communities are calling on Premier François Legault’s government to increase the number of judges who can serve in the province’s north, following the cancellation of a week of hearings that had been scheduled in Kuujjuaq, the largest community in Nunavik. According to Makivik — one of the main players in the justice system in northern Quebec — Inuit are paying the price for a shortage of judges in the judicial district of Abitibi, which handles court services in Nunavik.Read more
Fire forces evacuation of P.E.I.-N.S. ferry as fisherman, first responders rush to rescue
No injuries reported; ferry service cancelled for remainder of day More than 200 people were safely evacuated from a ferry travelling from Nova Scotia to Prince Edward Island on Friday, after a fire broke out in the vessel’s engine room. The fire broke out on board MV Holiday Island around 11 a.m. AT, about an hour into its crossing from Caribou, N.S., to Wood Islands, P.E.I. “Ship’s crew and safety systems contained the fire,” said Don Cormier, vice-president of Northumberland Ferries. “Captain took necessary precautions and dropped both anchors and directed theRead more