Borchy the ferret and Deborah the Yorkie enjoy an adorable game of tag on the brand new table. So much fun!
Meb, nom d’artiste de Marie-Ève Bouchard, publie son deuxième recueil de poésie, Un an vu de chez elle. Entrevue avec l’artiste multidisciplinaire de Saint-Jérôme. Un an vu de chez elle, ce sont des poèmes en carré : quatre lignes de quatre lettres. « Les contraintes, c’est inspirant. Dans la limite, tu te poses moins de questions. Tu as une direction, donc c’est plus facile. Mais c’est super difficile en même temps! C’est le projet le plus masochiste que j’ai fait », explique Meb. La poète explique le défi de se limiter à 16 lettres, en évitant de répéter des mots à travers le recueil. « Il faut soutirer l’essence de ce que tu veux. » Meb raconte aussi qu’elle a eu un cancer de la tyroïde et qu’après l’opération, elle avait de la difficulté à parler. Si c’était inconscient au moment d’écrire son recueil, elle voit maintenant un lien entre la perte de sa voix et la contrainte qu’elle s’est imposée pour écrire ses poèmes. « Il y a une certaine retenue, qui représente peut-être une peur de s’exprimer. Je vivais des choses vraiment difficiles. C’était plus facile d’aller dans le petit. J’avais peur que si je commençais à écrire beaucoup… C’était une manière de contenir l’hémorragie », confie la poète. « J’ai un parcours qui va un peu dans tous les sens », raconte Meb en riant. La musique est son premier amour. « Je suis violoniste de formation. Depuis que j’ai 5 ans, j’ai fait des études en musique. J’ai une maîtrise en histoire de la musique et j’enseigne au cégep Saint-Laurent. » Mais elle se passionne aussi pour la poésie depuis longtemps, d’abord en publiant dans des zines (des revues à faible tirage). Ce n’est qu’après avoir sortis 3 disques, soit 2 EP et 1 LP, qu’elle décide de se consacrer plus sérieusement à la poésie. « J’ai commencé tard. J’ai sorti mon premier disque dans la trentaine. J’étais fatiguée, je crois. C’est quand même du stock, faire des shows, se coucher tard. J’avais moins d’énergie, moins le goût. » En 2017, elle publie Aria de laine, son premier recueil de poésie. Ce dernier regroupe des poèmes découpés dans le roman Maria Chapdelaine de Louis Hémon, qui est maintenant dans le domaine public. Sur son site web, chezmeb.com, l’artiste tente de créer quelque chose tous les jours. « Je ne réussis pas tout le temps! (rire) Il y a des moments où je le fais plus. L’idée, c’est de me forcer à faire quelque chose. Mais ça reste un peu un monde idéal dans ma création. Je n’ai pas toujours le temps. » Pour Noël, par exemple, elle a fait des poèmes en forme de sapin, qui forment un calendrier de l’avent. On retrouve aussi de la photographie et d’autres œuvres poétiques. « C’est comme ça que j’ai fait pour Aria de laine et pour Un an vu de chez elle. » Elle a aussi réalisé un livret d’opéra avec la compositrice Sonia Paço-Rocchia, elle aussi des Laurentides et lauréate du Prix 3 femmes de Mécénat Musica. K-WAY D’ÂME DÉJÀ PLIÉ « Il exprime très bien cet espèce de motton qu’on peut avoir. Il reflète tes émotions qui sont toutes en boule. » – Meb ÉLUE POUR OSER VOIR « C’est la définition de ce que c’est, être poète ou artiste en général » – MebSimon Cordeau, Initiative de journalisme local, Journal Accès
It's time for Canada to consider finally appointing a First Nations person to the post of Governor General, says the head of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. Gov.-Gen. Julie Payette and her secretary, Assunta di Lorenzo, resigned on Thursday after an external review at Rideau Hall foundthe pair presided over a toxic work environment. That leaves the position open to a new appointment. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs issued a statement later that day, saying that having the federal government appoint a First Nations person as the next Governor General would send a strong message that it is sincere about its rhetoric on reconciliation, and that there is no relationship that is more important to the Prime Minister than the one with Indigenous peoples. Such an appointment would pay respect to the spirit and intent of the treaties between Canada's First Nations people and the Crown, Grand Chief Arlen Dumas told CBC News. Historically, the Governor General had a significant role in developing those treaties, he said. "It would also be a testament to the collaboration of what it took to make Canada the country it is today," he said. "I think that having a First Nations person play that role would help expedite those things and encourage the conversation and acknowledgement of how it's actually the First Nations, along with the French and English, that built this country." There is no shortage of strong Indigenous candidates in Manitoba who could become the Queen's representative in Ottawa, he said. "We have doctors, we have lawyers, we have scientists. We have all sorts of people from all walks of life who would be able to play that role in a truly respectful and meaningful way." An independent consulting firm was hired to do the review by the Privy Council Office last year after reports surfaced that Payette was responsible for workplace harassment at Rideau Hall. President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada Dominic LeBlanc told CBC's Vassy Kapelos the federal government received the final report late last week, and it offered some "disturbing" and "worrisome" conclusions. In a media statement announcing her departure, Payette apologized for what she called the "tensions" at Rideau Hall in recent months.
The Alberta government has relaxed some of the public health measures enacted in December to stop the spread of COVID-19. Despite these changes, Alberta’s case numbers and hospitalizations remain high, and continue to pose a threat to healthcare system capacity, said Health Minister Tyler Shandro, during a Jan. 14 government press conference. “When we introduced new mandatory health measures in December, we did so with a goal to limiting as much in-person interaction as possible, and the point was to minimize exposure to the virus,” said Shandro. “Today, we can’t entirely ease up on this goal, but we can make small adjustments to provide Albertans with some limited activities.” As of Jan. 18, outdoor social gatherings of up to 10 people are allowed. Personal and wellness services are also now allowed to reopen, by appointment only. This includes a variety of businesses, including hair salons, barber shops, aesthetics, manicure and pedicure businesses, reflexology, piercing and tattoo shops, among others. Maximum funeral ceremony attendance was increased to 20 people, but funeral receptions are still prohibited. Trends of the virus will be assessed to determine if restrictions can be eased further. “I want to stress to everyone that while we are actively looking at what restrictions we are able to ease, over the weeks ahead, in order to make any further changes we need everyone’s cooperation to stay within the rules,” said Shandro. “If we continue to see case rates, hospitalizations and our ICU admissions continue to slow down and go down, we will continue to open things up.” School reporting changes The province is also changing how cases in schools are reported. As of Jan. 18, a school with one to four cases of COVID-19 will receive an “alert” status, while if more than five cases are detected, a school will receive “outbreak” status. There will be two categories of outbreaks, for schools with five to nine cases and for 10 or more cases, and the “watch” status will no longer be used. This change is to terminology only and will not affect how AHS is supporting schools or responding to cases. The province will continue to report schools on the COVID-19 school map when two or more cases are identified. Parents will still be notified if there is a single case in their child’s school. As of Jan. 18, across the province there are two outbreaks (both five to nine cases) and 29 alerts in schools, according to the COVID-19 school status map. However, none of these schools are in Strathmore or Wheatland County. Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Strathmore Times
Russia said on Friday that TikTok had deleted some of what it called illegal posts promoting weekend protests aimed at securing the release of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. It has also opened a criminal case into Navalny's supporters. Posts promoting Navalny and protests planned for Saturday have been viewed more than 300 million times on TikTok, the Chinese-owned video sharing app, since he was jailed this week after flying back to Russia for the first time since being poisoned by a military-grade nerve agent.
Les symptômes de longue durée semblent sans rapport avec la gravité de l’infection, mais il semble que les femmes soient plus touchées que les hommes.
L’année 2020 derrière nous, à quoi peut-on s’attendre en 2021? Nous avons discuté des défis économiques qui nous attendent avec Brigitte Alepin, professeure en fiscalité au Campus de Saint-Jérôme de l’UQO. D’entrée de jeu, Mme Alepin veut être claire. « Je ne peux vraiment rien prédire en ce moment. Rien dans cette pandémie n’était prévisible. » Elle indique que plusieurs économistes de renommée se sont aventurés à faire des prévisions en 2020, mais que celles-ci se sont souvent révélées erronées. Elle rappelle aussi que la situation actuelle est sans précédent. Les gouvernements ont dû prendre rapidement des décisions radicales. « On sera longtemps en train d’analyser : est-ce qu’on a pris les bonnes décisions? » Elle souligne que les présents gouvernements sont ceux qui ont le plus d’expérience dans la gestion d’une pandémie. « Je ne sais pas quelle note je donnerais aux gouvernements. Ce n’est pas parfait, mais ils l’ont quand même gérée. On doit toutefois s’attendre, espérer qu’ils ont appris, et qu’ils seront plus proactifs qu’en réaction, en 2021. » Malheureusement, Mme Alepin est certaine d’une chose : les gouvernements continueront à faire des déficits pendant un bon bout de temps. Tant au fédéral qu’au provincial, la dette publique a explosé, gonflée par les mesures pour contenir la pandémie et pour soutenir financièrement les citoyens et les entreprises pendant la crise. Si certains économistes espèrent une relance économique vigoureuse après la vaccination, Mme Alepin croit que cela sera bien insuffisant pour renflouer les coffres de l’État. Sans compter que des investissements supplémentaires seront nécessaires pour cette relance… « Ça va être difficile. Tout le monde s’en vient à sec! » Selon la fiscaliste, nous n’aurons plus le choix d’imposer davantage les « méga-riches » et les multinationales, pour qu’ils contribuent à leur juste part. « Mais la pandémie coûte tellement cher, ça ne sera pas assez », avertit-elle. Ainsi, les déficits et la dette, nécessaires pour vaincre la pandémie, devront être gérés avec prudence. Ce qui inquiète aussi la professeure, c’est l’inflation. « On n’en parle pas assez, il faut poser des questions! » Difficile de connaître l’impact précis des dépenses gouvernementales sur l’inflation, mais déjà les prix des aliments ont augmenté, par exemple. « Quelles seront les conséquences? Comment va-t-on gérer ça? Doit-on s’en soucier? Les taux d’intérêt pourraient augmenter. Là, tout est contenu, nous ne sommes pas en crise, mais ça peut débouler vite! » Si l’inflation s’accélère, elle peut devenir un cercle vicieux et se transformer en hyper-inflation. Alors les prix augmentent exponentiellement, chaque dollar a de moins en moins de valeur, jusqu’à ce que votre fonds de pension ne vaille plus rien. Difficile d’évaluer si le risque est réel ou non, mais selon Mme Alepin, les gouvernements devraient, à tout le moins, se pencher sur la question. Impossible également de prédire quel impact la pandémie aura eu sur la mondialisation. « Au début, on croyait que ça donnerait peut-être lieu à moins de mondialisation. De plus en plus, je lis des choses qui disent le contraire. » D’un côté, les États ont fermé leurs frontières, ont cherché à produire davantage de biens localement, comme les masques, et les consommateurs, comme au Québec, se sont tournés vers l’achat local. De l’autre côté, les États ont dû collaborer et se coordonner pour certains efforts, et les pressions pour plus de coopération internationale sont grandes. « Aux États-Unis, Joe Biden a tenu tête à la concurrence fiscale internationale, en promettant de rehausser le taux d’imposition des corporations de 21 à 28 %. Il y a aussi un nombre critique de pays qui veulent un impôt minimum mondial. C’est le dernier jalon qu’il nous manquait pour la mondialisation. » Dans tous les cas, l’ordre géopolitique et économique mondial est irrémédiablement bouleversé… même s’il est encore hasardeux d’en prédire les conséquences. Enfin, Mme Alepin prévient que les citoyens seront moins tolérants face à la concentration de la richesse par les milliardaires et les multinationales, qui paient peu ou pas d’impôt. « Quand les gens avaient un emploi, du pain frais à manger, de bons soins médicaux, quand tout allait bien, les gens acceptaient. Mais maintenant, ils n’accepteront plus. »Simon Cordeau, Initiative de journalisme local, Journal Accès
Russia had ordered TikTok and other social networks to restrict online calls for nationwide protests in support of detained Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.View on euronews
A framed arrangement of quilt blocks made of material from masks, gowns and scrub caps is now on display in the lobby at Campbellford Memorial Hospital (CMH). The unique piece reflects the fabric of a community that came together to make masks, gowns and scrub caps for hospital staff shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. Through the donation of fabric, buttons, pipe cleaners, elastic, thread and financial contributions by the community, the Campbellford Mask Makers sewed and donated close to 2,000 pieces to the hospital in a time when Personal Protective Equipment was in short supply, the hospital noted in a news release. CMH called the artwork a “piece of COVID history.” “We will be forever grateful to this community for helping to protect our staff and patients during the early days of this pandemic,” said Paul Nichols, chair of CMH’s board of directors. “These quilt blocks are a testament to the caring, giving and compassion of volunteers in Trent Hills and the surrounding area. They represent the collaborative efforts of a great many individuals who participated in the making and donation of masks, caps and gowns to CMH during the COVID-19 crisis of 2020.” Cathy Redden, co-ordinator of the Campbellford Mask Makers, said the project exceeded the group’s expectations and was a meaningful experience for many of its participants. “This project had results that reached far and beyond our goal of providing the hospital with needed supplies,” Redden said. “It gave many of us a reason to get up and dressed in the morning. While short in its duration, this project had a lasting impact on the surrounding community, our hospital and those who have participated in it.” CMH also gave thanks to Campbellford’s 2777 Northumberland unit of the Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps. and all of the community members who made masks, provided material or supported the project through financial contributions. “CMH staff are forever grateful to be part of such a wonderful community,” the release stated Natalie Hamilton, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Northumberland News
OTTAWA — A new third-party advocacy group is launching an ad campaign aimed at ensuring Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole never becomes prime minister.The Protecting Canada Project will start airing today its first 30-second ad, in English and French, on television and online.The ad predicts that an O'Toole government would cut funding for health care, even as the country struggles through the COVID-19 pandemic.The tag line concludes that O'Toole and the Conservatives "are hazardous to your health — at the worst possible time."Group spokesman Ian Wayne, who formerly worked for NDP leaders Jack Layton and Tom Mulcair, says Protecting Canada was formed by Canadians "with diverse political experience" and a common goal of ensuring the Conservatives don't win the next election. How an O'Toole-led Conservative government would tackle the massive national debt and deficit created by pandemic spending will be a key question for the party in the next campaign. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2021. The Canadian Press
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said on Friday he wanted it known that he had no plans to commit suicide in prison, as he issued a message of support to his followers on the eve of protests the authorities say are illegal. Navalny was detained on Sunday after flying home for the first time since being poisoned with what the West says was a military-grade nerve agent that Navalny says was applied to his underpants by state security agents. The 44-year-old lawyer, in a Moscow prison pending the outcome of four legal matters he describes as trumped up, accuses President Vladimir Putin of ordering his attempted murder.
Ontario reported another 2,662 cases of COVID-19 and 87 more deaths linked to the illness on Friday, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government will send two mobile health units to assist in the Greater Toronto Area. "The spike in COVID-19 cases this month has put a real strain on hospitals," Trudeau said during a morning news conference. "For Ontario, in particular, the situation is extremely serious." Trudeau said the units will provide up to 200 additional hospital beds as well as medical equipment and supplies, freeing up space in the region's intensive care units. In a news release, the federal government said the mobile units are being deployed after a provincial request for assistance, and that they expected to be in the GTA "as rapidly as possible." They are scheduled to remain available to the provincial government until May 1, depending on the COVID-19 trends in Ontario at that time. The province will be responsible for staffing the mobile units, the release added. WATCH | Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on mobile health units headed to the GTA: The new cases reported today include 779 in Toronto, 542 in Peel Region, 228 in York Region, 128 in Waterloo Region, 188 in Windsor-Essex County and 102 in Halton Region. Other public health units that saw double-digit increases were: Niagara Region: 95 Durham Region: 80 Hamilton: 78 Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph: 77 Ottawa: 75 Simcoe Muskoka: 71 Middlesex-London: 65 Thunder Bay: 58 Eastern Ontario: 37 Huron-Perth: 26 Southwestern: 19 Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge: 16 Sudbury:13 Chatham-Kent: 11 (Note: All of the figures used in this story are found on the Ministry of Health's COVID-19 dashboard or in its Daily Epidemiologic Summary. The number of cases for any region may differ from what is reported by the local public health unit, because local units report figures at different times.) They come as labs processed 71,750 test samples for the virus and reported a provincewide test positivity rate of 3.3 per cent, the lowest it has been since mid-December. Further, the seven-day average of daily cases dropped to 2,703, marking 11 straight days of decreases. Another 3,375 infections were marked resolved in today's report. There were 25,263 confirmed, active infections in Ontario yesterday — a figure that has also been trending downward since its peak on Jan 11. According to the province's data, the number of people with COVID-19 in hospitals, as well as those requiring intensive care and ventilators all decreased. As of yesterday, the total number of COVID-19 patients that were: In hospitals: 1,512 (down 21) Being treated in intensive care units: 383 (down five) On ventilators: 291 (down two) There were ongoing outbreaks of the illness in 244, or about 39 per cent, of Ontario's 626 long-term care homes. Revised projections recently released by the province's COVID-19 Science Advisory Table suggested if Ontario were to accelerate its immunization rollout and vaccinate all long-term care home residents by the end of January, rather than mid-February, as many as 580 lives could be saved. The 87 additional deaths push Ontario's official COVID-19-linked death toll to 5,701. Meanwhile, the province said it administered 13,784 doses of vaccines Thursday. A total of 264, 985 shots have been given out, while 49,292 people have received both doses. WATCH | Measures in Ontario, Quebec seem to be working, epidemiologist says: #StayHomeON media campaign The provincial government said it has a new #StayHomeON campaign, which will include messages from various online "influencers" and politicians, including a video from Rick Mercer posted this morning. Lisa MacLeod, minister of heritage, sport, tourism and culture industries, said in a news release that athletes on the Toronto Raptors and Ottawa Senators will also be participating. Markedly absent from the province's expanded effort to get Ontarians to stay home is the availability of permanent paid sick days, which the Progressive Conservative government eliminated in 2018. The government's own medical and science advisers, as well as a chorus of municipal officials and activists, have repeatedly called for Premier Doug Ford and his cabinet to implement paid sick days, especially for essential and low-wage workers in the manufacturing, warehousing and food processing sectors. Ford has instead pointed to the federal Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, which offers $500 per week for up to two weeks eligible workers. Critics have noted, however, that the program amounts to less than minimum wage and the financial assistance is not immediate. More cases at Canada Post facility Meanwhile, mandatory testing at a Mississauga Canada Post facility found 27 asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 in 48 hours. Canada Post said 149 workers at its massive Dixie Road site had tested positive between Jan. 1 and Thursday afternoon. Spokesperson Phil Legault said the latest cases were detected among workers who were asymptomatic or didn't believe they had symptoms. Testing of the entire shift was ordered by Peel Public Health and began Jan. 19. Legault said Canada Post is now offering voluntary testing to employees working outside the public health-identified shift. More than 4,500 people work at the Mississauga site.
In this David and Goliath story, David threw a dozen rocks, but couldn’t knock the giant down. David Strachan, treasurer of the Midhurst Ratepayers Association, who fought against the Geranium company’s plans to build two large subdivisions in the small village 10-minutes north of Barrie, is still bitter. “If we’d have thrown lots of money at it in the first place, we might have stood a chance,” Strachan said after news of the bulldozers arriving on-site at the Carson Road subdivision was released last week. But after fighting the good fight and raising more than $250,000 for legal fees and professional planners to oppose 2,500 new homes in their neighbourhood, Strachan and company realized their 12-year battle is over. In 2008, the initial plan for the Midhurst Carson Road development was approved by the township and later by the Ontario Municipal Board, the County of Simcoe, Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority, and several provincial agencies in 2014. It took five more years for the environmental assessment to be approved by the ministry of the environment, conservation and parks in 2019. Water and storm water management work was approved in 2020. Last December, council gave the green light for Phase 1 of the subdivision of 342 homes to begin. A bulldozer sits on the former farmland at the top of Anne Street North, where snowmobilers currently race through a small tract of trees that will remain standing. Inside the cold work trailer, site supervisor Dominic Palombi hunches down inside his coat and pulls out the site drawings of the new subdivision that will be his work address for the foreseeable future. "We start building Monday (Jan. 25)," he said. “We’ll start with the sewers for the subdivision and we’ll start building the sales office there,” added Palombi, pointing to the snow-covered field. “It’s going to be big.” Stretching between Carson Road on the south, along Wilson Drive on the west and near Snow Valley Road on the north, Palombi’s not wrong. There are expected to be more than 340 detached and semi-detached houses available to preview schematically at least this summer, said Geranium spokesperson Cheryl Shindruk. “We expect 2,500 units approximately at full build,” she continued, explaining the Doran Road site will be built along Carson Road in the future. Shindruk won’t comment on the lengthy timeline it took to push the subdivisions through the roadblocks, other than to say “development approval takes the time it needs to take.” President of the Midhurst ratepayers group, Sandy Buxton, said it wasn’t a case of NIMBY-ism (Not In My Backyard), but also to save Minesing Wetlands which border the property. Also at stake are the Hine’s Emerald Dragonflies, which only nest in a few places in Canada, including the Springwater wetlands, she said. “It’s a very fussy animal in terms of the habitat it requires,” said Buxton. “It’s a fragile beast … which is classed as an endangered animal, not just provincially but also federally.” Nicole Audette, Springwater’s communications officer, said it was just one of many requirements that had to be satisfied before the work project could be approved. “The completion of the environmental assessment was a significant condition that needed to be satisfied to ensure the Midhurst developments could be serviced with significant consideration for the environment,” said Audette. It also included jumping through a slew of technical hoops, such as engineering design, species at risk assessments and environmental impact studies, in addition to requiring securities to ensure funding will be available to complete work in accordance with municipal regulations. As soon as weather permits, tree clearing and the installation of services including the watermains, sanitary sewers, storm sewers and a stormwater management pond will begin. For more information, visit www.springwater.ca Cheryl Browne, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Barrie Advance
Police are back at the scene of a previous homicide investigation in St. John's after receiving reports of shots fired at a home on Craigmillar Avenue early Friday morning. Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers were at 40 Craigmillar Ave. on Friday, a house investigated in connection with the shooting of shooting of James Cody, 47, in July. Police would not confirm is the house was of interest in Friday's shooting. In a press release early Friday afternoon, the RNC said officers responded reports shortly before 6 a.m. of shots fired at a residence on Craigmillar Avenue and were investigating a weapons offence. Police did not confirm 40 Craigmillar was connected to those reports, but said there were no injuries. On July 5, Cody was found dead on the pavement on the west end St. John's street. Footage obtained by CBC News from a nearby street captured five gunshots at 4:09 a.m. that day. Three days later, according to police court filings, investigators seized a KelTec P-11 9mm Luger handgun on a street behind Craigmillar. The RNC's forensic identification services were on Craigmillar on Friday, and the RNC says its criminal investigation division is investigating. Friday's press release says the incident is not believed to be a random attack. Both Cody and the owner of 40 Craigmillar Ave., Kurt Churchill, have past charges accusing them of links to drug trafficking. In July, lead RNC investigator Supt. Tom Warren said there was no information to suggest the homicide was linked to the drug trade or any other past crimes. Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — As the sun rose over Newfoundland and Labrador’s Avalon Peninsula Friday morning, so too did a beeping chorus of snowplows in the province’s capital. About 30 centimetres of snow blanketed the city and the sun was shining down on people digging out their cars. The storm closed many schools, stores and offices across the Avalon Peninsula on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. The weather also put a stop to door-to-door campaigning in the provincial election — for most candidates. On Thursday, Progressive Conservative candidate Kristina Ennis tweeted pictures of herself knocking on doors in a full-body snowsuit. Other candidates, however, moved their campaigning online. Tory Leader Ches Crosbie tweeted a picture of himself holding up a bag of so-called "storm chips," ahead of the storm — though people questioned the small size of the bag. The NDP used a popular internet meme involving a cropped photo of United States Democrat Bernie Sanders at Wednesday's presidential inauguration to take a swipe at the Liberals. The party pasted the photo of Sanders — who is sitting in a chair, arms crossed and wearing fuzzy mitts — in the provincial legislature. The image caption said he was waiting for the Liberals to release their economic plan, which the Liberals have said won't be made public before voters head to the polls. All parties have said that social media will likely play a significant role in the province's winter pandemic election. Liberal Leader and incumbent Premier Andrew Furey called the election last Friday as a storm raged outside the provincial House of Assembly. The Progressive Conservatives and the NDP have wrinkled their noses at the timing, saying the province's hallmark winter storms will dissuade voters and cut into campaigning time. As of Friday morning, there were 122 candidates registered across the province's 40 districts. The deadline for all candidates to submit their paperwork is Saturday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2021. Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press
The Town of Strathmore has reinstated license fees for Strathmore-based businesses in 2021 after waiving them last year, but a rebate could be enacted later in the year if needed. Under the town’s business license bylaw, all businesses are required to hold a valid business license, costing a fee. But this fee was waived for Strathmore-based businesses by town council in February 2020 to attract new businesses to Strathmore and support existing ones. Whether the town should again waive fees for local businesses in 2021 was discussed by town council during the Jan. 13 committee of the whole meeting. Mayor Pat Fule said he brought the issue to the meeting after being contacted by multiple residents concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on businesses. The 2021 to 2023 operating budget council passed in November 2020 included about $100,000 in revenue from business fees in 2021. Therefore, if council was again to waive business license fees, the town would need to either raise property taxes or make a transfer from reserves to offset the revenue loss, said Mel Tiede, the town’s director of corporate services, during the meeting. Another consideration in the decision is that the Strathmore Wheatland Chamber of Commerce (SWCC) is funded by licensing fees from SWCC-member businesses, noted Councillor Bob Sobol. The town has already billed more than $60,000 in business license fees this year, said Tiede. Approximately 80 businesses have already paid for licenses. Invoices for business fees are mailed out during the first two weeks of December, with fees due and payable by the last week in January of the current calendar year. Councillor Melanie Corbiell proposed extending the due date for business licensing fees. However, Doug Lagore, the town’s interim chief administrative officer, recommended council stay a decision for now. “If we find that the businesses have to remain shut down for a good portion of the year, we could look at a rebate program sometime during the year if there is a big impact,” he said. “But I think it’s premature at this time. Let’s see what the impact of COVID will be during the year, and deal with it at a later time.” Councillor Lorraine Bauer suggested businesses challenged by the licensing fees could be exempted on an individual basis. Council decided to keep licensing fees in place for now, and the presentation was accepted as information. Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Strathmore Times
MILAN — An impermissible sixth substitution prompted the Italian league judge to inflict Roma with a 3-0 loss to Spezia in the Italian Cup on Friday. Nine-man Roma had already lost Tuesday’s round of 16 match 4-2. In extra time, Roma sent on Daniel Fuzato for Bryan Cristante and Ibañez for Pedro even though it had already made four changes. Five substitutions are permitted under new rules introduced amid the coronavirus pandemic. The changes can made during a maximum of three interruptions during the first 90 minutes and during one more stoppage in extra time. The substitutions occurred during a chaotic finish after Roma defender Gianluca Mancini and goalkeeper Pau López were sent off within 30 seconds of each other in extra time. Former Roma winger Daniele Verde and Riccardo Saponara then scored for Spezia. Spezia faces Napoli in the quarterfinals. It's been a miserable spell for Roma, which was beaten by rival Lazio 3-0 in the capital derby last week in Serie A. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
GREY-BRUCE – Although there are still 41 active cases of COVID-19 in Grey-Bruce, the number of new cases continues to drop from the post-holiday spike. As of Jan. 18, there had been five new cases in the previous 24 hours – one each in Owen Sound, Brockton, Grey Highlands, Hanover and West Grey. This brings the cumulative total to 653. There are 115 high risk contacts associated with active cases. Two people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19. There are no outbreaks in Grey-Bruce. An outbreak with the Town of The Blue Mountains has been declared over. The first shipment of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, 200 doses, have been administered. People are being urged to follow the basic measures that brought down numbers during the first wave – wash hands frequently, watch your distance (ideally six feet) and wear a face covering correctly. Everyone should also avoid crowds and unnecessary travel as the provincial lockdown continues. Pauline Kerr, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Walkerton Herald Times
A road rage incident stemming from tailgating in Lower Sackville, N.S., ended with a man being stabbed on Wednesday. Police say they were called to Old Sackville Road at 4:30 p.m. after receiving a report of an altercation between people in two different vehicles. One of the drivers was tailgating the other, according to police, and the occupants got into an argument. A man from one vehicle stabbed a 25-year-old man from Dartmouth, N.S., who was driving the other vehicle. The victim was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A female passenger in the vehicle with the stabbing victim was not injured. One of the men in the other vehicle turned himself in to police and has been released while the investigation continues. RCMP are looking for the other man, described as age 18-20, white, heavy-set and five foot nine. He was wearing black basketball shorts at the time of the incident and was not wearing a shirt. RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Lisa Croteau didn't know who was allegedly tailgating whom, or whether the two men in the suspect's vehicle knew each other. MORE TOP STORIES
Former Prince Edward Island Liberal cabinet minister Doug Currie announced Friday that he will run for the Conservative Party of Canada in the riding of Charlottetown in the next federal election. Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole issued a written release welcoming the former provincial health minister to the Tory team. Currie was acclaimed, meaning no one challenged him for the nomination and the party declared him the candidate without a vote being needed. He addressed his switch in parties during a Zoom interview with CBC News. "For me, this decision's not about really political spectrum, it's more about bringing my passion and my concern and care for the city. It wasn't about really blue versus red, it was more about public service, and you know, I'm very passionate about it." Currie was elected as the MLA for District 11 Charlottetown-Parkdale in 2007 and held several cabinet roles before his resignation in October 2017, including health, education, attorney-general and justice serving premiers Robert Ghiz and Wade MacLauchlan. "As the federal government navigates the post-pandemic economic recovery, we need a strong voice in Ottawa to ensure the needs of the people of Charlottetown are being met," Currie said in the written release. "That's why I'm joining the Erin O'Toole team and Canada's Conservatives. We need a competent, compassionate and prudent plan that supports the well-being of the people of Charlottetown and the unique needs of Islanders for generations to come." Will take on Casey When Currie resigned from politics in 2017, he said he'd "had a good run" and didn't expect to compete in the next election. Currie was an educator before being elected. He returned to the field after leaving politics, working with textbook publisher Nelson Canada and then as vice-president of corporate services at P.E.I.'s Holland College. I think this is going to make the next federal election very, very interesting in Prince Edward Island. — Don Desserud There is no date for a federal election — the last one in October 2019 produced a minority government for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — although speculation spiked a few weeks ago when Trudeau shuffled his cabinet. When an election is called or is forced by opposition MPs combining votes to defeat the government, Currie will be taking on incumbent Liberal MP Sean Casey, who has said he will be seeking a fourth term. In 2019, Casey won 44 per cent of the vote in the Charlottetown riding. The Green Party's Darcie Lanthier came second with 23 per cent of the vote and Conservative Robert Campbell earned 20 per cent. Neither the Green Party nor the NDP has named a candidate so far. 'Very, very interesting' "This is really interesting… there's been stories about Mr. Currie wanting to run federally circulating for a while," said UPEI political science professor Don Desserud. "I think this is going to make the next federal election very, very interesting in Prince Edward Island." He said while people will likely be surprised about Currie's change in political stripe, perhaps they shouldn't be, especially given that there are four strong incumbent Liberal MPs on the Island at the moment. "Maybe it speaks to what's happening with the political parties at the national level… where if you want to be successful in Canada, you have to gravitate toward the middle," he said. O'Toole wants to shake off any notion that his Conservative party is too far right on the political spectrum. Earlier this week he maintained the party "sits squarely in the centre of Canadian politics." Signing up a prominent former Liberal could be a way to help the centrist brand, Desserud suggested. Going up against an incumbent is a "tough road for Mr. Currie to follow," Desserud said, noting that voters tend to be suspicious of politicians who switch parties. "Maybe he knows something we don't know about possible dissatisfaction with the Liberals after one and a half terms, [or] maybe it's basically to position himself for future contests as well," Desserud said. More from CBC P.E.I.
Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting one new case of COVID-19 on Friday, while Nunatsiavut prepares to roll out second doses of the Moderna vaccine next month. The new case is a man under 40 in the Eastern Health region. The Department of Health says it has completed contact tracing, and that the case is related to international travel. Friday's update brings the numbers of active cases to seven, with one person in hospital. So far, 77,463 people have been tested, including 193 since Thursday. Friday's case follows an infection announced Thursday related to contagion on the MV Blue Puttees, a ferry that runs between Sydney, N.S., and Port aux Basques, N.L. While a spokesperson for the operator, Marine Atlantic, said he expected 125 employees to be tested, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Robert Strang said in a press conference Friday afternoon that all staff on board — 60 people — had been tested. Of those tests, officials found one other crew member who was positive, while everyone else tested negative, Strang said. The Nunatsiavut government on Friday released numbers on residents who got the vaccine when it arrived on the north coast earlier this month. The data shows 70.9 per cent of eligible adults, age 18 and older, got the vaccine. "From the community's feedback, it was very positive," says Gerald Asivak, Nunatsiavut's minister of health and social development. "People were happy and very ecstatic that it was finally here — a sense of relief. And the overall number of 70.9 per cent is something to be proud of." The percentage of those who received the vaccine varied by community: 73.8 per cent in Makkovik, 69.3 per cent in Hopedale, 89.1 per cent in Rigolet, 66.3 per cent in Nain and and 68 per cent in Postville. Asivak said there could be a number of reasons for the varying rates. "There could have been some people being away, out of town, acute illness, away for work, gone to their cabins," he told CBC's Labrador Morning. "I also feel that there might be some vaccine hesitancy around this. It's a brand-new pandemic, it's a brand-new vaccine. Some people might have been very wary of it." Asivak said he suspects there may be "some myths or misconceptions" about the vaccine, but assures residents it has undergone clinical trials with 94 per cent effectiveness. For those looking for more information, about the vaccine, he said residents should visit official websites, like Nunatsiavut's health page, Labrador-Grenfell Health, the provincial government's COVID-19 portal, or the federal government's website. "Trust only trusted sources," he advised. Asivak said planning is well underway for delivery of the second Moderna dose to Nunatsiavut communities from Feb. 8 to 13. "We have been in talks with Labrador-Grenfell Health, and Health and Community Services, even up to as of late yesterday, saying we've done our first part, we need commitment for the second dosage, and we have been receiving confirmation from the government that yes, there will be enough to roll out for the second dosage." While receiving the vaccine has been a great relief for many, Asivak stressed that following public health measures is still vital. Front-line health-care workers, long-term care residents, and isolated and Indigenous communities, as well as vulnerable populations, are the first priority groups identified in the province's vaccine rollout plan. Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
