A new survey finds two-thirds of Canadians still plan for turkey with all the fixings It’s a hectic day at The Meat Company, an online butcher shop in Winnipeg. On the Thursday before Thanksgiving, Stephen Cross and his staff are cutting meat and packing up orders that will be picked up or delivered to their customers for their big meals. “Now that the COVID epidemic is somewhat coming to an end, hopefully, people are starting to gather again at home. So, bigger meals. So, we’re busy. It’s nice. Finally,” Cross,Read more

Mponda Kalunga, a.k.a. The Egyptian Prince, wants to revive gold rush-era boxing mania Mponda Kalunga is a fighter in every sense of the word. He first fell in love with boxing when he saw Mike Tyson knockout Francois Botha on TV at the refugee camp in Tanzania where he grew up. “Seeing how this moment literally made everything stop … the good and the bad, just for this moment that … always stuck to me,” he said. “That’s the feeling. I want that glory.” Kalunga’s search for glory has beenRead more

Head of social services board says public opposition played part in stopping project In the middle of a particularly frigid, snowy winter this past year, two community leaders in Dryden, Ont., announced plans to open a temporary emergency shelter for three nights a week. There were hopes for it to open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at the Full Gospel Church, supported by the Kenora District Services Board (KDSB), which administers a range of social services to nine municipalities across northwestern Ontario. That news came as a relief to people livingRead more

Despite Environment Ministry crackdown at plastic recycling plant, tiny bits of plastic still washing ashore Over the last few weeks, Gabriel Provencher-Pharand has been criss-crossing the Rivière Magog in a small motor boat, searching for tiny bits of plastic that have washed up on the banks. The Magog flows from Lake Memphremagog, in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, through Lac Magog and past the city of Sherbrooke on the Lac des Nations before emptying into the Rivière Saint-François, a tributary of the St. Lawrence River. “We have to act,” said Provencher-Pharand, a technician with the freshwater environmental group Regroupement des associations pour laRead more

Veterans and on-duty military personnel learn the art of blacksmithing at an Ashcroft ranch You wouldn’t ordinarily associate axe-making with mental health therapy, but a Cariboo-area ranch is using the novel approach to help Canadian army veterans and first responders cope with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health issues. Veterans Affairs Canada estimates that 10 per cent of veterans who served in combat zones or on peacekeeping missions experience PTSD, a chronic condition that can cause severe anxiety through flashbacks and nightmares related to a traumatic event. For Jennine Gates, the act of forging anRead more