Increasing number of students putting pressure on teaching, support resources The number of students at public schools in Nova Scotia is on the rise following decades of declining enrolment as the province has welcomed a record number of immigrants and seen a substantial increase in Canadians from other parts of the country moving to the province. New figures released by the Education Department show enrolment increased this fall at every regional centre for education in the province. It’s a sea change for the province, where enrolment has steadily dropped from over 200,000 in the early 1970s due toRead more

Mail carrier helped Santa with 1.5 million letters last year and is ready for a busy season While many are rushing around preparing for a busy holiday season, one group of students in Windsor, Ont., has been busy writing the big guy in red — just in time to hear back, according to his official Canadian mail carrier. This year, Canada Post says to send your Santa letter by Friday Dec. 9, so that he has time to write back. Grade 2 students at St. James Catholic Elementary School in West Windsor took some timeRead more

Police say they plan to adopt the new name out of respect, at request of community A previously unnamed woman known only as the sole unidentified victim of an alleged serial killer in Winnipeg now has a name given to her by the community: Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman. The name came after discussions among a group of advocates, knowledge keepers and grandmothers who found it didn’t sit well with them that the slain woman, who police are trying to identify, was only being referred to as an unknown victim,Read more

Iconic play bringing back several members of original cast for new showing A new mounting of the smash hit ‘da Kink in My Hair is returning to the stage this month to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Set in a hair salon, the play brings back several members of the original cast and is helmed by Soulpepper Theatre artistic director Weyni Mengesha, who oversaw the first full production in 2003. Mengesha said returning to ‘da Kink in My Hair moved her because she grew up alongside the original cast members and fostered long-lasting friendships. She saidRead more

‘They don’t leave you, even when you’re at your worst,’ says mother applauding program in Manitoba There was a moment in Cara Courchene’s life when reuniting with her children seemed out of reach. The child welfare system seems stacked against parents like her, but one Indigenous-led program has had remarkable success in trying to change that. In 98 per cent of cases, the Family Group Conference program either reunited children with families who love them, or prevented a child from entering the child welfare system in the first place. Courchene is one successRead more

Percentage of urban land considered ‘green’ declined by 94% over last 20 years, audit shows Ontario is not doing enough to prevent urban flooding, a problem that is expected to worsen in the coming years, the province’s auditor general says. The findings are part of the 2022 Auditor General’s Report, which points to the province’s failure to clarify its commitments to manage urban flooding and a failure to adequately support municipalities and homeowners to effectively tackle the problem. Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk says it isn’t just a problem for the three per cent ofRead more

Students say it’s frustrating to have to leave while N.L. is trying to boost immigration It took Foroogh Mohammadi a while to get used to the Newfoundland weather. Five years ago she traded the hot temperatures of Iran for cool and blustery St. John’s “I got used to it because the warmth of the people and the culture and and everything in the city warm our hearts,” she said. Mohammadi, along with her husband Pouya Morshedi, are doing their PhDs in sociology at Memorial University. They came for an education,Read more

Marine heat waves are a prime reason the giant underwater forests are at risk Early in Chris Neufeld’s scientific career, he studied creatures that depend on the kelp forests of the wild West Coast: native snails, invasive crabs and the barnacle’s legendary penis. The kelp itself was “really just the backdrop,” floating at the surface in photos of his fieldwork, he said. Until it started disappearing. “Since 2016, that kelp forest that’s in the background of the photo I often show is gone,” said Neufeld, a research scientist at the BamfieldRead more

New screening approach eliminates 3-month deferral period Quebec’s blood agency has put an end to its blood donation eligibility assessment procedure that discriminates against gay and bisexual men, as well as others in the LGBTQ2+ community. As of Sunday, Héma-Québec lifted its policy that restricts people in this group from donating blood for three months after being sexually active. From now on, all potential blood donors in the province —  regardless of sex, gender or sexual orientation — will undergo the same initial evaluation. The assessment of risk for sexual behaviour will therefore be based on an individual basis,Read more

Report is latest to scrutinize treatment of Indigenous people in Quebec health-care services Nearly a year after the Quebec government’s self-imposed deadline passed to enshrine cultural sensitivity into its health-care law, the province’s Indigenous affairs minister says it will finally introduce a bill to do so by the end of this parliamentary session. Ian Lafrenière renewed his government’s promise Friday, just days after the release of a report that found at least 22 Indigenous women in Quebec had been forced or coerced into sterilization between 1980 and 2019, a practice that has been tied to colonialism andRead more