Canadians own one of the most powerful passports in the world but it's far from number one.
ATLANTA — Bishop Reginald Jackson stepped to the microphone at a drive-in rally outside a church in southwest Atlanta as his voice carried over a loudspeaker and the radio to people gathered in, around and on top of cars that filled the parking lot.“Let’s keep Georgia blue," Jackson said. “Let’s elect Jon Ossoff, Raphael Warnock to the United States Senate.” The presiding bishop of more than 400 African Methodist Episcopal churches in Georgia added a pastoral flourish as horns honked and supporters cheered: “If I have a witness, somebody say amen!"As Georgia becomes the nation’s political hotspot this winter before twin runoff elections Jan. 5 that will determine control of the Senate, faith-based organizing is heating up.Conservative Christians are rallying behind Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, while Black churches and liberal-leaning Jewish groups are backing Democratic challengers Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. The Democrats' fates are seen as intertwined in a state that this year turned blue in the presidential election for the first time since 1992 by a razor-thin margin.“These runoffs are critically important,” Jackson said. “We want to make sure there is no decrease in turnout.”Across Georgia, the African Methodist Episcopal Church is implementing a program designed to ensure its members, and Black voters overall, cast ballots in the runoff — focusing on votes by mail and early in-person voting. Pastors at each church remind tens of thousands of congregants every week to apply for an absentee ballot and of early voting dates, Jackson said in an interview. Each local church also follows up with congregants to make sure they have a plan to vote.The New Georgia Project, a nonpartisan voter mobilization group founded by Democrat Stacey Abrams, who ran for governor in 2018, is also preparing to tap the influence of faith communities in stoking turnout.Rev. Billy Honor, director of faith organizing at the group, said the conservative Christian Faith & Freedom Coalition — founded by former Georgia GOP chairman Ralph Reed — has long positioned Georgia “as the home of evangelical fundamentalist types when it comes to the political space."“But the truth is, for a very long time, there has been an active, effective movement of progressive-minded, justice-centred clergy” who have worked in the state on voting rights, health care and other issues, Honor added. He said Warnock was part of that work before his candidacy. Warnock is senior pastor at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church, the congregation led by the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.Meanwhile, Loeffler and Perdue can expect to benefit from a conservative Christian base that has long boosted the state’s Republicans. Faith & Freedom made Georgia one of its top three spending targets in a $50 million get-out-the-vote program during the general election and plans increased organizing for the runoffs.The reach of "the evangelical vote in Georgia is very large and very strong,” Timothy Head, the group’s executive director, said in an interview.Head noted that while President Donald Trump kept a strong hold on white evangelical voters this year, Perdue out-performed Trump in Georgia during the general election. President-elect Joe Biden may have won over some evangelicals by contrasting his character with that of Trump, Head said, but he argued that the same sort of case would be harder for Democrats to make against Loeffler and Perdue.Another faith-focused conservative group, the legislative affiliate of the Family Research Council, is holding trainings and pastor briefings before the runoffs. The anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List, whose president advised Trump’s reelection campaign on Catholic outreach, has announced a $4.1 million plan to boost Loeffler and Perdue through a partner political action committee.Religious issues already have become a campaign flashpoint in the runoff. The GOP has resurfaced excerpts from past Warnock sermons to assail him as insufficiently supportive of the military as well as anti-Israel. The Democrat signed a letter last year comparing Israel's policy toward Palestinians to “previous oppressive regimes" and criticized it in a 2018 sermon, while also calling for a two-state solution in the region.Warnock pushed back in a recently released television ad, saying the attacks are “trying to scare people by taking things I’ve said out of context from over 25 years of being a pastor.”One group criticizing Warnock as too left-leaning on Israel, the Republican Jewish Coalition, is also mobilizing on behalf of the GOP incumbents.Jewish Democrats in Georgia predicted that the GOP attack on Warnock’s Israel record would fall flat, citing his record of friendship with the Jewish community through his pulpit at Ebenezer.Sherry Frank, president of the Atlanta section of the National Council of Jewish Women, said she sees “no doubt in the Jewish community about (Warnock’s) stance on Israel and anti-Semitism.” Frank's group is conducting nonpartisan voter turnout work for the runoffs.Georgia’s Jewish Democrats also see, in Ossoff and Warnock, candidates whose joint push for the Senate harkens back to a tradition of Black and Jewish leaders working together during the civil rights movement. Warnock has a bond with a prominent Atlanta rabbi whose predecessor at the synagogue was close with King.Warnock is viewed “as the inheritor" of King’s legacy, said Michael Rosenzweig, co-chair of the Georgia chapter of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, which has endorsed both Democrats. “And to the extent that Jews were supportive of the civil rights struggle and supportive of (King), I think they look supportively on Rev. Warnock.”Ossoff, who is Jewish, has defended Warnock against GOP criticism over Israel and fondly recalled his own connection to the late Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia civil rights leader who endorsed Ossoff before his death in July. In October, Ossoff said he and Lewis talked during their first meeting about “the bond between the Black and Jewish communities, marching alongside rabbis and young Jewish activists in the mid 1960s ... and how important it was that these communities be brought together."___Schor reported from Washington.___Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through the Religion News Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for this content.Elana Schor And Ben Nadler, The Associated Press
Olivier Roy-Baillargeon loves the sound of snow crunching under his feet when he's running."This is an activity you can do whatever the conditions," said Roy-Bailargeon."Whereas cycling, it's too cold, too icy, too windy. You can't play volleyball. You can't play basketball. Running, you can actually do it over the winter."Now that the gyms are closed in Quebec's red zones for a second time, outdoor exercise equipment sales are booming, and many are turning to running — one of the cheapest ways to work out.But when it comes to hitting the streets during Quebec's harsh, unpredictable winter weather, running coaches and trainers like Roy-Baillargeon say you need to follow some key rules to stay safe and have fun.Dress appropriatelyRoy-Baillargeon said there is a way to dress for 10 C, a way to dress for between 10 C and -10 C, and for anything under -10 C.On a -3 C day, for example, he always wears mittens and a hat because hands get cold and heat is lost through the head. He wears two layers, the first being tight to his body so it wicks away sweat.As for footwear, he's always wearing the lightest, most breathable shoes he can find for fast drying. Regular running shoes or trail running shoes are both good, he said.Be visibleThe short, dreary days of winter create poor visibility for motorists, meaning runners are at risk while out for a jog.Julie Graham, a kinesiologist who has a clinic in Boucherville on Montreal's South Shore, said reflective, bright colours are important.Affordable lights can also be attached to the body, facing back and forward, she said."I run in the winter for many reasons, the first being to keep my routine going all year round," said Graham."It's good to go outside. We are always inside. It's more fun to run outside in the winter on a nice day, than in the summer when it's hot and humid."Check your health before heading outPeople who suffer from respiratory or heart disease should get the green light from their doctor before exercising outdoors in the winter, said Graham.From there, new runners with health conditions should start slowly and gradually ease into outdoor winter running as it speeds up the heart, burns a lot of energy and can irritate the respiratory tract.To reduce that irritation, she suggests inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. She says the nose and mouth should be covered with a scarf, and people should avoid suddenly going from an overheated place out into the cold.And everybody, no matter their health, should pay attention to their body and not ignore any warning signs, she said.Plan your route accordinglyFooting can be bad in the winter, and roads can be narrower. Graham said people should use caution to avoid getting hurt.She suggests slowing down and taking shorter strides when running on slippery surfaces. Some people use spikes or crampons on icy days.She said people should also consider changing their usual running route as needed to avoid dangerous situations, such as icy conditions or large snow banks that make it hard to keep a safe distance from traffic.Warming up is crucialGraham said people need to make sure they are properly hydrated and warmed up when heading out into the cold.She suggests warming up inside to gradually get the body moving, and says it can take longer for the body to get ready when it's cold out.Roy-Baillargeon said static stretching before a run can lead to injury, and instead, people should start from a fast, walking pace and work their way up to full speed over 10 to 15 minutes.Stay motivatedStaying motivated to run when the temperature drops isn't easy, but Roy-Baillargeon said running from A to B rather than A to A — a loop — can make those cold, winter runs more enticing.He suggests, for example, running to a store to pick something up or running back from the store after shopping.Any occasion where running can be incorporated will make it easier to face the elements, he said.
Despite promises of an "iron ring" around Ontario's long-term care homes, the second wave of COVID-19 has brought hundreds of cases and deaths among their elderly residents.More than 100 homes are currently battling an outbreak of the novel coronavirus among either staff or residents, according to the latest figures published by the Ministry of Health. So far in November, the deaths of 259 long-term care residents with confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported by the province. With an additional 598 active confirmed cases among residents, and experience showing as many as one in three people over age 80 who contract the virus succumb, there's fear that hundreds more will die before a vaccine campaign rolls out in Ontario's long-term care homes. "Families are scared and they're angry," said Vivian Stamatopoulos, an associate professor at Ontario Tech University and advocate for long-term care residents."The scale of the outbreaks, these exploding outbreaks that we're seeing is really evidence that we wasted the summer months not properly safeguarding the sector," Stamatopoulos said in an interview with CBC News. One of her greatest concerns is that some homes continue to house seniors three or four to a room. "Right now those poor residents are effectively sitting ducks, because the second one of those individuals in that ward room gets COVID, it's a slippery slope at that point," Stamatopoulos said. After the carnage of the springtime, deaths in long term care slowed dramatically, once the spread of the virus slowed around the province. Over a stretch of nearly eight weeks (from July 22 to Sept 13) Ontario's long-term care facilities reported just four deaths of residents that tested positive for COVID-19.But as the number of infections among the general public grew in the second wave, long-term care staff and residents got infected too. And inevitably, deaths among residents followed, "The greatest predictor of whether a home is going to experience an outbreak is community transmission," said Dr. Nathan Stall, a geriatrician at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. "Where you have more community transmission, you have a worse number of outbreaks."Premier Doug Ford has faced questions about why long-term care residents are getting infected with COVID-19 during the second wave, long after he promised to protect them with what he called an "iron ring" back in the spring. Health Minister Christine Elliott made a similar pledge earlier this month as the deaths mounted. In separate interviews, both Stall and Stamatopoulos brought up Ford's iron ring comment, without prompting. When the virus is spreading widely in the community, "it's predictable you're going to have outbreaks (in long-term care) in spite of trying to create an iron ring," said Stall. "Really what you're left with is more like an iron sieve." "People assume that you can place this iron ring around homes, that it's completely sealed environments, and that's just not how it exists," said Stamatopoulos. "Staff live in the communities. So if there's rising transmission — and we know a lot of the staff live in communities with the highest rates of transmission — of course it's going to get in." Once the virus is brought into a home, Stall says it spreads most quickly in older, less spacious homes where residents are living in multi-occupancy rooms. He's urging the province to help more crowded homes expand and make it easier for infected residents to isolate, such as building temporary "field hospital" structures or taking over hotels. At the same time, he is concerned about the impact of certain restrictions put on the lives of residents that he says are not actually protecting them from the virus. "I'm not aware of any evidence that allowing a long term care resident outdoors to get fresh air or for a small walk around the premises has led to transmission of COVID-19," said Stall. The province announced Saturday that the management of two more long-term care homes battling outbreaks — Rockcliffe Care Community in Toronto and Langstaff Square in Richmond Hill — is being temporarily handed to local hospitals. At the peak of its outbreak earlier this month, Rockcliffe reported more than 130 of its 165 residents had tested positive for COVID-19. The latest provincial figures show 17 Rockcliffe residents with the virus have died.
TORONTO — No winning ticket was sold for the $8.9 million jackpot in Saturday night's Lotto 649 draw.However, the guaranteed $1 million prize went to a ticket holder in the Prairies.The jackpot for the next Lotto 649 draw on Dec. 2 will be approximately $11 million.The Canadian Press
The top doctor for the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) says he's pleased provincial COVID-19 education and enforcement teams will soon be visiting businesses in the region.Starting this week, the teams will be showing up at local businesses to ensure they're complying with pandemic guidelines and to educate them on the protocols. "We're seeing that's kind of a blind spot for us," Dr. Paul Roumeliotis said at a media briefing on Friday.The aim of the campaign — which will see enforcement teams travel across Ontario — is to help businesses stay safe and open by ensuring they're taking steps to protect employees, customers and the wider public from the virus. As of Saturday morning, 835 people had tested positive for COVID-19 in the EOHU, which includes communities like Hawkesbury, Alexandria, Clarence-Rockland and Cornwall. There were 90 known active cases, 714 cases considered resolved and 31 deaths. Business not to blame: chamber of commerce"We just want to make sure that people have that heightened awareness, despite the fact that our numbers are going down," Roumeliotis said. "Because they could easily turn around."The executive director of the Cornwall and Area Chamber of Commerce, Greg Pietersma, doesn't believe businesses are to blame for the virus spreading, however,"We're dealing with the potential that asymptomatic people are spreading the virus, and I don't know what screening and what requirements can stop that," he said."The common cold is still moving around, despite our best efforts."The EOHU has also been shifting back and forth between the yellow zone — where it currently sits — and the orange zone on the province's pandemic scale, and that's caused confusion and frustration for business owners, Pietersma added.Businesses are also supposed to have a safety plan developed, something the province's teams will be checking on when they visit the region from Dec. 3 to Dec. 5.While the focus of the visits is education, the teams are able to lay fines if they find significant non-compliance.
What was Coun. George Darouze caught doing during a livestream of a city meeting?What was the subject of a city report that one councillor described as "95 pages of horror stories?"And what does a recently passed bill from a local MPP propose to abolish in Ontario?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 it.
Independent consultants are recommending Ottawa city council grow by one member in the next municipal vote in 2022, but the final electoral map they propose no longer redraws wards dramatically the way earlier controversial options did.Ottawa's electoral map needs to redistribute populations because some wards were simply growing so quickly that their residents' votes had become diluted — notably Barrhaven, Gloucester-South Nepean and the growing suburban area of Cumberland ward.The consultants started work nearly a year ago, but the first five maps they produced seemed to please few. Council had set the goal to stay the same size, at 23 seats, but doing so while adjusting for growing populations meant the shapes of wards needed to change extensively.Despite some councillors' objections that politicians shouldn't meddle in drawing electoral lines, council voted in July to ask consultants to draw up a sixth option.They have now carved up the city into 24 wards instead of 23: 12 inside the Greenbelt, nine in the suburbs, and three rural wards.If approved, one of the biggest changes would see Barrhaven and Riverside South represented by three councillors instead of two. Two rural wards would also merge, creating the physically largest ward, stretching from Osgoode in the south to Wilhaven Road in the city's north-east. After residents opposed folding rural Cumberland into its southern neighbour, however, consultants tweaked the area along Highway 174 so that Cumberland Village would join with urban Orléans.Kanata South weighs inLinda Dunn still doesn't think the map goes far enough, and leaves rural, French-speaking rural residents and the eastern villages of Sarsfield and Navan aligned with communities they've never belonged to, in a "gigantic" ward."It's going to take an hour to drive from one end ot the other," said Dunn, a former councillor in what was then Cumberland Township, who drew east-end residents' attention to the ward boundary changes this past fall. "I don't know how any one person is going to manage that. It's a recipe for disaster."Coun. Matthew Luloff agrees the map isn't perfect, but is glad Cumberland Village, at least, has been brought into Orleans' fold.Luloff is also glad many wards are now outlined by natural boundaries such as Bilberry Creek or Innes Road — helping residents know which councillor to call with an issue — rather than arbitrarily splitting neighbourhoods such as Queenswood Heights and Fallingbrook."I'm really pleased to see the consultants took a long hard look and kept those neighbourhoods together. I think that it makes a really big difference," he said. Kanata residents also seemed to take great interest in the ward boundary changes. Half of the 2,150 surveys that came in this fall were from residents in Kanata South.Their councillor, Allan Hubley, had been frustrated this past summer that all options had used Terry Fox Drive rather than the Carp River as the dividing line, putting the Kanata Recreation Centre and Walter Baker Park into Stittsville. In the final proposed map, those amenities remain in Kanata South and the river remains the boundary.Consultants aimed for the average population to be 47,900 per ward by 2026, although rural wards will remain below average.The recommended new ward boundaries go to finance committee Tuesday for approval, then on to city council Dec. 9.
Recent developments: * Ottawa is reporting 79 new COVID-19 cases and two new deaths on Sunday.What's the latest?Ottawa reported 79 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday and two new deaths. The city's death toll stands at 374. Sunday's case total marks the highest single-day total in more than two weeks. Eighteen cases were reported in people in their 20s, more than any other age group. In western Quebec, public health officials recorded 30 new cases on Sunday. The Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) says it supports the province's decision to dispatch education and enforcement teams to the region to ensure businesses are following COVID-19 protocols.The teams will show up in the EOHU later this week, although the head of the chamber of commerce in Cornwall, Ont., says businesses aren't to blame for spreading COVID-19.Cornwall also chose to hold a physically-distanced Santa Claus parade this weekend — an event many other communities have decided to cancel due to the pandemic.How many cases are there?As of Sunday, 8,458 people had tested positive for COVID-19 in Ottawa. There are 374 known active cases, 7,741 cases now considered resolved and 374 people who have died of COVID-19.Public health officials have reported more than 13,800 COVID-19 cases across eastern Ontario and western Quebec, including more than 12,400 resolved cases.Ninety people have died of COVID-19 elsewhere in eastern Ontario, along with 80 in western Quebec. CBC Ottawa is profiling those who've died of COVID-19. If you'd like to share your loved one's story, please get in touch.What can I do?Both Ontario and Quebec are telling people to limit close contact only to those they live with, or one other home if people live alone, to slow the spread of the coronavirus.Ontario says this will apply through December's holidays, with people who live away from home such as post-secondary students asked to reduce close contacts for 10 to 14 days before going back.Quebec has shared what it will take to have at most two small holiday gatherings next month. Rules won't be loosened until mid-January at the earliest.Travel from one region to another discouraged throughout the Outaouais.WATCH: Vanier BIA head urges people to shop local this holiday seasonOntario says people shouldn't travel to a lower-level region from a higher one and some lower-level health units want residents to stay put to curb the spread.Ottawa is currently in the orange zone of the provincial pandemic scale, which allows organized gatherings and restaurants, gyms and theatres to bring people inside.Ottawa's medical officer of health, Dr. Vera Etches, has said Ottawa's situation is stable and people should focus on managing risks and taking precautions, such as seeing a few friends outside at a distance, to bring the spread down further.Communities in the Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (KFL&A) and Eastern Ontario health units are under yellow zone restrictions, while the Hastings Prince Edward region will enter the zone just after midnight tonight.That means restaurant hours, table limits and rules around capacity fall somewhere between those in place in Ottawa and the rest of eastern Ontario, which is currently green, the lowest level.In Gatineau and the surrounding area, which is one of Quebec's red zones, health officials are asking residents not to leave home unless it's essential.There is no indoor dining at restaurants and gyms, cinemas and performing arts venues are all closed.The rest of western Quebec is orange, which allows private gatherings of up to six people and organized ones up to 25 — more in seated venues.What about schools?There have been about 200 schools in the wider Ottawa-Gatineau region with a confirmed case of COVID-19:Few have had outbreaks, which are declared by a health unit in Ontario when there's a reasonable chance someone who has tested positive caught COVID-19 during a school activity.Distancing and isolatingThe novel coronavirus primarily spreads through droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes, breathes or speaks onto someone or something. These droplets can hang in the air.People can be contagious without symptoms.This means people should take precautions such as staying home when sick, keeping hands and frequently touched surfaces clean, socializing outdoors as much as possible and maintaining distance from anyone they don't live with — even with a mask on.Ontario has abandoned its concept of social circles.Masks are mandatory in indoor public settings in Ontario and Quebec and should be worn outdoors when people can't distance from others. Three-layer non-medical masks with a filter are recommended.Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms should self-isolate, as should those who've been ordered to do so by their local public health unit. The duration depends on the circumstances in both Ontario and Quebec.Health Canada recommends older adults and people with underlying medical conditions and/or weakened immune systems stay home as much as possible. Anyone who has travelled recently outside Canada must go straight home and stay there for 14 days.What are the symptoms of COVID-19?COVID-19 can range from a cold-like illness to a severe lung infection, with common symptoms including fever, a cough, vomiting and the loss of taste or smell. Less common symptoms include chills, headaches and pink eye. Children can develop a rash.If you have severe symptoms, call 911.Mental health can also be affected by the pandemic and resources are available to help.Where to get testedIn eastern Ontario:Anyone seeking a test should book an appointment.Ontario recommends only getting tested if you have symptoms, or if you've been told to by your health unit or the province.People without symptoms, but who are part of the province's targeted testing strategy, can make an appointment at select pharmacies.Ottawa has nine permanent test sites, with mobile sites wherever demand is particularly high.Kingston's test site is at the Beechgrove Complex. The area's other site is in Napanee.The Eastern Ontario Health Unit has sites in Alexandria, Cornwall, Hawkesbury, Limoges, Rockland and Winchester.The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark health unit has permanent sites in Almonte, Brockville, Kemptville and Smiths Falls and a mobile test site visiting smaller communities.People can arrange a test in Bancroft and Picton by calling the centre or Belleville and Trenton online.Renfrew County residents should call their family doctor or 1-844-727-6404 for a test or with questions, COVID-19-related or not. Test clinic locations are posted weekly.In western Quebec:Tests are strongly recommended for people with symptoms or who have been in contact with someone with symptoms.Outaouais residents can make an appointment in Gatineau seven days a week at 135 blvd. Saint-Raymond or 617 avenue Buckingham.They can now check the approximate wait time for the Saint-Raymond site.There are recurring clinics by appointment in communities such as Gracefield, Val-des-Monts and Fort-Coulonge.Call 1-877-644-4545 with questions, including if walk-in testing is available nearby.First Nations, Inuit and Métis:Akwesasne has had its most known COVID-19 cases of the pandemic this month, with 22 and counting in its Ontario portion and more on the American side of the border. Its council is asking residents to avoid unnecessary travel.Akwesasne schools and its Tsi Snaihne Child Care Centre are temporarily closed to in-person learning. It has a COVID-19 test site available by appointment only.Anyone returning to the community on the Canadian side of the international border who's been farther than 160 kilometres away — or visited Montreal — for non-essential reasons is asked to self-isolate for 14 days.The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte reported its first confirmed case this month.People in Pikwakanagan can book a COVID-19 test by calling 613-625-2259. Anyone in Tyendinaga who's interested in a test can call 613-967-3603.Inuit in Ottawa can call the Akausivik Inuit Family Health Team at 613-740-0999 for service, including testing, in Inuktitut or English on weekdays.For more information
It was 26 days before Christmas, and all through the malls, not a Santa could be sighted, except through Plexiglas walls. In the year of COVID-19, precautions were taken, to make sure young and old would not be forsaken. Malls great and small got creative, it's true, to make sure that Saint Nick could come to you.Some malls are using high-tech holograms, while others are making Plexiglas shields to protect Santa Claus.In Sydney, Mayflower Mall is using its social media accounts to connect kids with Santa. In a normal year, Mayflower Mall has up to 3,000 kids flock to Santa for a picture, said Greg Morrison, the mall's general manager. "It is such a great … boost in morale for a lot of people," said Morrison, "Maybe it might have even been taken for granted over the years, but I'll tell you [Santa] will be missed and we hope to have him back up and running again for 2021."It's the first time since the mall was founded 40 years ago that Santa hasn't made an appearance. However, with the possibility of COVID-19 spreading among those waiting to see Santa, the jolly old elf decided to stay away. But the Mayflower Mall has sent out a special video message from Santa through their Facebook and Twitter accounts. The mall has also posted a giant-sized letter in the area Santa usually occupies in the mall. In the letter, Santa explains he won't be able to stop by the mall this year but will still be making all his Christmas deliveries. At Sunnyside Mall in Bedford, planning combined with technological magic is allowing Santa to come to the mall — as a hologram. "It'll be 3D," said Jillian Mason, the mall's marketing manager. "It will look like Santa is floating in thin air because he is, because Santa is magic. He will be in his office in the North Pole writing letters, eating cookies and drinking milk. When he sees a child pass by he'll wave to them."Another hologram of reindeer racing through the sky has also been set up. People can get pictures taken there."It is pretty spectacular and magical," said Mason. "We started back in June. "You know, we realized that COVID wasn't necessarily going anywhere so we'd have to get creative."So Mason and the mall reached out to a local advertising company that uses holograms to set up the technology. She wouldn't say how much it cost, but that it was within the mall's budget.The holograms are expected to be up and running by Dec. 4 and will continue until Christmas Eve. The mall also has a mailbox so children can send letters to Santa and receive a personalized response. A few dozen letters a day are coming into the mailbox, said Mason. For an in-person Santa experience, the Highland Square Mall in New Glasgow is the place to go. Guests have to stand two metres apart in a Christmas-themed waiting area and are eventually led to meet Santa, who is seated behind Plexiglas.The Halifax Shopping Centre has done the opposite. It has gone virtual with its visits, offering in-mall and at-home online visits with Santa.Children also have the option of getting a pre-recorded message from Santa, according to the mall's website. "Even though we're not able to sit on Santa's knee this year and talk to him in person, Santa himself is very magical," said Mason. "So whether it is appearing out of thin air or being able to respond to letters all over the world, we will have some sort of interaction with him. I think magic is what makes the holiday season so special."MORE TOP STORIES
Tobermory is a small harbour tucked into the shore of Lake Huron's massive and beautiful Georgian Bay. Mare than 20 historic shipwrecks from a long ago time lay on the bottom, inviting adventurous scuba divers to venture beneath the waves to explore them. Wooden steamships with massive boilers that propelled them over the lakes with their cargo were once commonly used to deliver food, building materials, and other products between cities and even between Canada and the United States of America. The five Great Lakes are among the largest bodies of fresh water in the world, created during the ice age when glaciers carved paths and left rivers and lakes behind when they melted. Lake Huron is situated on the Canada/U.S. border and it's northern shore is Georgian Bay, almost as large as the rest of the lake itself. The tiny, but picturesque town of Tobermory is a popular place to visit, especially for those who seek an opportunity to scuba dive in cold, but crystal clear conditions. The visibility is a blessing because there is a lot to see near Tobermory. This is where marine Fathom Five National Marine Park is located. Famous for the Flowerpot Island with it's unique structures towering high above the shore, land adventurers also flock to the area for sightseeing and pictures. The 420 million year old dolomite has been worn by the weather and waves to create mysterious caves and structures both above and beneath the water. But Fathom Five holds the allure that brings scuba divers from around the world to visit more than 20 old wrecks that have been surprisingly well preserved in the icy depths. Wooden beams, rudders, boilers and ship hardware are on the lake's bottom, just as they were when the wrecks came to rest after their destruction. A few of the wrecks have actually been placed intentionally to create interesting dive sites for exploration. Such is the case with this ship, the Caroline Rose which was built in the 1940s in Nova Scotia, Canada. Originally sunk by mishap, it was towed to its current location to make it accessible for scuba enthusiasts. A trip to Tobermory holds something for everyone. Summer scuba diving events are held by Float n' Flag Dive Centre in Burlington for those looking to investigate this area and the wonders it holds.
When Agnes Rendell found out a robot would be used in her life-saving surgeries, she couldn't wrap her head around it."You have a vision of this R2-D2 coming in and doing surgery," she said. "It was just crazy to me."Rendell is celebrating eight months later as it appears the robot pilot program will become a permanent addition to the QEII Hospital in Halifax. That follows a significant donation from the Joyce Foundation.Rendell was shocked to learn she had two tumours, one on each kidney, during a routine checkup earlier in the year. She was told she needed two major surgeries immediately, but they would be done using the hospital's new surgical robot, DaVinci. "It's amazing today," said Rendell. "If I didn't have the scars … I don't think I would know I had surgery."Surgeons in Halifax have advocated for a surgical robot for years as their counterparts in bigger cities received them.But the massive price tag proved to be a major hurdle. DaVinci, for example, costs $8.1 million for equipment and training.But for Dr. Ricardo Rendon, a urolologic oncologist, DaVinci was a valuable investment that could take his work in an entirely new direction.The robot has four arms, each with an attachment to help with a procedure. It's controlled by a surgeon in a console a few feet away from the patient.Rendon said it took a while to be comfortable working with his back to his patients."Now, I'd actually rather be here than be there because I'm able to do more and better things here than actually standing beside the patient."Rendon said the machine can move in ways a hand can't, so physicians can take on more complex surgeries. DaVinci is also precise, leading to faster recovery times."For kidney cancer, before it was four or five days, now we keep them for one or two days," Rendon said.A few years ago, Rendon took those arguments to the QEII Hospital Foundation and convinced the team to launch one of its biggest fundraising campaigns.The foundation collected big and small donations from the community. Last year, it raised enough to borrow the robot and launch a pilot program. It is the first of its kind in Atlantic Canada.Little did the surgical team realize how valuable it would be when the pandemic reached the region a few months later.While hospitals stopped nearly all services, surgeries using the robot were able to start up again within weeks because the physicians could distance from their patients.The shorter hospital stays were another benefit."We're decreasing the number of days they can be exposed to people who potentially have COVID, and we're keeping our beds available for other situations," said Rendon.While Rendon was adapting to a new way of work, the financial aspect of the program was leaving the team in limbo, wondering if they'd be able to buy the robot outright.But a new donation from the Joyce Foundation has the QEII Foundation's giant goal in reach. The charity wrote a cheque for $1 million.There's now just a $350,000 gap to fill to make DaVinci a permanent resident of Halifax.That's great news for Rendell, who is now speaking out as much as she can to help people understand what it can do. "I'm still marvelled at it. I just don't have the words all the time because I just can't believe how fast everything healed up."Seven weeks after her second surgery, she was back on the golf course, swinging the club better than ever."We always say DaVinci made me a better golfer. I think it's a he! He's my hero."It's my favourite robot," she laughed.MORE TOP STORIES
Winds could kick up to 80 kilometres an hour along the South Coast on Sunday and Monday, according to Environment Canada, which also issued winter storm warnings for the northwest corner of the province.Special weather statements for windy conditions were issued Saturday for Metro Vancouver, Greater Victoria, Eastern Vancouver Island, Howe Sound, the Sunshine Coast and the Southern Gulf Islands.Environment Canada said damaging winds gusting up to 80 km/h could develop Sunday afternoon and into Monday morning due to a cold front.A wind warning was also issued for Haida Gwaii as winds there are expected to reach 90 km/h starting Saturday night.Environment Canada also issued a winter storm warning for the northwest corner of the province, saying strong winds and up to 25 centimetres of snow are expected to accumulate by Sunday morning.
Hundreds marched through downtown Calgary on Saturday to protest against mandated masks and other public health measures intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the same day record highs in new cases and hospitalizations were reported in the province.The protests, or "Walk for Freedom," have been a weekly occurrence in the city and across the country for months, but Saturday was the first since the province's 10-person limit on outdoor gatherings was announced on Tuesday."To see that there is a group of people in the Canadian population that is against masking, and to say that it infringes on their freedom, is taking the word out of context — it's actually an insult on all those civil rights heroes who fought for freedom," said Dr. Sajjad Fazel, a public health researcher at the University of Calgary."When we look at the word freedom, we're talking about when people's rights are taken away … you're not allowed to drink and drive without any consequences, right? Everything has a consequence … when it's for the public good, the scenario changes."Fazel is part of a team of researchers and scientists studying COVID-19 misinformation to provide recommendations as to how it can be addressed. Some signs at Saturday's protest expressed misinformation, saying vaccines can alter DNA or that masks cause bacterial or fungal infections. Others expressed economic concerns, or anger at the federal or provincial government. Members of at least two far-right or white supremacist groups were also seen in attendance. Fazel said anti-mask protests show the need for clearer public health messaging — and he said empathy is an important tool when having these conversations about science and health.He suggests more conversation can help people understand the roots behind concerns, whether it's a small business owner worried about their livelihood or someone with anti-government sentiment frustrated by mixed messages."Misinformation isn't just lies, it's a mix of truth and lies mixed up together," Fazel said. "One thing that I always tell people is don't look at what one particular doctor, scientist, researcher sees, but look at what the overall body of science and literature is."One of those in attendance at Saturday's protest, lawyer Doris Reimer, said she was there to make sure Canadians know what their rights are."They're violating our human rights over and over and over again — they're bombarding us with mandates left right and centre, and it's unbelievable," Reimer said. Reimer said she doesn't know what the province's latest enforcement measures include, but said the restrictions are pitting families against each other.The new restrictions include a ban on indoor social gatherings, limiting outdoor gatherings to 10 people and moving Grades 7-12 students to online learning until winter break. Most businesses can remain open, subject to capacity rules, and masks are mandatory inside workplaces in Calgary and Edmonton. Protester Charles Haskett said he's concerned the government could use a heavy-handed approach to fines as an income source. Those who break the rules could be subject to a $1,000 fine and up to $100,000 through the courts. "I don't see the value in condemning people and publicly shaming them and fining them for expressing our opinions," Haskett said.No protesters ticketedNo tickets were handed out at Saturday's protest, but police say they are considering a plan for strategic enforcement going forward. In a release issued Sunday, police said their primary objective is to ask for voluntary compliance and to educate the public on the restrictions."With that said, participants in these events are being investigated. Our ticketing is strategic and will take into consideration a number of factors," police said in a release. "Although citizens may not witness the summons at the time, that does not necessarily mean we are not exploring those options."We know this is a difficult time right now and we will use discretion as we do in many aspects of our job."In Ontario on Thursday, two police services announced charges related to anti-mask "freedom" rallies.Haskett said he's concerned with a lack of transparency and inconsistency in messaging.That's something Fazel also said has been a problem."I think the government, really both provincial and federal, need to invest heavily on tailored and targeted public health messages," he said."I'm sorry to say this, but it doesn't help to have politicians and political leaders who aren't adhering to public health recommendations, who aren't supporting public health recommendations fully … that further steels people's belief in [misinformation]."Beyond conversation, Fazel said enforcement of restrictions also remains an important tool —especially as the second wave builds."Definitely having people with no masks congregating on the streets doesn't help anybody. In fact, it does lead to outbreaks and cases increasing," Fazel said."It's just like when somebody is drunk driving, there [are] some consequences. And I believe there need to be consequences for breaking public health orders, especially at this scale. Alberta Justice Minister Kaycee Madu said Friday that police have independence to make some determinations as to how to enforce health measures, but that he expects those who violate health measures will be held accountable.
The San Francisco 49ers and other teams may need to find a temporary new home after Santa Clara County on Saturday banned all contact sports from holding games and practices for the next three weeks.County officials issued the directives in response to rising cases of the coronavirus in the area. The rules take effect Monday and will last until Dec 21.The 49ers have home games scheduled for Dec. 7 against Buffalo and Dec. 13 against Washington at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. The team also practices at that site in the county.“We are working with the NFL and our partners on operational plans and will share details as they are confirmed,” the team said in a statement.A person familiar with the situation said the NFL and 49ers prepared possible back-up plans before the season in case the Niners needed to move their operations and have an NFL stadium ready for games. The person spoke on condition of anonymity and gave no details on what those plans are because the league hadn't made any announcement.The rules also will impact the San Jose Sharks of the NHL and college teams at Stanford and San Jose State.“For those teams, they will not be able to play games or have practices where they have direct contact, within the county,” Santa Clara County counsel James Williams said.Williams said he has been in touch with the teams but none are ready to reveal their plans to deal with the new rules.Along with banning contact sports, the new rules also require anyone who has travelled more than 150 miles from the county to quarantine for 14 days. The 49ers are playing Sunday at the Los Angeles Rams but will return from that trip before the rules go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday.“This pandemic is like a high-speed train, and our projections tell us that we are on target to derail by around the third week of December,” said Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody. “If we don’t apply brakes, right now with all our collective might.”Cody said Santa Clara County has the highest case rate in the Bay Area, leading to the stricter rules. If the other counties don't follow, the 49ers could look to play at the Oakland Coliseum — the Raiders' old home — or possibly the Giants' baseball stadium in San Francisco. They also could end up playing at a current NFL stadium in another market.The NHL hasn’t announced a date for the start of training camp but the Sharks have said they would look into alternate sites if needed. Several Sharks players have been holding informal workouts at the team facility in small groups.Stanford and San Jose State also have several sports in season. The Cardinal have one scheduled home football game left on Dec. 12 against Oregon State.The Spartans have home football games on Dec. 5 against Hawaii and Dec. 11 against Nevada. San Jose State practiced before the season a few hundred miles away at Humboldt State because of restrictions in Santa Clara County.San Jose State officials will meet with county officials on Sunday to get more details and then will formulate a plan.Stanford's second-ranked women's basketball team has a home game scheduled for Monday against San Diego. The athletic department is discussing options with university and county officials.___More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFLJosh Dubow, The Associated Press
FAITS DIVERS. C’est menotté et en ambulance qu’est reparti du rang Sainte-Anne, à Sainte-Perpétue, un homme qui fait une sortie de route le 28 novembre un peu avant 19h30. Le conducteur qui riait lors de l’arrivée de l’auteur de ces lignes a été pris en charge par les ambulanciers et reconduit à l’hôpital pour ce qui semble être des blessures mineures. Notons que les policiers de la Sûreté du Québec et les pompiers de Sainte-Perpétue étaient sur place. On a également fait appel aux services des incendies de Saint-Léonard-d’Aston pour les pinces de désincarcération.Stéphane Lévesque, Initiative de journalisme local, L'Hebdo Journal
Through late summer and early fall, Tim Ball spent as much time as possible underwater in his dive gear, scouring the seabed off the Burin Peninsula for scallops. It's an ocean-to-table operation that sees his hand-harvested scallops quickly making their way to dinner plates in the downtown of St. John's. "I try to keep it all local," said Ball about his business philosophy. With a provincial economy that's in dire straits and in need of reversing its course, Ball thinks every little bit can help— especially if the focus is keeping as many of those little bits as possible in the province. For Ball, that means, among other things, using locally made bags and boxes for packing his scallops and using a Burin Peninsula cab company for sending his catch into St. John's. "Because this is a primary industry ... we are in, and we are getting the actual resources from the bottom, this is creating new money for the economy," Ball said. "If the money is staying in Newfoundland, then great."Terre Restaurant in St. John's is one of the destinations for Ball's scallops. Before the season ended last month they could be found listed on the menu as "Seared Diver Scallops.""They're amazing," said head chef Matthew Swift. "Anywhere else in the world ... the idea of marketing day boat scallops is sort of a pipe dream. If I were to tell friends in other places that Tim gets out of the water, and I get the scallops in as long as it takes to drive in from Burin? It's insane," he said. On top of the quality, it's Ball's business recipe that also interests Swift. "Just in terms of having a diverse and smaller economy, where we can support people on a more individual level," he said. This way of thinking is something that also strikes a chord with John Schouten — Memorial University's Canada Research Chair in Social Enterprise.Schouten says Ball's operation means more than just local spending on his supply chain. There's also a spillover effect which would also see Ball spend money at local businesses in and around Garnish, where he fishes from. "So every hundred dollars that passes from me, to you, to somebody else here locally, that $100 is working the whole time in our favour here in the province," said Schouten in an interview last month.Patch the bucketIt may be a small example, but there's a bigger lesson in it for the provincial government, said Schouten. He thinks the government should treat the economy like a leaky bucket, where money comes in and goes out. "If the government could, using that metaphor, start patching the bucket to keep the money in the province longer, working harder for local businesses, local people, people who are making a living wage — that would do wonders for the stability of the economy here," he said. Speaking of helping the economy, Ball thinks what he's doing is scalable. In addition to scallops, Ball also hand harvests sea urchin, but he thinks there's more that can be harvested as well — including kelp, sea cucumbers and periwinkles. For that to happen, there would have to be consistent licensing periods from the federal government and more divers with commercial dive training. Eventually Ball would like to see a special school that trains up to a dozen divers a year for this type of work.If a community had a handful of divers, Ball said, the economic spin-off is easy to see — you need people shucking scallops and spotting the divers, gear needs repairing, supplies need to be bought. "I think it's just a win-win situation for small communities," he said. "It could be a good economic boon."Read more articles from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
The ruling coalition of Burkina Faso President Roch Kabore, who was re-elected to a second term last week, has retained its majority in parliament, the electoral commission said on Sunday. Kabore's People's Movement for Progress (MPP) and allied parties won about 90 of 127 seats in the Nov. 22 vote, official results showed. The Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP) party of former president Blaise Compaore, who was ousted from power by an uprising in 2014, has become the largest opposition party in parliament with 20 seats, according to the results.
The federal government is laying plans for the procurement and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, inking contracts with seven potential manufacturers and saying six million doses could arrive in the country in the first quarter of 2021. The most recent development from Ottawa came Friday when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tapped former NATO commander Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin to lead the national distribution effort. But various provinces have started spelling out their plans as well. Here's a look at what they've said so far: —Nova ScotiaThe province's chief medical officer of health says he will release a detailed plan for the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine once Ottawa shares more information. Dr. Robert Strang said Friday there is no certainty yet about the availability of a vaccine, but expressed hopes an initial supply will trickle into Nova Scotia early in the new year.Strang said a detailed provincial plan, to be released once the federal government has shared more specifics on its end, will include tight control of the supply and clear rules dictating who can be first in line for immunization. He said he's waiting for more federal guidance on issues ranging from priority groups to transportation and storage logistics. —QuebecThe province will be ready to start rolling out its vaccine plan as of Jan. 1, say senior politicians. Premier Francois Legault said Thursday that public health officials have already settled on the list of priority vaccine recipients, but did not release details. Legault said the province is also working to put the necessary infrastructure in place to support a vaccine rollout. That includes obtaining fridges capable of maintaining the extremely low temperatures needed by one of the most promising potential vaccine options, currently in development through pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.Quebec has also tasked assistant deputy health minister Jerome Gagnon, and former provincial public health director Dr. Richard Masse to oversee the province's vaccination effort. —OntarioPremier Doug Ford is among those leaders calling on Ottawa to provide more clarity as officials scramble to develop a provincewide vaccination strategy.Early speculation on the number of doses the province could receive was put to rest earlier this week when federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu said such details were still in the works. But Ford has forged ahead, naming former chief of national defence Gen. Rick Hillier to oversee the province's vaccine rollout. Hillier said on Friday he hopes to have a plan developed by year's end, while Ford urged Ottawa to provide detailed information on potential vaccine delivery. "We need a clear line of sight into the timelines of the shipments," Ford said.—AlbertaThe province's top medical official has said she expects to receive 680,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine early in the new year, a figure not yet confirmed by the federal government. Dr. Deena Hinshaw has also said a number of hurdles and unknowns remain as the province works to devise its vaccination scheme. "These (vaccine) numbers, of course, depend on many factors,'' Hinshaw said on Nov. 18. "They depend on the final pieces of the trials that are underway going well. They depend on ensuring that the safety and the effectiveness of the early vaccines can be assured. All of those checks and balances must be cleared."On Friday, Hinshaw said the province is working with Ottawa to get vaccine, but it is "a bit of a moving target" on when vaccines might be available."But our goal is that whenever vaccine is available, we will be ready to start immunizing individuals on that highest priority list."—British ColumbiaProvincial health officials announced on Wednesday that a vaccine strategy for the province is already in the works. Dr. Bonnie Henry, the province's top doctor, said Dr. Ross Brown of Vancouver Coastal Health will join the group working to organize the logistics around the distribution of vaccines.Henry said front-line workers as well as those in long-term care homes will likely have priority for vaccinations.She cautioned that while the province has contracts with vaccine makers, there can be challenges with offshore manufacturing."It's very much focused on who is most at risk and how do we protect them best," Henry said. "There's a lot of discussion that needs to happen."Henry said the province hopes to have vaccines in hand by January.—YukonPremier Sandy Silver told the legislature on Wednesday that the territory has been in discussions with various levels of government on a vaccine rollout plan. He said the goal will be to provide vaccines to elderly people and health-care providers.Silver said rural and remote communities should also get priority status in northern regions, a fact he said he's emphasized with federal authorities. The premier said he has joined the other provincial and territorial leaders in pushing for a national strategy to distribute the vaccine. “How confusing would it be for 13 different strategies right across the nation?” he said. Silver said the Pfizer vaccine could cause logistical problems for remote communities because of its cold-storage requirements, but those issues may not apply to other vaccines under development. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 29, 2020.The Canadian Press
MINNEAPOLIS — Toronto native Marcus Carr scored 22 of his 28 points in the first half and Minnesota beat Loyola Marymount 88-73 on Saturday night.Both Gach added 17 points and Liam Robbins had 10 for the Golden Gophers (2-0). Carr, Gach, and Robbins combined for seven of the Gophers' eight 3-pointers.Joe Quintana scored 19 points to lead five players in double-figure scoring for LMU (1-1). Eli Scott added 14 points and Dameane Douglas had 10, and each had a game-high nine rebounds.Gach scored the first four points of the second half and added an alley-oop for a Jarvis Omersa dunk to cap a 24-12 run that stretched the Gophers' lead to 65-49 midway through the second half. Omersa received a technical foul for hanging on the rim.RARE REPEATThe teams will play again on Monday at Williams Arena. Due to COVID-19 restrictions in Minnesota, the Gophers are only allowed to play one opponent during a three-day span at home. LMU will replace North Dakota State. It will be the first time each team played consecutive opponents during the regular season.ALMOST A GOPHERMattias Markusson, a 7-3 Swedish centre, scored six points for LMU. Markusson entered the transfer portal and Minnesota, along with Louisville and San Diego State, were finalists. The senior is the Lions’ all-time leader in field goal percentage at .591.___For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25The Associated Press
Pine Creek First Nation will now be the second community to have access to high-speed internet. Clear Sky Connections (CSC) is launching Pine Creek FN to improve communications within First Nation communities during serious events and emergencies like natural disasters and the COVID-19 outbreak. The tool will also provide training opportunities for the community to understand and identify credible COVID-19 online news sources and assess information online while using media technologies such as smartphones, email and landline alerts. “Today marks ongoing economic development & training opportunities - a historic moment for us as First Nations, as the mandated organization by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs to build the high-speed network, we launch our second fibre build to a southern site,” said Clear Sky Connections Chairperson Chief David Crate of Fisher River Cree Nation. “At the same time, we will implement a communication system to form a network within the community for the leadership to know which members are safe and which ones need help during any crisis.” Many partners were involved in this initiative including Building Manitoba’s Network of the Future and the Information and Communication Technology Centre of Excellence, BlackBerry, IndigenousTech.ai, Indigenous Services Canada, and the Digital Citizen Contribution Program. Together, they will install the fibre optic cable to Pine Creek First Nation and work with the community to implement the BlackBerry AtHoc critical event management solution. The solution will enable the community to alert its members of dangerous weather conditions as well as provide the latest updates on the COVID-19 pandemic. “Pine Creek First Nation is both pleased and excited to be selected as the second First Nation in Manitoba to be receiving a new tie into the CSC Fibre Optic Network,” said Chief Karen Batson of Pine Creek First Nation. “Access to high-speed internet will provide our community with the opportunity to truly connect and interact locally and globally and will increase access to economic, health, education, and other socio-economic benefits. We are looking forward to working with CSC and all other partners involved in this much anticipated project.” Pine Creek First Nation is located about 110 km North of Dauphin along the southwestern shore of Lake Winnipegosis. Since 2017, Indigenous Services Canada has provided $7.7 million in funding to CSC for fibre optic builds. Pine Creek First Nation received a total of $1.6 million from the federal funding. Canadian Heritage has allocated 40,000 dollars to CSC for The BlackBerry AtHoc Crisis Communications Solution. “I have said it before and I will say it again…we are mandated to lead the fibre optic build to Manitoba’s First Nations and we will continue to do that, and build on all of our exciting partnerships that are coming to fruition,” said Chief Cornell McLean of Lake Manitoba First Nation and Chairperson of CSC’s For-Profit Partnerships. “We look forward to accessing additional funding and will be announcing more joint ventures within the next few months that show the rest of the world that we no longer come last and our youth will be the next leaders in this industry.” Nicole Wong is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.Nicole Wong, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun
