EntertainmentCBCHalifax's only gay men's chorus is performing live again after two years
Halifax's only gay chorus is performing live again after two years and after already selling 1,200 tickets, they say it's clear people in HRM are ready and eager for more queer entertainment. "We've sold 85 per cent of the tickets for our three shows already, and that's just so exciting," says Tim Cross, president of Halifax Gay Men's Chorus. HGMC will be performing Dec. 9, 10 and 11 at St. Andrew's United Church on Coburg Road in Halifax. Ticket prices are reduced for seniors and youth. "Everyb
EntertainmentCBCDiversity in holiday movies improves, but gaps still need to be filled
It's the most wonderful time of the year to binge-watch holiday movies, with a new slate of festive films being released on the small screen as we head into the winter months. And for an industry that's long been criticized for its lack of diversity, this year's seasonal offerings are taking steps toward inclusivity. One year after airing their first holiday movies featuring LGBTQ characters in prominent roles, television networks Lifetime and Hallmark are releasing new films starring gay leads,
NewsThe Canadian PressFirst Nations, regional district in B.C. working together to restore diverted river
A British Columbia regional district and three neighbouring First Nations have agreed to work together to restore a river that has been diverted for the last 70 years in order to generate hydroelectricity for aluminum smelting and the province's power grid. The Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako and the Nadleh Whuten, Saik'uz and Stellat'en First Nations formalized their partnership to improve the health of the Nechako River in a memorandum of understanding signed this fall. The agreement come
NewsCBCWho's your father? N.S. man shares Gaelic origins of Atlantic phrases on TikTok
Atlantic Canadians all know it: the quick affirmative inhale and nod. It's a speedy way to indicate you agree to something — but many people might not realize it has its roots in the Gaelic language. Nova Scotian TikTokker Cory Matheson (whose Gaelic name is Coraidh MacMhathain) recently started making videos to show how Celtic languages like Irish (also known as Gaeilge) and Scottish Gaelic have influenced current words and common questions. Matheson started learning bits and pieces of Gaelic a
NewsCBCWorry, disappointment among Ottawa's African community as new variant emerges
Members of Ottawa's African community say they want the Canadian government to do more to support vaccination efforts in Africa and around the world as a new COVID-19 variant alarms public health experts. On Friday, the federal government barred all foreign nationals who had travelled through seven southern African countries in the past two weeks from entering Canada after the World Health Organization declared the omicron variant a variant of concern. "You see the consequences of the failure to
NewsCBCIt's time for the weekly CBC Ottawa news quiz
What caused an LRT train to ground to a halt Tuesday night? Which local MPP announced he won't seek re-election when Ontarians go to the polls in 2022? And which of the region's health units has toughened up its rules around private indoor gatherings? These are just a few of the questions designed to vex and perplex you in this week's CBC Ottawa news quiz. On a desktop computer? For the best quiz-taking experience, click on the arrows in the bottom right-hand corner of the quiz widget to expand
EntertainmentCBCIn Kate Story's new novel Urchin, science can be magic, and a girl can be a boy
What do Marconi and H.G. Wells have to do with fairies? A new young adult novel by Kate Story has created their common ground, and it's on the south side of St. John's. Urchin is a tale about the in-between spaces where science and fiction and magic all get equal airtime. Into this mix runs Dorthea, a girl who discovers a new identity as a boy named Jack, an identity that feels like a better fit. Story credits Marnie Parsons of Running the Goat Press for the initial spark for Urchin. "She said,
NewsCBCJennifer Hillier-Penney's family still without closure, 5 years after her disappearance
The brother of Jennifer Hillier-Penney, the St. Anthony woman who disappeared without a trace five years ago, fears the police will soon declare her file a cold case and the family will never find the closure they desperately seek. "People can't believe this is the fifth year," said Glen Hillier, with tears in his eyes. "I still can't believe it's true. I would like for her to be able to walk out through the door and say 'Hi, I'm here'. It's a hard feeling, emotions are going wild." Hillier, fam
BusinessCBC'Untenable' insurance policies could silence live music venues
The COVID-19 pandemic has already taken a big toll on Ontario's music venues, with several in Ottawa having closed their doors for good. For those who've survived the lockdowns and capacity restrictions, however, there's now a new threat: many small-and-medium-sized venues are facing remarkably high increases in their insurance premiums. "You can get insurance if you're willing to pay, in some cases — and this is not a made up number — 4,000 per cent higher than what you may have paid before," s
BusinessCBCAttention shoppers: Overcharged for an item at checkout? You might be able to get it for free
Planning to spend big this holiday season after last year's lockdowns? It pays to check your bill before leaving the store. Not only might you catch a mistake, but if you were overcharged for an item, you may also be able to get it for free or at a discount. More than 7,000 retail stores in Canada — including many large chains — are members of the voluntary Scanner Price Accuracy Code. Managed by the Retail Council of Canada (RCC), the code mandates that when shoppers are overcharged for certain
NewsCBCCMHA program made 'life worth living' again for Windsor mom who lost son suddenly
In 2015, Kirsten Altenhof was a happy mother of four, a business owner and had recently ran the Boston Marathon. The death of her son Zachary, 21, changed everything. "At that point, my world just went completely dark, to best describe it," she said. "I did not work. I could barely drive a car. Running was over; walking was a struggle, and I took up smoking, and at times, I smoked up to two packs of cigarettes a day." Zachary died in his sleep on May 15, 2015. To this day, the cause of his passi
NewsCBCFraser Valley farmers won't know for weeks how floodwaters have affected prized soil
Six days into the flood, Harman Kaur and her husband took a drive past their acreage and found thousands of their ruby-red blueberry bushes were still completely buried in the murky, brown floodwater. Leaking pesticides swirled around the field. Garbage and gas tanks floated past. The smell of fuel filled their noses. "There was a complete layer of oil on top [of the water], and we're talking what I could just see from the road," said Kaur, 29, whose family has owned their farm in the Arnold are
NewsCBCAs critics warn of genetic 'surveillance', RCMP explores use of DNA matching in criminal probes
For years, he was only known as Septic Tank Sam — a macabre nickname the RCMP pinned on a disfigured body pulled from a septic tank in rural Alberta in the late 1970s. But this past summer saw a breakthrough: Septic Tank Sam got his name back. Through a Texas-based DNA lab that uses genetic genealogy, the RCMP in Alberta was able to identify the deceased as Gordie Sanderson, who had been reported missing decades earlier. Using DNA extracted from his bones, Othram Inc. was able to build a genetic
SportsCBCMinor football team's clubhouse vandalized, spray-painted with racist graffiti
A football team in Ottawa's east end has been left reeling after a racist slur was spray-painted on the outside of its clubhouse and the inside was vandalized. Qasim Khan, president of the Orléans Minor Football Association, said the discovery was made Wednesday after the league was told there appeared to have been a break-in at the clubhouse. Although a number of worst-case scenarios were running through his head when he made the drive there, he said nothing prepared him for what he found. "Nev
NewsCBCRefugee family that fled Afghanistan with Canada's approval is now stuck abroad in web of bureaucracy
Every day is now painfully similar for an Afghan mother of four as her family waits anxiously in an unfamiliar country for answers from the Canadian government. CBC News is concealing her name as she fears for the safety of relatives still in Afghanistan. In October, the family received approval under Ottawa's special immigration program for Afghans who helped Canadian efforts in Afghanistan. They hoped they'd be starting their new lives in Canada by now. Instead, they're languishing in limbo. T
HealthCBCWhat you need to know about COVID-19 in Ottawa on Sunday, Nov. 28
Recent developments: Ottawa reported 61 more cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, the highest single-day total in eight weeks. Ottawa Public Health warns of possible COVID-19 exposure during private rideshare. Untenable' insurance policies could silence live music venues. What's the latest? Another 61 cases of COVID-19 were reported in Ottawa on Sunday. It's the highest single-day case total reported by Ottawa Public Health (OPH) in two months. OPH says the male driver of a rideshare between Montréal's
LifestyleCBCChef Ric knows learning to cook can change a person's life, because it saved his
When he was just 10 years old, Chef Ric Watson remembers how it was his job to do the grocery shopping all by himself. "I could barely see over the cart going down the aisle," he said. "I was given a certain amount of money and I had to make that work. I had to learn how to do a budget at that age," he added. "I never got it right and I'd get to the cash and they'd say 'here comes little Ricky Watson.'" Now known to everyone simply as Chef Ric in his job as executive chef and director of food se
NewsCBCCrowned in Curls: Teen publishes book celebrating Black hair
Aisha Boubacar's quarantine hairstyle experiment quickly turned into a bona fide writing project. While many were trying to cope with being separated from their trusted hairstylist during the lockdown period, Boubacar, then 14, embarked on what she calls a love story with her Afro-textured hair by writing a children's book, Crowned in Curls. "I started thinking a lot about why I didn't love my natural hair, which is a part of me," she said. The rhyming story inspired by her childhood follows Ima
NewsCBCTown councillor in wheelchair stranded by cuts to paratransit near Thetford Mines
An elected official in a town near Thetford Mines fears he may not be able to fulfil his council role when the cold settles in. André Cloutier, a quadriplegic councillor for Saint-Joseph-de-Coleraine, Que., who uses a wheelchair to get around, does not have access to paratransit in the evening when his council meetings end. "It's a one-kilometre trip back home from town hall," said Cloutier. "I take one side of the street, but it gets dark early and it is dangerous." An agreement last January sh
NewsThe Canadian PressCzech president swears in opposition leader as new premier
PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech president on Sunday swore in Petr Fiala as the country’s new prime minister following last month’s parliamentary election. Milos Zeman, in a wheelchair, was separated from Fiala and the other officials by transparent panels during the ceremony at the presidential chateau in Lany, west of Prague. The president tested positive for coronavirus last week and must isolate. Zeman wished Fiala “success.” Following the Oct. 8-9 vote, a three-party, liberal-conservative coalition
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Police arrest suspect after man is stabbed in Halifax
Halifax Regional Police say they have a suspect in custody after a man was stabbed in the city Saturday night. Police say officers were called to Brunswick Street just before 11 p.m. where they found a man suffering from a stab wound to his upper body. They say the 24-year-old man was taken to hospital for treatment of what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries. Investigators say a 26-year-old man was arrested a short time later near the scene and that charges are pending. Police say
NewsReutersFrench minister heads to Caribbean territories to defuse tensions
France's minister for overseas territories will hold crisis talks on its Caribbean islands from Sunday, an official said, as the government looks to defuse tensions after more than a week of unrest stemming from its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic there. "I don't think we will return to Paris necessarily having resolved the whole crisis, but if we take things bit by bit and methodically, it will calm things and open a constructive dialogue with all the actors," an official close to Minister Sebastian Lecornu told Reuters before the delegation arrives in Guadeloupe later on Sunday. A plan for compulsory vaccination for health workers stoked a sentiment among the majority Black population of Guadeloupe and Martinique of being excluded and marginalized from the mainland, although the same measure had already been introduced on the mainland.
