Labrador literally can't contain excitement when owner comes home

Just moments before his owner returns home, Balto stand in the window in anticipation. What an incredible show of love this beautiful pup has for his owner! @balto_baggins

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  • Windsor-Essex public school board says online learning will resume one day late

    The public school board in Windsor-Essex says it needs more time to prepare for the switch to online learning, and as a result, the return from spring break is being delayed by a day. In a media release on Wednesday, the Greater Essex County District School Board said instruction will resume on Tuesday, April 20. On Monday, when students were originally slated to return from the break, elementary and secondary school teachers will connect with their students to determine technical needs and access to resources. "They will also provide students with some work for the day they can complete, independently," the board said. If a student needs technology to participate in online learning, parents should contact the school, the board said. Schools are switching to online learning for the second time in recent months. Ontario Premier Doug Ford made the announcement on Monday, saying that the province is at a "critical point." "The situation is changing quickly, and we need to respond," he said. "Right now, I'm extremely concerned about the new variants." There are three schools in the region currently in outbreak, Centennial Central Public School, St. Peter Catholic School and St. John Vianney Catholic School. As of Tuesday more than 400 students and staff were isolating following potential COVID-19 exposures, according to public health.

  • Dr. Shahab talks 2nd dose timeline and need for high vaccine uptake in Saskatchewan

    Saskatchewan's chief medical health officer says he's hopeful the province can offer second doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the general public in late May or early June. "As soon as we have high uptake [of first doses] in all age groups, and as supply allows, we need to start our second doses for [people aged] 18 and over hopefully by the end of May [or] early June," Dr. Saqib Shahab said Tuesday during a COVID-19 news conference. Walk-in clinics opened up to people aged 52 and over — up from 55 — on Wednesday. "We want a high vaccine uptake by the end of May in all persons 18 and over," Dr. Shahab said of the next few weeks, as the age bracket at clinics is expected to be gradually lowered more. Health Minister Paul Merriman, speaking at the same news conference, said he was pleased with the latest statistics on vaccine uptake, including the fact that more than 80 per cent of Saskatchewan residents aged 70 or over have received their first dose. (Government of Saskatchewan) The proportion of health-care workers who have been offered vaccines and accepted them remains low, however, standing at only 68 per cent as of Tuesday. Dr. Shahab had flagged that as a concern — and even as the source of some long-term care home outbreaks — last week. While strongly encouraging everyone to take whatever vaccine they are offered, Merriman said anyone can refuse to take a vaccine if they want to and can be added back in the priority queue at any later date. Merriman added that he has met with union leaders. "They are encouraging their membership to get vaccinated," he said. "So it's coming from the government and the management side of it as well as the union." Vaccine access widening at Saskatoon and other drive-thrus Health officials said last week they hope to provide all Saskatchewan residents aged 18 and over access to their first dose by mid-May. Merriman said that remains the goal, even as he acknowledged recent delays in Moderna vaccine shipments to the province. "That does change things very quickly," Merriman said. "It's very important for everybody to understand that we have ... about a two-to-three-day supply of vaccines on hand. "If there's delays, that causes some problems." In Regina — and Regina only — health officials have operated a drive-thru clinic for residents aged 49 to 54 — a more permissive age bracket than in all other clinics in the province. The drive-thru was launched as Regina experienced a rise in variant of concern cases. Late on Tuesday, the province announced it was further widening the eligible age bracket at the Regina drive-thru to include 48 year olds as well. At other drive-thrus — which have been administering AstraZeneca vaccines that can currently only be given to people aged 55 and older — the eligibility will be changed to cover people aged 52-54 only. This will be made possible by introducing Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines at all current and future drive-thrus, according to a release from the Saskatchewan Health Authority. That change will first take effect at the Saskatoon drive-thru, on Wednesday. A CBC News analysis has found that Saskatchewan would have to significantly increase its daily rate of vaccinations if it hopes to meet its first-dose targets.

  • Suspect's arrest leads to assault charge against a Kelowna, B.C., Mountie

    VICTORIA — A charge of assault has been approved against an RCMP officer from Kelowna. The BC Prosecution Service says in a news release the charge was sworn against Const. Siggy Pietrzak on Wednesday. The service says the charge relates to the arrest of a suspected impaired driver in Kelowna in May last year. A news release from Kelowna RCMP says the man was unco-operative with police and arrested for obstructing police, but the actions of one of the officers were later reviewed by an external police agency. The officer remains suspended with pay and his first scheduled court appearance is set for May 3 in Kelowna provincial court. The service says the charge was approved by an experienced Crown attorney with no connection to the officer. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 14, 2021. The Canadian Press

  • Canada to go big on budget spending as pandemic lingers, election looms

    Canada's Liberal government will deliver on its promise to spend big when it presents its first budget in two years next week amid a fast-rising third wave of COVID-19 infections and ahead of an election expected in coming months. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has pledged to do "whatever it takes" to support Canadians, and in November promised up to C$100 billion ($79.8 billion) in stimulus over three years to "jump-start" an economic recovery in what is likely to be a crucial year for her party. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals depend on the support of at least one opposition group to pass laws, and senior party members have said an election is likely within months as it seeks a clear majority and a free hand to legislate.

  • Tobique chief fires back at premier for saying tax deal created 'super wealthy' reserves

    A First Nations chief whose reserve has seen only a tiny fraction of the total tax-sharing revenue in the province says he doesn't feel the system is unfair to his community. Tobique First Nation chief Ross Perley says Premier Blaine Higgs should be applauding Indigenous entrepreneurship rather than ripping up tax-sharing agreements for being "unfair" to some reserves. "The premier and the minister should be proud of their First Nations communities that are successful, not try to oppress them," he said. Higgs said Wednesday on CBC's Information Morning Fredericton that the tax deals were unfair to other First Nations because Madawaska Maliseet First Nation collected 40 per cent of all the revenue in the province last year. Premier Blaine Higgs on Wednesday said a gas-tax-sharing program with First Nations in New Brunswick was creating 'super wealthy' Indigenous communities.(CBC News) He was responding to a question from a listener who asked why he doesn't raise taxes on "super-wealthy" New Brunswickers like the Irving family. "You could apply that logic right here in this situation," Higgs said. "Because this model does create super wealthy [reserves and] that is not shared with the other populations." According to figures from the Finance Department, Tobique had the lowest revenue last year of the 13 First Nations with tax sharing agreements, bringing in only $230,000. But Perley said he doesn't resent Madawaska's runaway success or accept Higgs's use of it as a rationale to terminate the deals. "We applaud communities when they become successful," Perley said. "We don't stomp on them or try to oppress success, because they've planned and invested and become a model for all of us to follow. "It's shameful that the premier had to go there in defence of the Irvings, who are the real super-wealthy family in New Brunswick. We're talking billions." Madawaska Maliseet First Nation's Grey Rock Power Centre has been a successful business venture for the community located next to Edmundston.(Julia Wright / CBC) Madawaska Maliseet First Nation's success has been fuelled largely by the sprawling Grey Rock retail complex located on the Trans-Canada Highway near the main exit to Edmundston. The band brought in $18 million under the tax agreements last year, less than one one-100th of this year's $1.9 billion estimate of Arthur Irving's net worth by Forbes Magazine. Minister distances herself from premier's comments Higgs's aboriginal affairs minister distanced herself from the premier's "super-wealthy" comment Wednesday. Arlene Dunn said she wouldn't use the same terminology to describe the almost $18 million that the Madawaska Maliseet First Nation collected last year. Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn on Wednesday said she wouldn't use the same terminology Higgs used to describe the money the Madawaska Maliseet First Nation collected under the agreement last year.(Jacques Poitras/CBC News) "The premier has a historical perspective with these tax arrangements that I don't necessarily have," she told CBC News. "So his perspective is what it is." "I can't speak to his perspective. I know there are disparities in these tax agreements that are weighing heavily on his mind." But she said it's "a valid point" that some Indigenous communities located near major highways have cashed in thanks to the tax deals, while others have not. She referred to the financial figures provided at what she termed "the premier's announcement." 'There's always a better way to do things' Higgs and Dunn shared a podium Tuesday when they said they were giving notice to 13 First Nations bands that they were cancelling the agreements. Some will end next year and others will be terminated in 90 days. Dunn said she regretted how chiefs from those communities learned of the decision: in a conference call with Finance Minister Ernie Steeves in which he read a prepared statement and took no questions. She called the brief call "very abrupt" and "very unfortunate" and said she understood why chiefs were upset by it. "There's always a better way to do things," she said. "I've very sad to learn of that." "She's going down the road of being the worst Indigenous affairs minister in history in New Brunswick..." - Tobique First Nation Chief Ross Perley Perley compared the call to Dunn's earlier refusal to hold a public inquiry into systemic racism following two separate police shooting deaths of two Indigenous people. "This is the same pattern of action that's been happening since they took office. It's crazy that she regrets it, but she did it," Perley said. "She's going down the road of being the worst Indigenous affairs minister in history in New Brunswick, at the rate she's going." The tax agreements have allowed retailers on First Nations reserves to keep 95 percent of provincial tax revenue. Provisions added when they were renewed in 2017 cap that at $8 million. The bands get 70 percent of revenue beyond that. Higgs says that on top of being inequitable between First Nations, the agreements put non-Indigenous business owners near reserves at a competitive disadvantage. But he said the concentration of wealth at Madawaska Maliseet First Nation, which has only two per cent of the Indigenous population in the province, violates the principle of taxation that everyone pays for services available to all. "There are over half of the population, I would say, that do not receive any great benefit from these tax agreements," he said. "This is not shared among First Nations as a collective."

  • Alta., Ont., Sask. and N.B. signing agreement to explore small nuclear reactors

    Alberta is to join three other provinces to explore the feasibility of small modular nuclear reactors as a clean energy option. Premier Jason Kenney will join Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs in signing a memorandum of understanding today related to exploring the feasibility of small-scale nuclear technology. The virtual signing ceremony for the agreement is set to take place Wednesday at 10 a.m. MT. In 2019, Ford, Moe and Higgs committed to collaborate on developing small modular reactor technology. The Alberta government announced in August that it would enter into the existing agreement. Alberta hopes to diversify energy sector At the time, Kenney said signing on to the memorandum of understanding would help diversify Alberta's energy sector and keep the province at the forefront of any future advancements in the technology. Kenney said the province hopes the nuclear technology will allow the government to provide power to remote communities, diversify the economy, create jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Alberta says small modular reactors could supply non-emitting, low-cost energy for remote areas in the province as well as industries that need steam such as the oilsands. The units are smaller than traditional nuclear reactors with lower upfront capital costs and enhanced safety features. Traditional nuclear reactors used in Canada can typically generate about 800 megawatts of electricity, or about enough to power 600,000 homes at once (assuming one megawatt can power about 750 homes). The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN organization for nuclear co-operation, considers a nuclear reactor to be small if it generates under 300 megawatts. The technology is also small enough that modules can be transported on a truck, ship or train, and has been touted by the federal government as safer than traditional nuclear reactors.

  • Parents of teen with autism want to know why the province is telling them to give up custody

    The parents of a Nova Scotia teen with autism who has complex care needs want to know why some families are being told by the Department of Community Services to give up custody of their children in order to get them into group homes. The option is used in only a handful of cases, but can present a devastating choice for those families. "That was the shock of our lives that we would have to potentially give up our parental rights to give our child the care that they needed," the teen's mother said. "We adamantly, adamantly want to participate in his care." The teen's mother says she doesn't believe the Nova Scotia system has the flexibility to support families who have children with high-care needs while retaining their parental rights. The family wants to keep custody of their son, not only because they love him but because they want to continue to be his advocate and be involved in any decision-making while he's in a group home. Because he is a child in the care of the province, neither the teen in this story nor his parents can have their identities published by CBC News. The teen's mother says she doesn't believe the Nova Scotia system has enough flexibility to accommodate families with children with high care needs while retaining their parental rights. (David Laughlin/CBC) The boy's parents say they were able to care for him at home until he was 14, but he became aggressive and would sometimes scratch or hit people. "There's other family members, pets, people in the household, and they weren't necessarily safe," the teen's mother said. There were times when she said her son would run out of the house and into the street unless he was watched constantly. "You're in the kitchen washing dishes, and there's no reasonable way that you can supervise a child that intensely [in order] to keep everybody safe," she said. In September 2020, the family made an agreement with the Department of Community Services to place their son in a group home where he could receive specialized care. However, the parents say they made it clear to department staff they were not prepared to sign away their custodial rights. 3 options According to regulations attached to the province's Child and Family Services Act, families with children who've been diagnosed as having physical or intellectual disabilities that prevent them from living at home may enter into a "special needs agreement" with the department. There are three options under the regulations, according to an emailed statement from the Department of Community Services. "We work with the family throughout this process to determine what type of special needs agreement would be most appropriate," the statement said. "This could mean agreeing to transfer care and custody of the child to the minister, [the family] retaining care and custody of the child while the child is placed in a child-caring program, or receiving supports and services while the child remains home with their family." The statement said the department's goal is always to ensure children and youth are protected and families are supported. "We know children do better if they can stay in a loving home with people they already know, but in some cases, when a child has high-care needs and requires specialized care, a placement may be necessary." The options presented to the family may depend on whether there's a spot open at a licensed facility and what sort of support the parents can continue to offer a child while they're in care, the statement said. Community Services Minister Kelly Regan and her department are responsible for children in group homes if custody is turned over to the province.(Craig Paisley/CBC) The parents of the teen say they feel that provincial staff pressured them to accept the option to give up custody. But the family pushed back until department staff eventually agreed to the option to retain custody, the parents told CBC. The mother says her understanding is that it would be easier for the department to fund the teen's placement if the family turned over custody. Under the regulations, the period of agreement for transferring the care and custody of a child to the Minister of Community Services cannot be longer than one year, although the agreement can be renewed. 'It was mortifying' For a few months after the teen was placed in a group home last September things went well. His parents say he was "thriving" and making friends. But in the last few months the home began to have some challenges getting enough staff to fill all the shifts required to supervise their son, his parents say. Just before the Easter weekend they were told that the boy would have to return home, but the family says they responded that they weren't able to safely take him home with the support they currently have in place. "There's just myself and my husband here. We have another child, and our house isn't a secured facility," his mother said. She said her husband instead volunteered to work at their son's facility to supplement his care. The mother says at that point they again felt pressured to give up custody of their son. "We were at that point again, where they were telling us that we would have to do that potentially to provide him with support," she said. "It was mortifying. Because it's not like we didn't want to [provide support]. We desperately wanted to. We made that abundantly clear." The mother says their son was moved twice in the days around the Easter weekend, and they were not told where he was going. They spent the weekend making repeated calls and sending emails to find out where their son was. They didn't learn of his whereabouts until the Tuesday following the long weekend, according to the family. CBC asked the Department of Community Services for a breakdown on how many special needs agreements have been made in each category and received the following breakdown of current cases: Transfer care and custody to the Minister while placed in a facility: 3. Placed in a facility but custody retained by parents: 2. Services provided in child's home: 654. CBC reached another family with a child with high-needs autism who was also presented with the choice of giving up rights to their child to gain a placement in a group home. In that case, they also did not give up custody of their daughter. Planning for the future The teen's mother acknowledges her son's care needs are complicated; he needs two employees to supervise him at all times. She and her husband worry if their son does not receive intensive care when he's young, he may not develop skills that could help him live more independently later in life. "If your child needed to be on a ventilator and have complex medical issues, physical medical care, they would be in a hospital without question, with specialists and support," she said. "But because it's autism, and it's behavioural, it's viewed very differently." MORE TOP STORIES

  • N.B. COVID-19 roundup: 16 new cases, multiple new exposure warnings in several zones

    Sixteen new cases of COVID-19, affecting two health zones, were reported in New Brunswick on Wednesday. The majority of the new cases are in the Edmundston region, Zone 4, which has 107 of the province's 141 active cases. Eleven of the 14 cases reported in the Edmundston region are contacts of a previously confirmed case and three are under investigation. Three zones — the Campbellton, Bathurst and Miramichi regions — have no active cases. In a news release, Public Health said the 16 new cases break down in this way: Saint John region, Zone 2, two cases: an individual 50-59. This case is travel related. an individual 60-69. This case is a contact of a case. Edmundston region, Zone 4, 14 cases: three people 19 and under an individual 20 to 29 three people 40 to 49 two people 50 to 59 three people 60 to 69 two people 70 to 79 The number of confirmed cases in New Brunswick is 1,752. Since Tuesday, seven people have recovered for a total of 1,577 recoveries. There have been 33 deaths, and the number of active cases is 141. Nineteen patients are hospitalized, including 13 in an intensive care unit. A total of 270,515 tests have been conducted, including 1,259 since Tuesday's report. There are currently 141 active cases in the province.(CBC News) Public Health tweaks its COVID-19 dashboard Sharp-eyed New Brunswickers may have noticed that some information that was previously posted on the province's COVID-19 dashboard is no longer available. The dashboard, which provides data on COVID-19 cases, testing, vaccines and other related statistics, is a public site that is updated daily. Earlier this week, under its Vaccine Statistics tab, the "Doses administered this week" section was removed. On Wednesday, the "Number of doses received" section, referring to doses delivered to the province, was also removed. Asked about the changes on Wednesday, Public Health spokesperson Shawn Berry explained that the "doses administered this week" section was removed because the data "was sometimes lagging by several days." "Vaccines are being administered in hundreds of locations in the province and the 'administered this week' section is not an accurate reflection," Berry said in an email. "The total number of people vaccinated with at least one dose is still being reported." And while the "doses received" section was removed from the Vaccine Statistics tab, that data "continues to be provided on the Vaccine Timetable graphic," Berry said. The province tweaked its public COVID-19 dashboard this week, removing two sections under the Vaccine Statistics section. In one case, the data was "lagging" and in the other case, the data is provided in another section of the dashboard, Public Health said.(Government of New Brunswick) MLA calls for return of compassionate care exemptions Green MLA Megan Mitton is calling for the return of compassionate care exemptions between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia now that the reopening of the Atlantic bubble has been pushed back. Mitton, who represents the riding of Memramcook-Tantramar on the border with Nova Scotia, made the comments after the Atlantic premiers announced the return of the bubble would be delayed by two weeks. The bubble was supposed to open on April 19 but is now delayed until at least May 3. Mitton said that since January, the province hasn't allowed caregivers to cross the border without going into quarantine, and regardless of the bubble, the premiers should work together to allow crossing the border for compassionate care. "There are people [whose] caregiver may live 20 kilometres away in Amherst," said Mitton. "They live in Sackville and suddenly they lost that care. That was really important to them." Mitton said the province needs to figure out a way to reopen the Atlantic bubble, and keep it open, even with future outbreaks. "We know that that is likely to continue to happen in the future, so they need to have a plan, so that the bubble doesn't burst all the time," said Mitton. Green MLA Megan Mitton is calling for the return of compassionate care exemptions between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia as the reopening of the Atlantic bubble has been pushed back.(CBC News file photo) Mitton said the loss of the bubble has been tough on her constituents, many of whom are accustomed to travelling across the border regularly. "People's families have been impacted ... It's hard on people's day to day lives. So many people, you know, live near the Nova Scotia, New Brunswick border and many cross it daily." Mitton said she's still calling for better communication with residents about the rules and why they're in place. "The rules have changed constantly and it's been really hard on the people who live here and deal with it daily to figure out 'What am I supposed to be doing,'" said Mitton. "There needs to be better communication from government. I've been saying that for a year or so." More possible exposures Saint John region: March 29 and April 1, Guardian Drugs-Herring Cove Pharmacy (924 Rte. 774, Unit 2, Welshpool, Campobello Island) March 31, Service New Brunswick (73 Milltown Blvd., St. Stephen) March 31, Giant Tiger (210 King St., St. Stephen) March 31, Kent Building Supplies (188 King St., St. Stephen) March 31, Carman's Diner (164 King St., St. Stephen) Edmundston region: April 7, 8 and 9, Canada Post (4 Grondin St., Edmundston) April 8 and 9 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Fenêtre Unique (130 Rivière à la Truite Rd., Edmundston) April 8 and 9, National Bank, (111 de l'Église St., Edmundston) April 9 between 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. – Shoppers Drug Mart (160 Hébert Blvd., Edmundston) April 8 between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m., April 7 between 6:30 a.m and 7:00 a.m., and April 6 between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. – Tim Hortons (262 Isidore-Boucher Blvd., St-Jacques) April 7 between after 6:00 p.m., April 6 after 6:00 p.m. – Epicerie Chez ti-Marc (256 Isidore-Boucher Blvd., St-Jacques) April 7 between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., and April 6 between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. – Dollarama (787 Victoria St., Edmundston) April 7 between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., and April 6 between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. – NB Liquor, (575 Victoria St., Edmundston) April 7 between 10:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. – Jean Coutu (177 Victoria St., Edmundston) April 7 between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. – Subway (180 Hébert Blvd., Edmundston) April 7 between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. – Atlantic Superstore (577 Victoria St., Edmundston) April 6 between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. – Scotiabank (75 Canada Rd., Edmundston) March 26 to April 8 – Napa Auto Parts - (260 Canada St., Edmundston) March 20 to April 9, Atlantic Superstore (577 Victoria St., Edmundston) April 5 at 11 a.m. – Shoppers Drug Mart (160 Hébert Blvd., Edmundston) April 1 – Royal Bank (48 Saint-François St., Edmundston) March 31 between 12 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. – Scotiabank (75 Canada Rd., Edmundston) March 30 between 12 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. – Scotiabank (75 Canada Rd., Edmundston) March 29 between 8:45 a.m. and 4 p.m. – Scotiabank (75 Canada Rd., Edmundston) Moncton region: April 8 between 4:45 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. – COSTCO Wholesale customer service (140 Granite Drive, Moncton) April 6 between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. – YMCA Vaughan Harvey, (30 War Veterans Ave., Moncton) April 4 between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. – Moncton Wesleyan Church (945 St. George Blvd., Moncton) April 3 between 8:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. – Kelseys Original Roadhouse (141 Trinity Dr., Moncton) April 1 between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m., April 3 between 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m., April 6 between 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m., April 8 between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. – CF Champlain (477 Paul St., Dieppe) Fredericton region: March 31 – Murray's Irving Big Stop (198 Beardsley Rd., Beardsley) Saint John region: April 9 between 2:10 p.m. and 2:40 p.m., GAP Factory East Point, (15 Fashion Dr., Saint John) April 9 between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. – McAllister Place, 519 Westmorland Rd., Saint John April 8 between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m., – McAllister Place, 519 Westmorland Rd., Saint John April 8 between 1:15 p.m. and 2 p.m. – Service New Brunswick, 15 King Square North, Saint John April 1 between 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. – YMCA of Greater Saint John (191 Churchill Blvd., Saint John) What to do if you have a symptom People concerned they might have COVID-19 symptoms can take a self-assessment test online. Public Health says symptoms shown by people with COVID-19 have included: Fever above 38 C. New cough or worsening chronic cough. Sore throat. Runny nose. Headache. New onset of fatigue, muscle pain, diarrhea, loss of sense of taste or smell. Difficulty breathing. In children, symptoms have also included purple markings on the fingers and toes. People with one of those symptoms should: Stay at home. Call Tele-Care 811 or their doctor. Describe symptoms and travel history. Follow instructions.

  • Calgary mom worries COVID-19 testing delays could lead to unnecessary spread

    As COVID-19 cases surge in Alberta, there are new concerns that testing delays could spark further spread of highly contagious variants of concern. Juliana Hagans has to wait almost a week to get her eight-year-old daughter tested for COVID-19 despite being deemed a close contact of a case in her Calgary elementary school. "As a parent, it's very concerning," she said. Hagans was notified in a letter from Alberta Health Services (AHS) on April 9 that her daughter was a close contact and was exposed in her classroom three days earlier. The letter states the exposure could be related to a variant of concern. According to Hagans, a second student has since tested positive and the parents of both children were notified that it was, indeed, a variant. But when she tried to book her daughter for a test through the AHS online booking portal, the earliest appointment was Thursday — nearly a week after the AHS notification and nine days after the potential exposure. "Are we doing the best we can is my biggest concern and question," she said. "Why is it that we're having to wait until Thursday when this variant of concern is supposedly such a big issue?" According to Alberta Health guidelines, when someone is deemed a close contact, that person must quarantine for 14 days, but their household members are not required to do so unless there is a positive test result. Hagans' two other children are still attending school, and she's worried either she or her husband could unknowingly spread the virus while they wait for the test. "There's just so many people that we come across … and that amount of time is concerning to me because if she is, in fact, positive, then the amount of people that would have been infected [during the wait] would be quite substantial." Hagans says her daughter recently developed symptoms, including a high fever, and she tried calling Health Link numerous times to move up the appointment, only to be repeatedly cut off due to high call volumes. And there are other Calgarians reporting similar delays. CBC was contacted by another individual who tried to book a test online Monday after developing a symptom but was unable to get an appointment until Friday. They were also unable to get through on Health Link. Dr. Craig Jenne is an associate professor of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases at the University of Calgary.(Jennifer Lee/CBC) 'Time and speed are really critical' The delays are a concern for Dr. Craig Jenne, associate professor in the department of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases at the University of Calgary. According to Jenne, the wait times elevate the risk in the community because there is no requirement for family members to isolate until the close contact (in this case, Hagans' daughter) tests positive. "Time and speed are really critical," he said. "We are looking at a period of time where people should be isolating because they've been exposed to the variant.… They're out in the community, potentially spreading the virus — and this is probably one of the driving forces as to why we see so many variant cases in Alberta currently." Jenne says demand for COVID-19 testing is rising because case numbers are growing, and a recent policy change means close contacts are now offered testing twice. "These delays make it very difficult to get ahead of the viral growth and make it also very difficult to understand exactly where and when this is spreading." AHS ramps up testing AHS says it isn't aware of any appointment delays. It says Albertans should receive test results within 24 to 36 hours once testing is completed. In a statement emailed to CBC News, a spokesperson said there are no known issues with Health Link at this time. AHS acknowledges the growing demand for testing and says appointments are being ramped up. "Over the last few weeks, AHS Calgary Zone has been testing approximately 4,500 symptomatic individuals a day across eight testing sites. Demand for testing has been increasing, and even more appointments are being made available this week. Between 200 and 300 appointments are being added each day," the email said. The number of daily COVID-19 tests in the province peaked at over 23,000 during the height of the second wave in December. While Alberta has not reached those heights since then, the numbers are climbing, hitting 15,738 daily tests on Wednesday, after a significant drop in February.

  • Surrey wedding host, restaurant owner, northern B.C. church fined for breaking COVID-19 orders

    Nearly $17,000 in fines have been handed out by RCMP in Surrey, B.C., in the last week to a growing number of people who police say are ignoring COVID-19 health orders. RCMP said in a statement that most of the fines were issued over large gatherings, including a $2,300 fine for the host of a wedding where 22 people attended against the provincial health officer's orders. Sgt. Tyler Wickware, with Surrey RCMP's COVID-19 Compliance and Enforcement Team, says officers have seen the number of people and businesses ignoring the health orders "creeping up." Mounties say the majority of the fines announced Wednesday stem from large gatherings, with officers going to five separate homes between April 7 and April 11 to issue fines. Other fines went to a restaurant owner who violated dining-in restrictions and to a man who refused to wear a mask inside a business. Wickware says the sunny weather can make it very inviting to gather with others, but public health orders remain in place limiting those gatherings, even outdoors. Fort St. John church fined RCMP in Fort St. John, B.C., have slapped the leader of a Mennonite church in the Peace Region with a $2,300 fine following an investigation into reports of a large indoor Easter Sunday service gathering. In a statement Wednesday, RCMP said a local media outlet provided police with a video allegedly showing more than 150 people coming out of the Old Colony Mennonite Church in Prespatou, B.C., on April 4. The town is located about 75 kilometres north of Fort St. John. The video shows the church, its parking lot full of vehicles, with people exiting the building not wearing personal protective masks, the statement said. The pastor was issued a violation ticket totalling $2,300, for organizing a non-compliant event contrary to Section 4(1) of the Emergency Program Act, RCMP said.

  • Jim Lester 2nd candidate to turn to courts after N.L. election loss

    Jim Lester lost the district of Mount Pearl North by 109 votes to Liberal Lucy Stoyles in the 2021 provincial election. (Patrick Butler/Radio-Canada) After losing his seat by 109 votes in last month's provincial election, PC candidate Jim Lester is turning to the courts in the hopes of having the results voided and a new election called in his former district, but he also wants a ruling on whether the vote adhered to Newfoundland and Labrador legislation. "It's very important to have faith in the outcome of elections," Lester told reporters on Wednesday. Liberal Lucy Stoyles won the district of Mount Pearl North with 2,428 votes, compared with 2,319 cast for Lester. Lester is representing himself in his controverted election application, which cost more than $600 to file in Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador. He's asking the courts to examine whether the campaign process was "in line with what's constitutionally and legally accepted" under the province's Elections Act. Concerns with phone sign-up "One of the biggest concerns that I have … is the sign-up of voters by phone," Lester said. But, he said, he heard of other problems that plagued the 10-plus week campaign. He said a senior told him they repeatedly called Elections NL when their ballot didn't arrive, despite registering several weeks ahead of time. "What really affected our voters was the outbreak of the COVID virus," he added. He said a lot of his supporters are working families, people who had a lot of "stress factors" that affected their ability to sign up for mail-in ballots. None of Lester's accusations have been proven in court. NDP Leader Alison Coffin filed court papers on April 1 for a recount in the district of St. John's East-Quidi Vidi, where she lost her seat to Liberal John Abbott by 53 votes. NDP Leader Alison Coffin announced her court challenge of the election results in her former district on April 1.(Alison Coffin/Twitter) Less than two weeks after that, Coffin and another applicant, filed a separate legal action demanding last month's election results be thrown out and a new vote ordered. Alison Coffin and another applicant, a St. John's resident who claims he was denied the right to vote, jointly filed a court challenge Monday containing scathing accusations against Newfoundland and Labrador's elections agency, alleging widespread and illegal mishandling of the electoral process and demanding the province's Supreme Court void the election's outcome. The 45-page application argues that the process employed by Elections NL discriminated against voters on the basis of ethnicity, age or disability, disproportionately excluding people without access to the internet and people in Indigenous communities. NDP provincial president Kyle Rees clarified Monday afternoon the application will target the St. John's East-Quidi Vidi district. "We are specifically bringing evidence related to that district, but there's no reason why the lessons that we learn from this district … can't be applied broadly across the province," said Rees, adding that a judge could overturn results in all 40 districts based on this application 'We will challenge' election in legislature: PC Party In a statement released Wednesday, the PC Party said its executive met Monday for the first time since election results were announced March 27. Interim PC Leader David Brazil says his party will not challenge the results of the election in court but will focus instead on moving on. (Terry Roberts/CBC) While the party continued to take swipes at Premier Andrew Furey for calling an election when he did, accusing him of "gambling on a mid-winter election," the statement indicated the party won't pursue a legal challenge. "We do not believe that the people of the province want to see another election at this time.… We will challenge the 2021 election in the legislature," reads the statement. "Individuals may challenge the results of the election in court, and the court proceedings have begun in some cases. We will be keenly watching the ongoing legal challenges. However, we will not, as a party, be taking legal action at this time." The PCs and Furey have at least one thing in common, and that is a wish to modernize the Elections Act. "We will ensure that nothing like this ever happens again," said the PCs in a statement, echoing a comment Furey made on Monday. Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador

  • 'We never said never:' Tecumseh council to reconsider cannabis retail

    Councillors with the Town of Tecumseh have decided to reconsider allowing cannabis retailers within the municipality. The town's council voted in favour of reconsidering its previous decision to opt out of allowing cannabis retail. The municipality's administration is now expected to bring a report to council by June that will include community feedback. "We never said never," said Tecumseh Mayor Gary McNamara. McNamara said the retail cannabis industry was fairly new back when his council decided to opt out on Dec. 11, 2018. At the time, he said he didn't know the impact the industry would have. He said he was concerned with loitering, whether increased policing would be needed and whether it would "create havoc" in the community. But based on the rollout across the province, he said none of these issues seem to have come to the forefront. The town is the only municipality in Windsor-Essex that has yet to approve cannabis retailers. On Tuesday evening, Tecumseh councillors heard from three delegates — Sam Katzman, Robert Katzman and Melissa Boow — about the need for cannabis retailers in the area. The Katzmans own and operate Greentown Cannabis and The We Store Cannabis in Windsor. The father-son duo said the stores would bring jobs to the area and noted that they have two locations in mind for Tecumseh retail spots. "It's a fantastic opportunity from all different sides," said Robert. Meanwhile, Boow, who owns House of Hemp Inc. in Tecumseh, said her shop is looking to include cannabis products. While she said she can appreciate the "level of concern and uncertainty surrounding the emerging cannabis industry," she noted that if distribution and regulation remain responsible, the industry can benefit the community. As of Wednedsay, there are 24 retail stores in Windsor-Essex approved and another 27 seeking approval from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, which regulates the industry. Most recently, LaSalle opted in to the budding industry in March.

  • Breaking into Windsor-Essex housing market means paying $100K+ over asking amid industry boom

    Christiano Fontana paid more than $120,000 over the asking price for a home in Windsor, yet he considers himself one of the fortunate. "I got lucky," he told CBC News Wednesday. But he later followed that up with a laugh and said, "I don't know if you'd call me lucky or not, but I got one you know?" "Lucky" in this market typically means paying tens of thousands over asking price, as Fontana had to. It's a sign of this hot market, realtors told CBC News, that homes are routinely being listed well below what they're expected to sell for. From the price of home sales to permits for new builds, everything in Windsor-Essex's housing market is flying off the shelves — an increased demand that is making it harder for people to afford a home. Experts in Windsor's real estate market say the industry continues to hit new highs compared to last year, but with dwindling supply, prices keep rising. Fontana said the home he bought was listed at $299,000, but in the end he paid more than $420,000 for it and only beat out the other top offer by $4,000. Christiano Fontana is getting married this year and has been looking to buy a home. Though he paid way over the home's asking price, he says he's just happy that he at least got into the market.(Jacob Barker/CBC) "It's just the way it is," he said. "It's unfortunate ... I have a lot of friends, they don't have a choice but to rent and they will rent for the rest of their lives unless prices come down somewhat." In a virtual roundtable discussion with Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens on Wednesday, members of Ontario's and Windsor-Essex's real estate market, along with the city's planner and permit services chief talked about the growth the region has seen. "It's a very cruel game of musical chairs where you have more and more people circling fewer and fewer chairs, so as inventory goes down, you have more and more people that will engage in bidding wars, prices go up, there will be frustrated buyers," said Tim Hudak, chief executive officer of the Ontario Real Estate Association. According to information provided by the City of Windsor: The average price of a home in Windsor-Essex has increased by 25 per cent from February 2020. Every month since July 2020, the total number of houses sold has been outpacing the same month the previous year. New builds have increased from 360 in 2018 to 796 in 2020. In the first quarter of 2021, there were 108 permits were new apartment unit builds — a number not seen in Windsor for decades. In the last year, the city says it has issued 60 permits for new residential builds in the Zone 1 area, which is north of Tecumseh Road between Prince Road and Pillette Road. The city says this is an older area but one that would benefit from new residential builds. "The break neck speed of growth over the past 12 months is just staggering," said Dilkens. As for who's buying, the Ontario Real Estate Association says 40 per cent of the sales are from within Windsor, 25 per cent is first time buyers and four per cent of activity was from Greater Toronto Area buyers. Percentage of people moving to Windsor from elsewhere in the province.(Ontario Real Estate Association) Thousands on affordable housing waitlist During the roundtable, CBC News asked what measures are in place to make things affordable and what the government can do to help. Windsor's City Planner Thom Hunt said the affordability conversation is happening across the province, with talk of federal, provincial and municipal incentives for private developers to make a portion of their buildings affordable. But ideas such as rent control or changes to taxation were dismissed during the roundtable discussion. Some 5,400 people are currently on a wait list for affordable housing in the region, according to the Windsor Essex Community Housing Corporation. Sellers on Cloud 9 It's a seller's market, so those pitching up the For Sale sign, like Al Soultani, are doing a happy dance. Al Soultani and his family sold their home for $200,000 over asking. Soultani says the sale feels like he did 'win the lottery.'(Maggie Chen) Soultani's Windsor home sold for $200,000 over asking. "It does feel like winning the lottery," Soultani told CBC News. And he's not the only one on Cloud 9. Dean Cooper's home in Woodslee sold two weeks ago for a little more than $600,000, a price that was about $100,000 over what he listed it at. "It felt really great," Cooper told CBC News. "I would have never expected it to go that high but that's the part of this biddng war." Dean Cooper sold his Woodslee home for about $100,000 over the asking price.(Submitted by Dean Cooper) To get more people interested in the property, Cooper and his realtor employed a tactic now being used by many: low-ball the home's listing price. That's according to Damon Winney, president of WE county association of realtors, and Goran Todorovic with Re/MAX Care Realty. But, according to the Real Estate Council of Ontario, even homes listed at their value are selling way above. "This is the absolutely best opportunity for them to sell their home," Todorovic said. Another way realtors are getting homeowners on the market is by calling them directly and telling them how much their property could sell for. As for Cooper, he said he's decided to invest the funds he made, downsize and move into an apartment in Leamington. "When retirement comes the decision will be a lot easier," he said.

  • Trudeau says he supports restricting interprovincial travel when necessary to stem spread of COVID-19

    The Prime Minister says he's supportive of provinces and territories closing their borders in order to protect their residents from the spread of COVID-19. Justin Trudeau's comments to CBC Radio came a day after B.C. Premier John Horgan indicated he is considering restricting travel to and from the province to help stem the third wave of the pandemic. Trudeau, asked Wednesday on CBC's Daybreak South whether he would support such a move by Horgan, said he has already backed similar pandemic travel restrictions elsewhere in the country. "Every step of the way, I've been supporting premiers and territorial leaders on what they need to do to keep people safe," the Prime Minster said. "As we saw with the Atlantic bubble, as we saw with the the Arctic territories, they make decisions around closing off the regions. That is something that we are supportive of." He said the federal government's role is to help make those decisions easier for provinces by providing income assistance and financial supports for businesses. On Tuesday, Horgan told reporters the possibility of travel restrictions will be discussed Wednesday by the provincial cabinet. Those talks will also likely examine the status of bookings for hotels, bed and breakfasts and camping sites. "We've not taken anything off the table, but practicality is first and foremost in our mind," said Horgan. "We will use the tools that are available to us if we believe they are effective, but deployment of those tools is a challenge. We haven't taken travel restrictions off the board, quite frankly." Possible restrictions coming Thursday The premier said Henry will provide any update of possible new restrictions Thursday, during a briefing in which the province's latest COVID-19 modelling data will be presented. Tuesday's announcement was made less than a week after Horgan told CBC's On The Island he had no plans to further restrict travel, at least within B.C. — and that while it was "absolutely outrageous" for people to be travelling between the B.C. mainland and Vancouver Island, and while he did have the power to restrict ferry travel, he was not planning to. "What do we do? Arrest them?" said Horgan about people choosing to vacation while the coronavirus continues to spread. More than 1,500 people have died in B.C. due to COVID-19 and case numbers and hospitalizations have surged in recent weeks. Provincial Health Minister Adrian Dix has warned high occupancy rates are beginning to affect the surgical capacity of local hospitals in some parts of the province. A group of travellers arrive from Quebec en route to Whistler, B.C., on Feb. 28.(Cory Correia/CBC) B.C. health officials are particularly concerned about the P1 variant of the virus, first detected in Brazil. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has confirmed some of those cases can be traced to travelling Canadians. "It was likely that visitors from other parts of Canada initially introduced that strain," said Henry. She also said that some cases have been traced back to people who visited Whistler in February. Vaccines supply and safety As thousands of Canadians across the country wait for their chance to queue up for a vaccine shot, Trudeau said the federal government will have 44 million doses available by Canada Day — enough for everyone to have their first dose. "It depends on what the provinces actually lay out in terms of [a] vaccination schedule, but we're optimistic that we're going to get great numbers vaccinated in the coming weeks and months," he said. Health-care workers administer the COVID-19 vaccination to members of the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation on March 25. (Ben Nelms/CBC) Two vaccines — AstraZeneca-Oxford and Johnson & Johnson — have caused concerns after reports of potentially dangerous blood clots in people who received them. The United States has currently hit pause on use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and Trudeau said on Tuesday that Canada is "closely monitoring" that decision. Trudeau told Daybreak South listeners Wednesday it is still much safer to take a vaccine and be protected from COVID-19 then to worry about "extraordinarily rare" side-effects. "We're still encouraging everyone to get whatever vaccine is offered to you," he said. According to the Prime Minister, Canada is currently third among the G20 countries in terms of how many first dose vaccinations have been administered thus far. LISTEN | Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to CBC Daybreak South host Chris Walker:

  • India, Pakistan held secret talks to try to break Kashmir impasse

    NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Top intelligence officers from India and Pakistan held secret talks in Dubai in January in a new effort to calm military tension over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, people with close knowledge of the matter told Reuters in Delhi. Ties between the nuclear-armed rivals have been on ice since a suicide bombing of an Indian military convoy in Kashmir in 2019 traced to Pakistan-based militants that led to India sending warplanes to Pakistan. Later that year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi withdrew Indian-ruled Kashmir's autonomy in order to tighten his grip over the territory, provoking outrage in Pakistan and the downgrading of diplomatic ties and suspension of bilateral trade.

  • Russia, Ukraine hold military drills, NATO criticises Russian troop build-up

    Russia and Ukraine held simultaneous military drills on Wednesday as NATO foreign and defence ministers began emergency discussions on a massing of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border. Washington and NATO have been alarmed by the large build-up of Russian troops near Ukraine and in Crimea, the peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and two U.S. warships are due to arrive in the Black Sea this week.

  • Sharing Great Danes are great at cleaning corn on the cob

    Max and Katie the Great Danes love corn on the cob, especially with lots of butter and salt. Their owner gives Max (who is deaf) the thumbs up sign, which means good boy!

  • Alberta NDP would likely form majority if election held today, new poll suggests

    EDITOR'S NOTE: CBC News and The Road Ahead commissioned this public opinion research in March, just as the third wave of COVID-19 cases was building in Alberta. As with all polls, this one is a snapshot in time. This analysis is one in a series of articles to come out of this research. More stories are to follow. (CBC) If an election in Alberta were held today, the NDP would likely win a majority, as support for the governing United Conservative Party plummets, according to a new poll commissioned by CBC News. The poll, conducted in March and April, suggests all parts of the province are souring on the current government, with declines in Calgary, smaller municipalities and rural areas. But it also shows a fractured electorate, with a sizable chunk of voters looking for a third option. It also shows Premier Jason Kenney's approval falling precipitously since he was first elected. The findings are more bad news for a party that has struggled to overcome persistent economic challenges and the pandemic, and which is now facing a caucus revolt over public health restrictions. They could indicate a turbulent near future as Alberta navigates a socio-economic and political crossroads. The numbers Across the province, compared to the 2019 election that brought the newly formed UCP to power, support for the governing party has cratered from 55 per cent of voters to 33 per cent of respondents in this month's poll. The poll, conducted by Janet Brown Opinion Research on behalf of CBC News, suggests declines in support across all regions, with the NDP surging ahead of the UCP in the key battleground of Calgary and the UCP plummeting in more rural parts of the province. (Janet Brown Opinion Research) In Calgary, 41 per cent of respondents now say they would vote for the NDP, compared to 34 per cent for the UCP. That's a considerable shift from the 2019 election, when 55 per cent voted for the UCP and 32 per cent for the NDP. Outside the cities of Calgary and Edmonton, support for the government has sunk 28 points — from 67 per cent voter support to 39 per cent of respondents saying they'd vote UCP now. (Janet Brown Opinion Research) Nestled among the numbers, however, is about 25 per cent of respondents who say they're not interested in voting for either of the leading parties. Fully 11 per cent of respondents said they don't know who to vote for, leaving the door open for a third party. Edmonton remains an NDP bastion with 50 per cent support, compared to 26 per cent support for the UCP, according to the poll. "What's interesting about this poll, because there's been other polls that have shown the NDP moving ahead on a provincial level, but that's really only been because they've had such a tremendous lead in Edmonton," said pollster Janet Brown. "But now that they're leading in both Edmonton and Calgary, that sets them up for winning government." But the findings aren't just grim news for the governing party. The poll also suggests a lack of faith in Kenney's leadership. The leaders Prior to being elected, Kenney was riding high, with a previous Janet Brown poll showing 36 per cent of respondents were highly impressed with the new UCP leader in March 2018. That honeymoon is truly over. (Janet Brown Opinion Research) In the latest poll, only 16 per cent of respondents say they're highly impressed with Kenney, while 53 per cent are not impressed. NDP Leader Rachel Notley's numbers have remained stable, with 34 per cent of respondents saying they're highly impressed with her and 36 per cent saying they're not. (Janet Brown Opinion Research) So how does that play out in the rough and tumble world of Alberta politics? What it means Melanee Thomas, a professor of political science at the University of Calgary, said she looks at the results and sees instability for the UCP and stability for the NDP. "What's interesting with the NDP is that they've never dropped below a certain level, like in the low- to mid-30s. That seems to be their floor and all they need to do is swing up to like 41, 43 [per cent]," she said. "I think the same thing with the UCP. I think that's a credible way to think about it, where now they're probably finding their floor. And so now the debate is about who gets that swing?" Brown says the strength of the NDP isn't necessarily as secure as the numbers suggest. "They've pulled ahead, mainly because the UCP has been falling behind," she said. Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Mount Royal University in Calgary, points out that much of the support that has bled from the UCP has not gone toward the NDP. Across the province, the 22-point plunge for the UCP resulted in a seven-point increase for the NDP. Outside Calgary and Edmonton, a 28-point drop saw a nine-point rise for the NDP. "That tells me that there's a ceiling, and that Rachel Notley and the NDP have hit their ceiling," he said. "You can't win in a two-party system with 40 per cent. You can win in a multi-party system, but you can't win in a two-party system." It remains to be seen if the current turmoil in the UCP, and that significant group of unsatisfied voters, will lead to a more scattered political landscape. 2 years to go It is still two years before the next Alberta election, with untold challenges and changes that could take place in the interim. The poll and its findings are a snapshot in time. Bratt says, despite all the controversies and challenges currently facing the UCP, there is still the chance for a win in 2023 — even with an embattled Kenney at the helm. "As bad as it may appear at first blush, when I start to think about it a bit more — what is life like in two years' time? What is life like post-vaccination? What is life like when the economy starts to come back?" he said. CBC News' random survey of 1,200 Albertans was conducted between March 15 to April 10, 2021 by Edmonton-based Trend Research under the direction of Janet Brown Opinion Research (http://planetjanet.ca/special-projects/). The sample is representative along regional, age, and gender factors. The margin of error is +/-2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. For subsets, the margin of error is larger. The survey used a hybrid methodology that involved contacting survey respondents by telephone and giving them the option of completing the survey at that time, at another more convenient time, or receiving an email link and completing the survey online.

  • How Ramadan helped a Halifax brewery make peace with the mosque next door

    On the front wall at Good Robot Brewing, one of its cheeky slogans is painted in big, upper case letters: I don't wanna grow up. But over the last few years, the north-end Halifax brewery and beer garden has done just that — it's grown up. However, doing that next to a mosque, a place of prayer and contemplation, has involved growing pains for a business that bills itself as Halifax's most questionable brewery. "It's kind of become part of our mantra here in that we make mistakes a lot, learn to own up to them, and learn to apologize," said Josh Counsil, one of the brewery's co-founders. Good Robot's rocky relations with its neighbour, the Centre for Islamic Development, which houses a private school, a community centre and a mosque, reached a boiling point in 2016. This sign at Good Robot reminds customers to keep the noise down.(Elizabeth Chiu/CBC) Amid Ramadan — Islam's season of reconciliation and forgiveness — the windows in the place of worship were boarded up and sealed to muffle the sounds from loud bar patrons. But noise from a large and lively Pride dance party was the final straw. "The music and glitter bombs and everything were just a bit too much with prayer going on next door, so that was the turning point," said Counsil. The rowdy event led to a bylaw complaint from the Islamic centre, which wanted the brewery's liquor licence revoked. Faced with that possibility, Good Robot management met with the centre's nine directors for five hours to clear the air. They learned the worst offences — noisy, vomiting, and urinating bar patrons — had been spilling over and disrupting their Muslim neighbours. When the centre's complaint became public, it ignited a media storm and drew a backlash of hurtful, Islamophobic, xenophobic, racist messages. Mohamed Yaffa is one of two imams at the Centre for Islamic Development.(Elizabeth Chiu/CBC) Even though Good Robot didn't contribute to the racist trolling, Counsil said the company resolved to be better. "Learn to swallow your pride, and put your ego at bay, and meditate on things where you have done some harm, and see what comes out of it," he said. The promises made during that long meeting with the centre's directors have been maintained to this day, he said. A sign was installed reminding bar patrons "not to scream at the top of your lungs. And be respectful of our neighbours." Staff write down daily prayer times as a reminder of when the music volume is to be turned down. And a few times a day, workers circle the block to clean up any debris and garbage in the area. "A pub is a public house, and if you aren't respectful of your neighbourhood and its surroundings, you aren't really living up to your namesake," he said. Bar staff jot down the daily prayer times at the mosque next door as a reminder to turn down the music volume.(Elizabeth Chiu/CBC) Over the last five years, Good Robot has learned to be a good neighbour. On Instagram this week, the brewery sent good wishes to its Muslim friends at the centre as they begin Ramadan. The post detailed the fateful events of five years ago. Counsil said that turning point helped to steer the company down a path toward equity, diversity and inclusion. The company has made efforts to hire more Blacks and women in the white, male-dominated industry. "This incident, among others, helped to really craft what it is we do and what we want to do in our neighbourhoods," said Counsil. When the faithful gathered on Monday evening to pray and recite scripture to mark the start of Ramadan, it was completely uneventful. "We didn't hear any noise," said Mohamed Yaffa, one of the mosque's imams. "I never actually thought about that. We have neighbours that we used to have clashes with before. So, yeah, it's all good now." MORE TOP STORIES

  • How police may have missed a chance to catch serial killer Bruce McArthur in 2013

    Toronto police didn't check Bruce McArthur's criminal record in 2013 before or after interviewing him — despite possessing evidence connecting the now-convicted serial killer to three missing men whose disappearances officers were then investigating. That's just one of many serious investigative flaws former judge Gloria Epstein identifies in her independent review of Toronto police's handling of missing-persons cases — including the victims of McArthur — released Tuesday. Epstein argues proper preparation for the McArthur interview, an understanding of his 2003 assault conviction, and his connection to the three missing men should have resulted in greater police scrutiny of his conduct as early as November 2013. He was eventually arrested and charged with murder in January 2018. "Someone with a connection with all three missing persons who had attacked another member of the LGBTQ2S+ communities and been banned from the Village for a period should have undoubtedly have qualified as a person of interest," Epstein wrote, referring to the gay community's downtown neighbourhood. The 1,100-page report marks the first time some of these details — of what police did and knew when — have come to light. The service has previously refused to "dissect the investigation" despite questions about how police handled the investigations into missing men who turned out to be McArthur's victims. Retired judge Gloria Epstein released her final report on Toronto police service's handling of missing-persons cases, including McArthur's victims, on Tuesday.(Submitted by Shelley Colenbrander) "I cannot say that McArthur would necessarily have been apprehended earlier if these investigative steps had been taken," Epstein wrote. "But the Toronto police did lose important opportunities to identify him as the killer." McArthur went on to kill five more men after police first interviewed him as part of Project Houston. In a news conference, acting Toronto police chief James Ramer told reporters Tuesday "the shortcomings [Esptein] identified are inexcusable" and that the service is going to implement her recommendations "as quickly as possible." The 16-minute interview The Project Houston task force was launched in November 2012 to probe the disappearances of Skandaraj Navaratnam, Abdulbasir Faizi and Majeed Kayhan — all of whom were connected to Toronto's Gay Village. Almost a year into that investigation, police discovered McArthur was connected to Navaratnam and Faizi through his online username "silverfoxx51." A detective on the project scheduled an interview in November 2013. But Det.-Const. Joshua McKenzie did not prepare questions, look into McArthur's background or do a Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database search on him before the interview, according to Epstein's report. If he had, McKenzie would have found McArthur's 2003 assault conviction, which Epstein argues could have then been used to obtain the synopsis of the serial killer's unprovoked pipe attack on a gay man in the Village in 2001. Project Houston, a police task force, was created to probe the disappearances of Skandaraj Navaratnam, Abdulbasir Faizi and Majeed Kayhan.() Instead, the interview with McArthur lasted only 16 minutes and McKenzie didn't ask McArthur about his known connection to Faizi after McArthur denied knowing the missing man. McArthur also admitted to having had a sexual relationship with Kayhan — who police had yet to connect to McArthur — but McKenzie didn't ask follow-up questions about the relationship. 'Important fact went unnoticed' After the interview, police had a connection between McArthur and all three missing men. "However, this important fact went unnoticed," wrote Epstein. "McKenzie's summary of the interview failed to include it." In the report, Epstein references and agrees with a summary of the implication of those connections from an unnamed police investigator provided to the review. "[McArthur] would have been the one and only person who was linked to all three disappearances at that point from all the information we had," the investigator said. WATCH | Report 'hard to read,' interim chief says: "He would be on the top of the list of finding out what more is he capable of and what he does. The prime suspect, if you will." Instead, it looks like no supervisor reviewed McKenzie's interview or instructed any follow-up action because of it, according to the report. Epstein said McKenzie was a relatively junior officer at the time and told the review that he did what he was told. Neither the video of the McArthur interview nor the summary McKenzie wrote were added to Toronto police's records system, Versadex, or the major case management system, PowerCase. In her report, Epstein outlines how those omissions had ramifications on how police investigated McArthur when he was arrested, but not charged, for an assault in June 2016. CBC News has previously reported on the attempted choking of a man, in the back of McArthur's van, who was able to escape and called 911. Afterward, McArthur went to the police and said the incident was consensual. He was let go, as police believed his story was credible. Bruce McArthur pleaded guilty to killing these eight men. Top row, from left to right: Skandaraj Navaratnam, Andrew Kinsman, Selim Esen and Abdulbasir Faizi. Bottom row, from left to right: Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam, Dean Lisowick, Soroush Mahmudi and Majeed Kayhan.(John Fraser/CBC) The investigator, Sgt. Paul Gauthier, is facing police disciplinary charges in connection with the case. He told the independent review that had he known McArthur had been identified as someone in contact with three missing persons in Project Houston, Gauthier would have contacted officers from the task force before making his decision not to charge McArthur. "[Gauthier] saw this situation as a counterproductive siloing of relevant information. I agree with him," Epstein wrote. However, the report also notes that Gauthier's 2016 investigation failed to turn up McArthur's 2003 assault conviction. By that time, McArthur had received a record suspension from the Parole Board of Canada in connection with that conviction, but that didn't mean police couldn't find a record of the assault. 'Easily discoverable' "We do know this information, which turned out to be relevant, was easily discoverable during Project Prism," Epstein wrote in relation to the task force that looked into the disappearances of Andrew Kinsman and Selim Esen and eventually led to the arrest of McArthur. Without the information on McArthur's pipe assault, Epstein said that investigators in Project Houston and the 2016 choking investigation saw McArthur "as a 64-year-old man with no prior violent history." "What became obvious to me during this Review is that officers have varying (and sometimes inaccurate) understandings of what is available to them on their own databases." McArthur murdered five men — Soroush Mahmudi, Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam, Dean Lisowick, Esen and Kinsman — after he was interviewed as part of Project Houston in 2013. Esen and Kinsman were killed after the 2016 attempted choking investigation. McArthur is currently serving a life sentence for the first-degree murder of all eight men. He will be 91 by the time he can apply for parole.