Even as DFO shutters salmon farms, it maintains link between farms and sea lice infestations is ‘uncertain’ A federal decision to shut down 15 open-net Atlantic salmon farms around B.C.’s Discovery Islands is being lauded as a win for protecting wild salmon, and a significant blow to the fish-farm industry — all while reigniting a decades-old debate between industry and scientists. The decision from Ottawa came just weeks after a Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) report found no “statistically significant association” between sea lice infestations among wild juvenile chum and pink salmon and the fish farmsRead more

Trudeau facing pressure from Quebec, Conservatives to close unofficial border crossing in Quebec Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he plans to push U.S. President Joe Biden to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement during his visit to Canada next month. That agreement states that asylum seekers who enter the U.S. or Canada must make their claims in the first country they arrive in, because the two countries share similar approaches to immigration. But the treaty doesn’t cover unofficial points of entry. Since 2017, Canada has seen an influx of refugee claimants crossingRead more

William Beynon’s work considered to be unparalleled in scope and detail The accidental discovery of four reels of microfilm that contain an extensive historical record of the Tsimshian First Nations is creating a buzz in northwestern B.C. Indigenous communities and in the world of academia. The microfilm turned up last week at Tea Creek Farm in the village of Kitwanga, about 1,230 kilometres northwest of Vancouver. Workers Joel Letendre and Noah Beaton found it in a bin while cleaning out the workshop at the farm owned by Noah’s dad, Jacob Beaton. The information onRead more

2021 flooding most expensive disaster in B.C. history, insurance bureau says The federal government says it is giving more than half-a-billion dollars to B.C. to help deal with ongoing recovery costs after 2021’s devastating floods. Federal minister for emergency preparedness Bill Blair was in Abbotsford — one of the many communities hit hard by flooding in November 2021 — on Thursday to announce a $556,955,880 payment to the province through the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA) program. According to the Government of Canada, this brings the total amount of money givenRead more

‘When these numbers are not tracked, it’s a lot easier to dismiss the magnitude of the problem’ Joanne MacIsaac recalls the day in 2013 when she found out police had shot and killed her brother Michael. “Something like that changes you,” MacIsaac said. Michael MacIsaac was shot dead by a Durham police officer while running naked through his Ajax, Ont., neighbourhood and wielding a metal table leg — a psychological episode related to his epilepsy, according to his family. What if instead of yelling ‘Drop your weapon,’ police asked ‘How can I help?’Read more

Hockey Nova Scotia’s ‘Paris to Toronto’ calls for John Paris Jr., to be recognized A grassroots effort is underway to get professional hockey’s first Black coach, John Paris Jr., inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Hockey Nova Scotia launched a petition dubbed “Paris to Toronto” on Feb. 1, calling on the Nova Scotia-born Paris to be recognized by the Toronto-based hall for his contributions to the game. Paris, 76, said in an interview from Halifax Tuesday that all the attention was unexpected. “It’s humbling, I can most certainly sayRead more

Teams finish 7-game series on Wednesday in Laval, Que. Circle Wednesday on the calendar if you enjoy do-or-die showdowns between acrimonious rivals. After dropping the first three games of the seven-game national women’s Rivalry Series to the United States, Canada has bounced back with three consecutive wins, including Monday night’s 5-1 victory at the sold-out Colisee Videotron in Trois-Rivières, Que. The seventh and deciding game will be played Wednesday at Place Bell in Laval, Que. Sarah Nurse opened the scoring for Canada on Family Day with a goal at 3:06 ofRead more

Health minister calls the incident ‘unacceptable and disturbing’ A succession of errors led to a patient, who was still recovering from anesthesia and surgery, being abandoned on an empty floor without supervision or medical assistance for hours, Radio-Canada has learned. The incident occured at Fleury Hospital, in Montreal’s north end, on the night of Feb. 3, several Radio-Canada sources learned. The patient, a firefighter, was supposed to be sent to the eighth floor for overnight observation after an evening surgery. However, the orderly erroneously took him to the third floor ⁠— intended for day surgeries ⁠— whichRead more