Quebec woman with rare cancer will get out-of-province treatment after research fund steps up to cover costs
‘I’ve found renewed hope,’ says 31-year-old Stéphanie Alain, who’ll head to Calgary Stéphanie Alain was screaming for joy on Wednesday afternoon after receiving a call from her doctor. He told her she’s heading to Calgary and Quebec’s health research fund — a not-for-profit organization funded by the government — stepped up to cover up to $100,000 for her to participate in an experimental treatment she’s hoping will save her life. “My family cried with me,” said Alain. “We’re all really relieved and also happy.” Alain’s been waiting for this opportunity for months,Read more
Coast Guard on standby in Hay River should fire situation worsen: mayor
Hay River Kandis Jameson says she’ll never forget watching roaring fire from plane The mayor of Hay River says the Canadian Coast Guard is on standby in the southern N.W.T. hub in case the wildfire situation worsens and further emergency evacuations are needed. Mayor Kandis Jameson held a news conference on Saturday to give an update on the fire threatening her community. She shared the pain of leaving the North behind when boarding an emergency flight to Alberta on Friday. “I felt like I was abandoning the people that were working the hardestRead more
Highly mutated COVID virus variant BA.2.86 showing up in multiple countries
Handful of cases from Israel, Denmark, U.S., U.K.; none yet in Canada A highly mutated variant of the virus behind COVID-19 has popped up in multiple countries, but scientists aren’t yet sure whether it will help fuel a fall wave of infections or simply fizzle out. BA.2.86 was deemed a variant under monitoring by the World Health Organization on Aug. 17. Though only a handful of samples exist, its emergence across several continents since it was first identified in late July, coupled with its unusually high number of mutations, has put COVID watchersRead more
Province didn’t do analysis of corrections system before deciding to build Fredericton-area jail, records show
A more detailed assessment was done in 2008, before the province built two new provincial jails The province didn’t do any kind of detailed analysis to map out the future of corrections in New Brunswick before announcing plans to build a new jail in the Fredericton region, according to records reviewed by CBC News. In 40 pages of records turned over by the Department of Justice and Public Safety after an eight-month access-to-information battle, there’s no report assessing the business case for building a new Fredericton-region jail, including how much itRead more
Early signs suggest fall COVID-19 wave starting in Canada — before updated boosters are available
Positive tests, hospitalizations creeping up as drugmakers seek new vaccine approvals There are early signals Canada is already entering a fall COVID-19 wave, while updated booster shots likely remain weeks away. Earlier this week, the Public Health Agency of Canada said fluctuations in virus activity across the country could be an “early sign” of increased infections. The percentage of COVID tests coming back positive, for example, had been gradually declining since the spring, but started going up again over the last month — most recently hitting nearly nine per cent. Hospitalizations increasedRead more
Different cities, different wildfires: How 2 Canadian cities are fighting back
Firelines, sprinklers and water bombers: geography and weather play a role in how crews attack fires Powerful wildfires are bearing down on Kelowna, B.C., and Yellowknife, but the two cities have different challenges, constraints and resources as firefighters take them on. Weather, topography, water access and forest conditions are all influencing officials’ strategies to fight the flames in each location. In Yellowknife’s case, fires have been burning near the territorial capital for weeks — since late June, according to the Natural Resources Canada. A fire west of the city expanded and moved closer to theRead more
Canada’s women’s rugby 7s team welcomes Aussie push ahead of Olympic qualifier
Series of exhibitions against top-ranked opponent provides growth in many areas Canada’s women’s rugby sevens team opted for the school of hard knocks ahead of this weekend’s Olympic qualifying tournament in Langford, B.C. And not the usual ones associated with a physical sport. What the team received from a series of exhibitions this summer against top-ranked Australia were lessons in tactics and play the organization believes will only help Canada in the long run. “We’re really just striving to improve from our performance last year, and playing against the bestRead more
1,200 homes on prime farmland: What’s known about the plan to develop the Greenbelt in Pickering, Ont.
Developer says ‘various housing types’ part of 1st phase of development on Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve The battle over the future of the largest chunk of land the province removed from the protected Greenbelt in December has intensified in the last week, ever since Ontario’s auditor general revealed how a small group of developers influenced the process. As many as 30,000 housing units could be built on the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve (DRAP) in north Pickering in the coming years, according to a city staff report from May 2023, on farmland that was supposed to beRead more
Montreal’s Pride parade draws record numbers in day of celebration Social Sharing Facebook Twitter Email Reddit LinkedIn
Around 15,500 people marched in the parade, says organizer Thousands of people marched and cheered down Montreal’s René-Lévesque Boulevard Sunday afternoon in what has become the largest Pride parade organized by Fierté Montréal to date. Around 15,500 people took part in the parade representing 192 different groups and community organizations, according to Simon Gamache, the executive director of Fierté Montréal. Parade participants waved colourful flags and blared music along a 2.9-kilometre route that began at Dorchester Square and stretched into the heart of Montreal’s Gay Village. Among the crowd was Matthew Xanthoudakis, whoRead more
COVID keeps evolving, but so does our immunity. Are we now at a ‘stalemate’ with this virus?
New study shows 3/4 of Canadians have antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 After billions of global COVID-19 infections, millions of deaths, and countless lives upended by long-lasting health impacts, we’ve finally hit a point in this pandemic where SARS-CoV-2 isn’t the fearsome pathogen it used to be. Once thought to kill up to 20 per cent of those infected in the early days of 2020, COVID’s destructive potential is now being throttled by widespread immunity and regularly-updated vaccines. Even so, this ever-evolving virus is with us to stay. It still causes rolling waves ofRead more