Family of Nunavut elder in Ottawa long-term care faces $45K bill to bring him home

Raymond Ningeocheak longs to eat seal meat again with his family in Coral Harbour, Nunavut — but the medevac flight alone to send the Inuk elder home from long-term care in Ottawa costs $45,000. Ningeocheak has spent the last year at the Embassy West senior living facility, where he is receiving care for dementia. His daughter, Sarah Netser, said Ningeocheak's health has been declining rapidly. He was also one of eight elders at the facility to get COVID-19 recently, though he has since recovere

Wheatley residents concerned over security of homes in evacuation zone

Wheatley residents are angry over what they say is lax security near the site of last summer's explosion, after a third security guard was apparently found sleeping on the job. A photo appears to show the guard asleep in his vehicle while on the clock last week. In November, two other security guards were also spotted allegedly sleeping. The homes in the vicinity of the Aug. 26, 2021, explosion — which is believed to have been caused by an abandoned gas well — were evacuated, and homeowners have

Trucker 'freedom' convoy 2022 photos: Drivers opposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates protest across Canada

Ottawa police say they have been in touch with leaders of a trucker convoy over weekend protest plans in the capital and are getting ready for several scenarios — including violence.

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  Elon Musk appears to back anti-vaccine mandate truckers in Canada

  The Independent
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  Canadian 'freedom' truckers massive vaccine mandate protest convoy may smash world record

  Fox News

Windsor opens temporary warming centre as shelters struggle amid COVID-19 outbreaks

City of Windsor staff have opened a new, temporary daytime centre for people experiencing homelessness as area shelters experience COVID-19 outbreaks. Over the last two weeks, roughly 25 of the 40 staff and volunteers at the Downtown Mission, mostly within the dining hall, tested positive for COVID-19, according to Mission interim executive director Rukshini Ponniah-Goulin. Due to those shortages, and in order to be able to keep overnight beds open and staffed during the winter, the Mission was

Breyer: A pragmatic approach searching for a middle ground

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has the air of an absent-minded professor, once joking in court that his wife put directions in his pocket to keep him from getting lost. He concocts outlandish hypothetical questions to try to get answers to difficult questions, often to the frustration of lawyers with limited time to make their arguments. But if Breyer cultivates such an image, it does not mask a razor-sharp intellect, a sunny disposition or a relentlessly pragmatic approach to the law that

Fredericton playwright's answer to zombie apocalypse genre to launch as podcast series

An amateur theatre group in New Brunswick has come up with an entertainment alternative to binge-watching during these cold winter months. Big Noise Audio Collective has produced a dramatic podcast series that's premiering this week, called Fortune of Wolves. It's based on a play by Ryan Griffith of Fredericton, described as part odyssey, part exploration and part mystery, with an undercurrent of the supernatural. The podcast tells the story of a young man who is living in Nova Scotia when his l

In Romania, French defense minister pledges support

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania’s defense minister held an official meeting in the capital Bucharest Thursday with his French counterpart, who pledged to stand by Romania through “difficult times” as tensions soar between Russia and Ukraine. The meeting between Vasile Dincu and Florence Parly was held at Romania’s Ministry of National Defense, where the two NATO members discussed bolstering military ties within the framework of the alliance. The officials also discussed Romania's acquisition o

Memories run deep as Canadian men return to San Pedro Sula for World Cup qualifier

Memories of San Pedro Sula are hard to shake. For members of the Canadian men's team who were there Oct. 16, 2012, for a decisive World Cup qualifying game against Honduras, the 8-1 loss at the Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano is like an ugly, hard-to-remove tattoo. The lopsided defeat was doubly painful because the Canadians came into the game knowing they only needed a draw to make the final round of CONCACAF qualifying for the first time since the leadup to France '98. "That was probably our bi

B.C. vet seeks good homes for 2 big snakes

If you're looking to add a python or a boa constrictor to your household, today may be your lucky day. Veterinarian Adrian Walton of the Dewdney Animal Hospital is trying to find forever homes for two snakes who made their way to his Maple Ridge, B.C., clinic. Walton says one of the reptiles, a 1.4-metre-long ball python, came from a B.C. SPCA chapter in the Okanagan. "One of their volunteers drove it from Penticton all the way through Manning Park to Hope where me and my family picked it up and

TransAlta seeks to build a battery energy storage facility near Ghost Reservoir

TransAlta has officially filed its application with the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) to build a battery energy storage facility near the Ghost Reservoir on the Bow River while addressing concerns about safety and emergency planning in the event of a fire or leak. The project will be capable of supporting the grid with a maximum power rating of 180 megawatts of electricity, making this one of the largest storage facilities of its kind in the province. The company says the lithium-ion batter

Fergus, Ont., teen stands up against school bullying, community hate through Kindness Pledge

A Fergus, Ont., high school student is urging her community to be kinder and more inclusive following a series of bullying incidents at her school. Abby Graham, a Centre Wellington District High School student, said the start of 2021-22 classes was awful because of incidents targeting marginalized students, including those who are transgender and individuals living with disabilities. The 17-year-old said school administration and staff have appropriately responded, but she believes the incidents

Kellyanne Conway memoir 'Here's the Deal' coming out May 24

NEW YORK (AP) — Former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway has a memoir out May 24: “Here's the Deal” is billed by her publisher as a look beyond the headlines of the Trump administration and her family life, including her husband and prominent Trump detractor, George Conway. “Not just the story of the White House, ‘Here’s the Deal' takes the reader inside Kellyanne’s own house, on her own terms,” Threshold Editions announced Wednesday. “Kellyanne became a fulcrum between the see-sawing deman

Teen charged with 1st-degree murder in 'unprovoked attack' on Mississauga man

A 17-year-old was charged with first-degree murder in the "unprovoked" stabbing death of a man in Mississauga this week, Peel police say. Mohamed Ahmed was found stabbed in the Roche Court area at around 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 25. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Ahmed was 41. The teen was arrested on Jan. 26. He is scheduled to appear in a Brampton court for a bail hearing Thursday. "Police believe this was an unprovoked attack on an innocent victim, and they are not

Simba the apparatus — not the lion — helping measure ice thickness in N.W.T.

To most people, the names Simba and Mufasa might be characters in The Lion King. But to researchers out of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont. they're also the names of instruments monitoring snow and ice on lakes in the N.W.T., to better understand climate change and improve public safety. Arash Rafat, a master of science student involved in the project, helped install a pair of snow and ice mass balance apparatuses — or SIMBAs for short — near the Ranney Hill trail outside of Yellowkn

UN urged to open query into Iran's 1988 killings and Raisi role

Prominent former U.N. judges and investigators have called on U.N. human rights boss Michelle Bachelet to investigate the 1988 "massacre" of political prisoners in Iran, including the alleged role of its current president, Ebrahim Raisi, at that time. The open letter released on Thursday, seen by Reuters, was signed by some 460 people, including a former president of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Sang-Hyun Song, and Stephen Rapp, a former U.S. ambassador for global criminal justice.

Trucker convoy against vaccine mandates rolls through Ontario en route to Ottawa

A convoy of truckers opposed to COVID-19 vaccine mandates is making its way through southwestern Ontario on Thursday, bringing traffic headaches while drawing scorn from some and praise from others. Hundreds of people gathered in London at a local truck stop and on an overpass across Highway 401, waiting for the convoy to arrive from Windsor and Sarnia, the region's two border points with the United States. People waved flags and drank coffee as the convoy's arrival was delayed, in part due to a

Police charge suspect in fatal Vanier stabbing

Ottawa police have found the suspect in last weekend's fatal stabbing and have charged him with second-degree murder. Jayco Partridge, 40, was found badly hurt on Hannah Street and Montreal Road in Vanier around 6:20 a.m. Saturday. Police said he later died in the hospital. Devon Wynne was arrested by Ottawa police Wednesday evening, according to a police news release. The 28-year-old had been named as the suspect the same day as the stabbing. Wynne is expected to appear in court Thursday.

Russia, U.S. keep door open to Ukraine diplomacy, but big gaps remain

Russia said on Thursday it was clear the United States was not willing to address its main security concerns in their standoff over Ukraine, but both sides kept the door open to further dialogue. The United States and NATO submitted written responses on Wednesday to Russia's demands for a redrawing of post-Cold War security arrangements in Europe since it massed troops near Ukraine, prompting Western fears of an invasion and new U.S. pledges of defense support. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow needed time for review and would not rush to conclusions, but that U.S. and NATO statements describing Russia's main demands as unacceptable did not leave much room for optimism.

Council to consider $100K support for legal challenge to Quebec's Bill 21

Ottawa council will consider giving $100,000 to support the legal challenge to Quebec's Bill 21 next month, after a string of Canadian cities have pledged to help fight the legislation. A motion — put forward by Coun. Diane Deans and seconded by Coun. Rawlson King — asks the city to approve spending the money to support the joint legal challenge to the bill being brought by the National Council of Canadian Muslims, the World Sikh Organization and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. The law