Stars You May Not Know Are Canadian

Canada Day is here, and everyone in the Great White North is celebrating, including the celebrities. But there are some stars you may not realize are Canadian -- click through to find out who. – By Simone Lai

Latest Stories

  • Analysis: Covert Israeli-Saudi meeting sends Biden a strong message on Iran

    A historic meeting between Israel's prime minister and Saudi Arabia's crown prince has sent a strong signal to allies and enemies alike that the two countries remain deeply committed to containing their common foe Iran. Last Sunday's covert meeting in the Saudi city of Neom, confirmed by Israeli officials but publicly denied by Riyadh, conveyed a coordinated message to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden that Washington's main allies in the region are closing ranks. It was the first publicly confirmed visit to Saudi Arabia by an Israeli leader and a meeting that was unthinkable until recently as the two countries do not have formal diplomatic relations.

  • Plan to find, help MIA students

    An average 400 Grade 7-12 students in the North End have been reported “inactive” during the school year for the last decade. Despite being registered in the Winnipeg School Division, they are not actively participating at their home school and their families have not reported a move. The WSD data (from 2009 to 2019) obtained by the Community Education Development Association indicates hundreds of students stop attending class at some point after Sept. 30, the annual head-count day in Manitoba, in any given year. “We know the COVID pandemic has created even more stress on North End students and that more students are disengaging from school, so this is a challenge that’s just going to get further exacerbated,” said Tom Simms, co-director of CEDA. Keeping students “active” in the public education system is the motivation behind a new collaborative project between CEDA, Ndinawemaaganag Endaawaad Inc. and Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre. Together, the partners have founded Indigenous Education Caring Society — a non-profit charitable organization that will offer students a culturally sensitive alternative to standard middle and high schools in the division. The organizations have secured a $500,000 capital grant from the Winnipeg Foundation, as well as support from the Thomas Sill Foundation, to launch off-campus learning environments with built-in access to community support services for students in the North End. Students will be able to access both academic lessons and resources to find stable housing, as well as leadership opportunities in the community. Kayla Stubbs, interim executive director at Ndinawe, said her hope for the project is that it will provide Indigenous youth with “equal access to education, teachers and programs that will help them thrive.” “Community-based programming provides a unique opportunity to utilize Indigenous lenses in developing effective tools for community youth to succeed,” Stubbs wrote in a statement to the Free Press Thursday. After surveying the North End for facilities and learning many buildings are in disrepair, Simms said the most cost-effective option is to build two campuses — with the hopes of expanding in the future — from the ground up. Vacant lots on Selkirk Avenue and Arlington, Salter and McGregor streets are being eyed as possible sites. In the meantime, the IECS is trying to secure an agreement to have the division rent classroom space and staff it with program teachers, who will be employed by WSD. The funding the division collects annually for students who become inactive should be redirected, Simms said, adding, “the basis of the proposal is to have the funding for the student follow the student.” The official definition of an inactive student is a pupil in Grade 7-12 who has left WSD between Oct. 1 and May 31 inclusive, and for whom there is no record of re-entry in any area school in the current year. The purpose of collecting the counts is to provide a baseline of withdrawals, but the division cautions the numbers should not be viewed as exact records because they do not account for students who have registered in other divisions. Directors in charge of the WSD programs were not available for comment Thursday.  In a statement, division spokeswoman Radean Carter said WSD administrators look for “all sorts of ways” to encourage students to return to their learning and re-engage them in school. “Our partnerships with CEDA and off-campus programs have been among the successful ways that this has been achieved,” Carter said. The division currently has 13 off-campus programs. Among them, the North District Off-Campus Program, administered through Isaac Newton School, which serves Grades 7-9 students who are disengaged from traditional schooling. Simms praised the division for its openness to the project, as well as the fact it collects data on inactive students. Schools alone can’t fix inactivity, he said, “there needs to be partnerships.” The IECS programs are expected to launch sometime in the 2021-22 academic year.Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press

  • Scotland's Sturgeon puts UK on independence warning: We want a referendum soon

    Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon said an independence referendum that could wrench apart the United Kingdom after Brexit should take place in the earlier part of the devolved parliament's next term, which begins next year. If there was another referendum and if Scots voted out, it would mark the biggest shock to the United Kingdom since Irish independence a century ago - just as London grapples with the impact of Brexit. The pro-independence Scottish National Party leader said she anticipates that a vote will take place "in the earlier part" of the next Scottish parliament, which begins next year.

  • In Santa's mailbag, a peek into children's pandemic worries

    LIBOURNE, France — Jim, from Taiwan, slipped a face mask inside the greeting card he sent to Santa and marked “I (heart) u." Alina, 5, asked in her Santa letter written with an adult's help that he please use the front door when he drops in, because the back door is reserved for Grandma and Grandpa to minimize their risk of contamination. And spilling out her heavy little heart to “Dear Father Christmas,” 10-year-old Lola wrote that she is wishing “that my aunt never has cancer again and that this virus no longer exists.” “My mother is a care-giver and sometimes I am scared for her,” Lola explained, signing off her handwritten letter with, “Take care of yourself Father Christmas, and of the Elves.” The emotional toll wrought by the pandemic is jumping off pages in the deluge of “Dear Santa” letters now pouring into a post office in southwest France that sorts and responds to his mail from around the world. Arriving by the tens of thousands, the letters, notes and cards — some mere scribbles, other elaborate labours of love in colored pens — are revealing windows into the tender minds of their young authors, and of adult Santa fans also asking for respite and happiness, at the tail end of a year of sickness and tumult. Like this letter from young Zoe, who limited her requests to a music player and amusement park tickets because “this year has been very different from others because of COVID-19.” “That’s why I am not asking you for many thing(s) to avoid infection,” Zoe wrote, signing off with “Merci!” and a heart. In theory, and often in practice, any letter addressed "Pere Noel" — French for Father Christmas — and slipped into any post box around the world is likely to wend its way to the sorting office in France's Bordeaux region that has been handling his mail since 1962. Toiling out of sight among vineyards, his secretariat of workers (who call themselves “elves”) spends the months of November and December slicing open envelopes decorated with hearts, stickers and colours, and spreading Santa magic by responding on his behalf. From the first letters opened at the secretariat from Nov. 12, it quickly became apparent how the pandemic is weighing on children, says the chief elf, Jamila Hajji. Along with the usual pleas for toys and gadgets were also requests for vaccines, for visits from grandparents, for life to return to the way it was. One letter in three mentions the pandemic in some way, Hajji says. “The kids have been very affected by COVID, more than we think. They are very worried. And what they want most of all, apart from presents, is really to be able to have a normal life, the end of COVID, a vaccine,” she says. “The letters to Father Christmas are a sort of release for them. All this year, they have been in lockdowns, they have been deprived of school, deprived of their grandpas and grandmas. Their parents have been occupied by the health crisis and whatnot. So we, of course, can tell that the children are putting into words everything they have felt during this period." “We are like elf therapists," she adds. Replying to 12,000 letters per day, the team of 60 elves sets aside some that move them or catch the eye. Lola's is among those that have stood out so far, with its heartfelt confession to Santa that “this year more than the others, I need magic and to believe in you.” The elves say their sense is that children are confiding worries that they may not have shared with parents. Emma Barron, a psychiatrist specializing in the mental health of children and adolescents at the Robert Debré pediatric hospital in Paris, says landmark dates, including birthdays and holidays like Christmas, provide structure in childhood. Amid the pandemic's uncertainty, the Dec. 25 anchor of Christmas is particularly important to kids this year. “Children are quite surprising in that they can adapt to many things,” Barron says. “But rhythms, rituals and things like that are an integral part of children's mental stability." As the letters flood in, it's also clear that this goes beyond childhood. Santa is proving a beacon to adults, too, with some writing to him for the first time since they were kids. One asked for “a pandemic of love.” A 77-year-old lamented that “lockdown is no fun! I live alone.” A grandparent asked Santa to “say ‘Hi' to my two grandkids that I won't be able to see this year because of the health situation.” “Your mission will be hard this year," wrote Anne-Marie, another adult suppliant. "You will need to sprinkle stars across the entire world, to calm everyone and revive our childhood souls, so we can dream, at last, and let go.” —- Follow AP’s virus coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak John Leicester, The Associated Press

  • The latest numbers on COVID-19 in Canada for Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020

    The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 11 p.m. EST on Nov. 26, 2020:There are 353,100 confirmed cases in Canada._ Quebec: 136,894 confirmed (including 6,947 deaths, 118,491 resolved) _ Ontario: 109,361 confirmed (including 3,575 deaths, 92,915 resolved) _ Alberta: 51,878 confirmed (including 510 deaths, 37,316 resolved) _ British Columbia: 29,973 confirmed (including 384 deaths, 19,998 resolved) _ Manitoba: 15,288 confirmed (including 266 deaths, 6,177 resolved) _ Saskatchewan: 7,362 confirmed (including 40 deaths, 4,176 resolved) _ Nova Scotia: 1,257 confirmed (including 65 deaths, 1,078 resolved) _ New Brunswick: 465 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 353 resolved) _ Newfoundland and Labrador: 327 confirmed (including 4 deaths, 295 resolved) _ Nunavut: 155 confirmed (including 5 resolved) _ Prince Edward Island: 70 confirmed (including 68 resolved) _ Yukon: 42 confirmed (including 1 death, 29 resolved) _ Northwest Territories: 15 confirmed (including 15 resolved) _ Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved) _ Total: 353,100 (0 presumptive, 353,100 confirmed including 11,799 deaths, 280,929 resolved)This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 26, 2020.The Canadian Press

  • Boy, 1, dead, police officer injured in Ontario confrontation

    A one-year-old boy is dead and two others were injured, including an OPP officer, in a confrontation outside Lindsay, Ont., on Thursday.

  • Academic detained in Iran for 2 years returns to Australia

    CANBERRA, Australia — British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert arrived back in Australia on Friday and will soon reunite with her family after more than two years in an Iranian prison.Moore-Gilbert was met by public health officials and members of the Australian Defence Force after leaving her plane at Canberra Airport, less than 24 hours after being released from prison in Iran.Foreign Minister Marise Payne has said Moore-Gilbert, 33, will have to undergo quarantine due to COVID-19 concerns.The academic from Melbourne University was released after 804 days behind bars on spying charges. She was freed in exchange for the release of three Iranians who were held in Thailand.Australian media reported on Friday that Iranian authorities had detained her after discovering she was in a relationship with an Israeli citizen, which led to claims she was a spy for Israel.Fairfax Media reported that the Australian government played a crucial behind-the-scenes role in bringing Thailand to the table and engineering the prisoner swap.Fairfax said the discovery of Moore-Gilbert’s Israeli boyfriend led to Iranian authorities stopping her at Tehran's airport as she was about to leave the country in 2018 after attending an academic conference. Authorities sentenced her to 10 years in prison for espionage. The Australian government and Moore-Gilbert rejected the allegations as baseless.Fairfax Media cited unidentified Australian government sources as saying the at-times delicate negotiations took more than six months.In Bangkok, Thai officials said they transferred three Iranians involved in a botched 2012 bomb plot back to Tehran. While they declined to call it a swap and Iran referred to the men as “economic activists,” the arrangement freed Moore-Gilbert and saw the three men, who were linked to a wider bomb plot targeting Israeli diplomats, return home to a hero’s welcome.They wore Iranian flags draped over their shoulders, their faces largely obscured by black baseball caps and surgical masks. It was a sharp contrast to other prisoner exchanges Iran has trumpeted in the past, in which television anchors repeatedly said their names and broadcasters aired images of them reuniting with their families.In Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Thursday he was “thrilled and relieved” that Moore-Gilbert had been released but added that it would take time for her to process her “horrible” ordeal.“The tone of her voice was very uplifting, particularly given what she has been through,” Morrison told Australia’s Network Nine.Despite her ordeal, Moore-Gilbert said in a statement that she had “nothing but respect, love and admiration for the great nation of Iran and its warm-hearted, generous and brave people.”Asked about the swap, Morrison said he “wouldn’t go into those details, confirm them one way or the other.” However, he said he could assure Australians there had been nothing done to prejudice their safety and no prisoners were released in Australia.The Associated Press

  • Will shovel for grades

    FORGET the gymnasium — driveways, sidewalks and parking lots are becoming popular alternatives for phys-ed students keen to both work out and volunteer to shovel snow in their communities this season. With Manitoba public health officials promoting outdoor learning as much as possible to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19 amid the pandemic, teachers are finding creative ways to keep students active outside no matter the season. Tim Morison was clearing his driveway in Starbuck earlier this year, when he realized he was participating in a perfect phys-ed lesson. Not only is shovelling an intense physical activity, he said, but also an opportunity to both learn how specific muscles work (in this case, biceps, triceps, quads, hamstrings and calves, among others) and the importance of community involvement. “I’ve always been a firm believer that we take care of the community; community comes first,” said Morison, who teaches phys-ed at Starbuck School in the Red River Valley School Division. “And trying to teach these kids how… doing something for someone else can cheer them up — especially during this time, when everything’s so negative with COVID.” Morison recruited his students to deliver flyers to houses and businesses around Starbuck (located 30 kilometres west of Winnipeg) to inform residents the school’s phys-ed students planned to help clear snow in town throughout the winter. On such days, the phys-ed teacher said he plans to take each of his classes out to walk around with shovels to clear as many driveways as possible during the school day. “Now, we’re just waiting for snow,” Morison said, adding the first significant snowfall of the season occurred during an in-service school day last week. He put out a request to families anyway and more than 10 students showed up to clear snow, even though they had the day off. In the Manitoba capital, the phys-ed department at Maples Collegiate has a similar idea. The Winnipeg high school put out a call to families asking if anyone within walking distance from the facility was interested in having students clear snow during school hours. “We are hoping to help clear the snow of homes of seniors, those living with a disability/illness, or those that can use the extra help,” states the notice. Less than 24 hours after it was sent, phys-ed teacher Matt Medwick said at least seven people had signed up for the volunteer service. “This is just one more thing that might really help people feel better in general, on both ends,” Medwick said. Maples teachers have been incorporating activities such as mindfulness and yoga to improve students’ mental health this term. Research shows learning in natural environments is beneficial to students’ stress levels, overall well-being, and helps them focus when they return to a classroom setting. “When teachers conduct that kind of a lesson, they’ll see a major increase in interest and motivation, when kids are allowed to explore questions they have,” said Mike Link, assistant professor of education at the University of Winnipeg, who researches the link between outdoor education and student well-being. Link said the pivot to outdoor lessons during the pandemic will likely affect how much time educators spend outside in the future, given they have now experienced first-hand the positives of teaching outdoors. Starbuck principal Dale Fust said the school will continue to promote outdoor phys-ed in the future, given how successful Morison’s snow-shovelling idea and overall programming has been this fall. Morison — who was booted from the school’s gymnasium when it was converted into two classrooms — has created a winter survival unit. He’s teaching students how to build a shelter, start a fire, boil water, and diagnose frostbite and hypothermia. “We’re reaching the kids who don’t necessarily succeed in a traditional phys-ed environment — the traditional volleyball, sports kind of thing,” said Fust, who oversees the K-8 school of approximately 170. The buy-in from kids has been phenomenal, Morison said. “I’m going to carry on with this for the rest of my career.”Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press

  • Resilience of northern economies some ‘good news’ in the pandemic

    Construction jobs numbers are down provincially since the beginning of the pandemic, but that doesn’t reflect the reality in the north, where major resource development projects and steady activity in residential, non-residential, and road-building, have kept the industry strong, said a B.C. business analyst.  “As much as there's a bunch of bad news around from this virus, the resiliency of the northern communities and northern economies… is the hidden bit of good news in this whole pandemic circumstance we find ourselves in,” said Ken Peacock, chief economist for the Business Council of BC.  Many industries are doing okay in 2020, and some – the resource industries, along with, resource and non-resource manufacturing – have shown employment growth, said Peacock. Productivity dropped in the construction sector under COVID-19, but not by much, said Northern Regional Construction Association CEO Scott Bone, who estimated companies lost about 20 per cent productivity due to public health protocols.  “Traveling to a worksite, we used to be able to throw four people in a crew cab and drive,” said Bone. “You can't do that anymore.” Now, it’s two people per truck, resulting in more vehicles, more fuel, more unplanned costs for the contractor and owner.  Despite the many operational cost increases under COVID-19, construction has carried on. Contractors, legally bound to get work completed on deadline, are resilient and adaptable, said Bone.  “They're very quick to adapt to things that come at them very quickly,” said Bone. “We saw that when COVID hit them.”  The pandemic hasn’t caused significant construction site shutdowns that Bone knows of, and none are in sight. There are $120 billion worth of capital investments in B.C. in industrial and commercial projects ongoing or planned for construction or tendering this year or the next, said Bone. About $65 billion of that is in the north, namely, the Coastal GasLink pipeline, the LNG Canada facility, and BC Hydro’s Site C Dam. “All three of those projects are now ramping up,” said Bone. “We're seeing a good uptake in the opportunities for the construction industry as a result.’ The investment is so massive, procurement of goods and services has a big effect on the provincial economy, and while the spin offs are concentrated in the north, economic benefits also flow down to Vancouver, said Peacock. “Spending in Metro Vancouver kind of gets lost in the magnitude of the Metro Vancouver economy, so you don't see and feel the impact as much,” said Peacock. “Up in the north, where the economies are smaller, the lift from these large projects is much, much more significant and much more beneficial.” Most of the 180 Northern Regional Construction Association member contractors are very busy, said Bone. “They're working 24/7 to keep up with the work that they've got,” he said. The same seems to apply to contractors in the smaller communities of the Robson Valley. “The hardware and the building supply stores are as busy as anything,” said Dannielle Alan, Area H director for the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George. “All of our contractors are absolutely swamped.” According to the Canadian Home Builders Association (BHBA), in 2019, new home construction, and renovations and repairs created 1.3 million on and off-site jobs in Canada, equalling $83 billion in wages. Of that, about $159 million was paid in wages for 2,500 jobs in Prince George. Home construction jobs numbers for 2020 are not yet available. “There's actually a shortage of lumber, people are doing so much construction and renovating,” said Alan. Valemount has several active construction projects as well, according to Deputy Mayor Pete Pearson.  An affordable housing development is underway, along with some single-family residential activity, he said.  “We've had quite an influx of younger families moving to town,” said Pearson. “So, we're seeing a few new builds. “There's the combined housing and daycare facility that's pretty much almost shovel-ready,” said Pearson. “Generally, we're in pretty good shape.” The Trans Mountain campus and construction camp have also generated employment, Pearson said. “Our local contractors have been working on plumbing, gas fitting, and electrical with the camp setup,” said Pearson. “So, there's definitely been a positive spin off in the trades.” The challenges facing the construction industry are skilled labour shortages, not a lack of available work, said Bone. More young people need support to take up trades such as electrical, plumbing and carpentry and the construction association is collaborating with the Prince George school district to help make that happen. “There’s a huge gap between those that are going into the trades and getting trained and what we need going in the future,” Bone said. @FranYanor / Fran@thegoatnews.caFran Yanor, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Rocky Mountain Goat

  • Analysis: How attempts to unify Ethiopia may be deepening its divides, say analysts

    Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's political slogan is "medemer" - or "coming together". Now Ethiopian unity faces its severest test yet: since Nov. 4, the military has been battling a group that once dominated the national government - the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in the northern Tigray region. The TPLF frames the conflict as a battle for the rights of Ethiopia's 10 regions against a premier bent on centralising power.

  • Experimental Lakes teams weather season

    The team at the IISD Experimental Lakes Area is celebrating a successful, albeit pared down, research season and preparing to continue COVID-19-safe protocols into the winter. This spring, the spread of the global pandemic made it clear a regular season at the world-renowned freshwater research facility operated by International Institute for Sustainable Development (about 70 kilometres east of Kenora, Ont.) would be impossible. “This year, we decided to really prioritize our long-term monitoring work for our 52-year data set, which tells us about how our lakes are changing in everything from fish populations to insects to water chemistry,” said ELA deputy director Pauline Gerrard. That long-term data set has proved especially important in the study of climate change and the impact on the boreal forest’s water systems. It is one of the most comprehensive freshwater data sets in the world. In a normal year, some 60 staff and scientists would be out at the lakes. This year, research was conducted by small teams of seven people. The teams isolated for two weeks before arriving at ELA, as well as two weeks after their return home. One team was assigned to conduct water chemistry monitoring, another went out in the spring and fall to collect fish samples and analyze them. They were also able to squeeze in monitoring for a long-term oil spill study ongoing at the remote research centre, Gerrard said. The best news of all: there were no COVID-19-positive tests among researchers. However, the remote research teams did not have the same break from pandemic isolation periods the rest of the public had this summer, and with Manitoba now back under code red restrictions, it’s been a long year for her team, Gerrard said. “There’s definitely just a fatigue with isolation,” she said. “But I think people felt proud and pleased to be able to get the work done.” The priority now is to keep this up through the winter, and to begin planning possible ways to start new projects at ELA in 2021. A key priority is starting work on a microplastics project, led by University of Toronto researchers. Gerrard is also hard at work on a fundraising campaign so the facility might be able to get some more up-to-date lab equipment. With a smaller team on a time crunch, the need for better equipment out there was highlighted, she said.Sarah Lawrynuik, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press

  • Police watchdog investigating after man dies in altercation with officers at Vancouver coffee shop

    B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating after a man went into medical distress and died during a confrontation with Vancouver police on Thursday night.Vancouver police say they were called to the Tim Hortons at Terminal Avenue and Station Street just after 6 p.m. because of a man who had been inside the bathroom for half an hour.At the time, staff at the coffee shop were trying to shut down the dining area and wanted the man removed, according to an email from VPD spokesperson Const. Tania Visintin."When he came out of the restroom, he was agitated and aggressive which resulted in a physical altercation," Visintin wrote.Police say the man went into medical distress during that confrontation, and though paramedics were called, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.The Independent Investigations Office, which investigates incidents involving police that lead to serious harm or death, has been called in.

  • Remote learning for schools on table

    Manitoba Education is leaning toward a temporary period of remote learning for K-12 students in early 2021, should COVID-19 case counts remain high in the coming weeks. Sources have told the Free Press the department hinted about its plans during a meeting with school board superintendents Thursday afternoon. Among the call-in conference agenda items were the status of both the winter break and schools’ levels on the pandemic response system. During the meeting, the province suggested it is considering moving schools to the most severe level on the system — critical (code red) — for a minimum of two weeks, starting as early as Jan. 4, to ensure widespread distance learning. Sources said Manitoba Education indicated the department doesn’t favour extending the upcoming break — which is scheduled for Dec. 19 to Jan. 4, but the province’s top doctor will have the final say. If schools enter the critical phase in the new year, there would be no need for an extended closure of schools to reduce community transmission since the majority of students would be learning at home. Except for Steinbach-area schools, which entered the most severe level on the response system earlier this week, all classrooms in Manitoba remain in the restricted (code orange) phase. That means the majority of the approximately 210,000 learners in the province continue to attend in-person classes, which have been reorganized to emphasize two metres of physical distancing between pupils. In code red, remote learning becomes universal for all students — although critical service workers’ children in K-6, and older students with disabilities, may access supervision at school to complete their remote work, be it online or paper packages. A downgrade in code for all schools would be an extreme move, given both Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen and Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief public health officer, have repeatedly said schools are the best environments for student learning and well-being. When the province announced last week the Hanover School Division and surrounding schools were to enter code red as of Nov. 24, officials indicated it was a precautionary measure to address a skyrocketing test positivity rate in the region (40 per cent). Principal Emery Plett said the transition from orange to red has gone fairly smoothly at Steinbach Christian School, one of 28 facilities affected by the announcement. That is, in part, because of the school’s experience with learning disruptions in the spring, Plett said. His advice for other administrators who might experience the same change in coming weeks? “Make plans, but be flexible, and make sure you’re supporting your teachers as they work at making the transition,” said Plett, whose K-12 school is attended by 317 students — including the son of the education minister. Both the Manitoba Teachers’ Society and Manitoba School Boards Association declined to comment on specifics about what sources told the Free Press was discussed in the Thursday meeting. School board association president Alan Campbell was on the call. “The position of school boards has always been clear,” Campbell said, “whether it’s an extended break or a move to code red or whatever it may be, when child care is going to become a consideration because kids aren’t in school, the earlier (the announcement), the better.” A spokesperson for Manitoba Education said in a statement the province is monitoring the situation closely and no final decision has been made about an extended winter break.Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press

  • Drive-thru COVID-19 testing in Whitehorse to continue into December

    The Yukon government says its drive-thru COVID-19 testing facility will continue to operate for at least two more weeks, and may continue at a new location in the new year.The facility opened last Sunday in a car wash bay at Centennial Motors on the Alaska Highway in response to growing demand for testing, according to a government news release.Officials said earlier this week that the facility would be open daily for one week. On Thursday, a government news release said the drive-thru facility will stay open for a couple more weeks beyond next Sunday, "to meet the demand for testing."The release also says it could be extended further, "at a possible new location into 2021."Yukon has seen a flurry of new COVID-19 cases in the last week, bringing the territory's total case count to 39 as of Thursday. Fifteen cases are considered active.Premier Sandy Silver said this week that Yukon is now in its "second wave" of the pandemic. Starting Tuesday, masks will be mandatory in all indoor public places in Yukon.Potential exposure notices have also been issued for several locations in Whitehorse and Dawson City, Yukon, in recent weeks. People who have been at those places on certain identified days and times have been asked to get tested if they show symptoms.The government says that, as of Thursday, an average of 90 people have been tested every day.People who cannot access the drive-thru or prefer a clinic visit can call the testing assessment centre in Whitehorse at 867-393-3083.

  • Grand Falls-Windsor Salvation Army proceeds with emergency relief station

    At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Salvation Army in Grand Falls-Windsor wanted to lend a hand where it could.  That desire led it to drive the church’s emergency disaster services vehicle to Port aux Basques, where it served more than 3,000 meals to truck drivers as they arrived on the island. On Wednesday, the Salvation Army received $25,000 in provincial funding to help the church construct a proper storage garage for the vehicle.  The announcement made at Park Street Citadel in Grand Falls-Windsor comes two years after efforts to raise money for such a building began.  “We started the process believing we needed a place to store the thing,” said Maj. Larry Goudie.  The garage will keep the vehicle out of the elements and, hopefully, help maintain the length of its usefulness to the area.  It is based in Grand Falls-Windsor and serves central Newfoundland from Glovertown to Baie Verte.  Derek Bennett, the minister of environment, climate change and municipalities, was one of a number of provincial and municipal officials on hand for the announcement.  The funding for the garage was made available through the special assistance grant program.  “The work of the Salvation Army in their role as first responders in Newfoundland and Labrador over the years is to be commended,” Bennett stated in a news release. “They are there to assist when a disaster occurs or when a family is in need.   “This funding will help the organization in their efforts to house their emergency disaster services vehicle as they provide meals to those working on the front lines when an emergency happens.”  The vehicle is intended to provide relief services for any number of emergencies.   Aside from delivering food to truckers on the west coast of the island, the relief vehicle has attended fire scenes and search and rescue operations, as well as provided support in the wake of natural disasters, amongst other events.  When it attends those emergencies, it is used by first responders and frontline workers as a place to obtain food or water.  “Emergency relief services is all about rising to the challenge of unforeseen circumstances,” said Maj. Rene Loveless, public relations and development secretary with the provincial Salvation Army. “The fact we are here today is another significant step in the process of being better prepared to do just that.” Nicholas Mercer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Central Voice

  • Lawn-care, snow removal companies face major hikes in insurance costs

    It's that time of year, when property management companies switch over from lawn services to snow removal.But this year is different.Christopher Thacker, owner of Mr. Mow It All, has been in the business of mowing lawns and shovelling driveways for 14 years, since he was just twelve years old. But Thacker says his company may eventually be driven out of business if insurance premiums continue to skyrocket.His company's mandatory liability insurance has risen from $5,000 when he first stared to paying almost $70,000 just last year — and this year, his insurance broker told him to expect it to almost double."It's getting absolutely out of control," Thacker says. "It just keeps growing every year."Thacker says all of the property owners he works with require him to have liability insurance. As a result, he says, he has had to raise his prices about three to five per cent each year, resulting in a lot of pushback from clients.With increased costs of living added on to the mounting insurance expenses, Thacker says his company cannot afford to continue the way that it is."Each year is kind of like a gamble as to whether or not we're going to be able to stay in business or if the insurance companies are going to price us out of doing our jobs." Thacker is also not the only person facing significant hikes in the cost of insurance. Insurance has become a growing issue for many business owners in the landscaping industry.Tony DiGiovanni, executive director of the Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trades Association says some members are reporting insurance premium increases "anywhere from 25 to 300 per cent.""Some cannot obtain insurance at any cost," DiGiovanni says.Many insurance companies have decided to exit the snow and ice sector entirely because of an abundance of slip and fall claims, he says.Terry Nicholson, vice-president of Clintar Landscape Management and chair of Landscape Ontario's snow and ice committee, told CBC Toronto his company has also seen rapidly increasing premiums.Nicholson called insurance the "largest single threat" to his business, one of the largest snow-removal contractors in Canada."It has certainly put a lot of cost pressure on the business and a lot of our contractors are multi-year contracts so when we get these increases from the insurance company, it's difficult to pass those increases onto our clients because we're mid-contract," Nicholson says.Over the last four years, Nicholson says he has seen three insurance companies abandon the snow removal industry all together. "It's very stressful when it comes to insurance renewal, there are very few options left for us — and it seems every year they become fewer and fewer." 'Safety problem that will affect everybody'DiGiovanni told CBC Toronto one of the causes for the increases is that many insurance companies will not cover snow and ice operations — despite how profitable that business may be. In addition, DiGiovanni says deductibles are also increasing.  "It'll force many of them who can't get insurance to actually get out of the business and so what is at stake is the safety of our parking lots and our streets and sidewalks because it is going to be difficult to actually get the job done," DiGiovanni says."It's a safety problem that will affect everybody."The skyrocketing rates will eventually drive many landscaping companies out of business, he adds.DiGiovanni also blames it on the insurance market continuously fluctuating internationally. "Because insurance is so interdependent, when there are claims in different parts of the world it affects everybody," he said. A bill that is aiming to put a limit on more frivolous lawsuits is currently working through Ontario legislature. Bill 118, Occupiers Liability Amendment Act, would amend the current Occupiers' Liability Act to provide that no action be brought for the recovery of damages for personal injury that is caused by snow or ice against an occupier or an independent contractor employed by the occupier.DiGiovanni says he is hopeful for a solution to this issue but in the meantime, he hopes this will not drive all of the smaller operators out of the market.

  • Calfrac says appeal court rejects Wilks Brothers attempt to block recapitalization

    CALGARY — Calfrac Well Services Ltd. says the Alberta Court of Appeal has rejected an attempt by Wilks Brothers LLC to block the approval of the company's recapitalization plan.The company says it has been advised by the court that the Wilks Brothers' appeal of the final order approving the plan has been dismissed.Texas-based Wilks Brothers had opposed Calfrac's recapitalization plan and offered its own hostile takeover offer as an option.However, the company's debtholders and shareholders instead opted for management's plan that will see holders of Calfrac's senior unsecured notes swap debt for shares, leaving existing shareholders with a reduced stake in the company.An Alberta court issued a final order this month approving the company's plan.Calfrac says it intends to complete its recapitalization transaction as soon as possible.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2020.Companies in this story: (TSX:CFW)The Canadian Press

  • Putin foe Navalny urges EU to be ready for Russian election

    BRUSSELS — Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny urged the European Union to reject the results of Russia's parliamentary election next year if any candidates are blocked from taking part and he called Friday on the EU to impose sanctions on oligarchs close to President Vladimir Putin.Navalny, a corruption investigator and longtime foe of Putin's, has been recovering in Germany from a poisoning attack with what experts have said was a Soviet-era nerve agent. He told EU lawmakers he thinks it’s “important that Europe not remain silent” on conditions in Russia.Navalny described next September’s election for Russia’s lower house of parliament as “an absolutely crucial event.” He said that while he and other opposition politicians expect some vote-rigging, what “is most important is the right to participate.”Navalny, who has been blocked several times from registering as a candidate, said the EU’s approach should simply be: “If everyone is allowed to participate, we can discuss it further. But if some are not allowed to participate, the results of such an election will never be recognized.”He urged the 27-nation bloc to change its approach to sanctions, saying there is little point in slapping travel bans or asset freezes over poisonings or election irregularities on military officers because they generally don’t move much outside of Russia, own real estate or hold bank accounts in Europe.Navalny said the EU should ask itself why these alleged crimes are happening.“The answer is very, very simple: money," he told EU lawmakers via video-link. "So, the European Union should target the money, and Russian oligarchs” notably the new circle of the ultra-rich business people around Putin.Navalny said most Russian citizens would support such an approach.Last month, EU foreign ministers imposed sanctions on six Russian officials and a state research institute over Navalny’s poisoning. Russia announced retaliatory action, saying that it would target French and German officials close to the leaders of France and Germany.Vladimir Kara-Murza, head of the Boris Nemtsov Foundation in Russia, urged the EU to stay true to its values.“Stop enabling those corrupt, abusive officials and oligarchs who want to steal from our people in Russia and enjoy their loot in European Union countries by spending their holidays, sending their wives and their mistresses on shopping trips, buying up yachts and real estate properties and so on,” he said.Lorne Cook, The Associated Press

  • A new doc peeks inside the USPS’s Operation Santa program

    Filmmaker Dana Nachman wanted to make a documentary about the United States Postal Service’s Operation Santa program for years, but it never seemed like the right time. Then in 2018 she got up some courage and decided to cold email the USPS press office. They responded immediately and agreed to give her and a film crew unprecedented access to the inner workings of this charitable program. But there was one big rule: Don’t ruin Christmas for kids. Every year, hundreds of thousands of letters to Santa go through the USPS system, asking for everything from toys to food. The program, which has been running in some form for over 107 years, takes letters from kids in need, matches them up with donors and helps make Christmas wishes come true. “Dear Santa,” out Dec. 4 from IFC Films, takes viewers inside the program showing the kids writing the letters, the postal workers who sort and categorize them (Santa’s helpers) and the adoptees who go out and purchase the gifts they ask for. “I think a lot of people don’t know it exists,” Nachman said. “I didn't!" She and her team began filming last year and had only the couple of weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas to shoot. They had a couple of parameters: She wanted a diversity of locations (cosmopolitan, rural and everything in between) and to focus on what the postal service calls “special requests,” which could be anything from heat to a medical procedure. In other words, they're wishes that don't necessarily fit in a box. “I wasn’t so much interested in the kids asking for toys and iPhones and, believe me, there are a lot,” Nachman said. “We could have done an entire film on people who just wanted food or mattresses.” With Santa’s helpers knowing what they were looking for, when a special request came through that they thought might work, they would send it off to Nachman who would peruse and consider. Sometimes there were a few, sometimes 20, sometimes 50. To protect the privacy of the families, the postal service had to act as liaison at first. If Nachman liked a letter, the USPS would send an express mail letter to the parents essentially saying if you’re interested in participating in this movie, here’s the filmmaker’s email and phone number. Then, the waiting game began. “We just waited by the phone,” Nachman said. “It was very stressful. Time was ticking.” They also needed the permission of the adopter to make a perfect match. But calls started coming in and eventually they wound up with more than they could use. “We wanted to make sure that the film tonally was a shot of poignancy that drives people to act and give and help the world, but also have it be entertaining and fun,” Nachman said. She hopes the film will both help spread the word about the program and inspire people to adopt a letter. “Once you read them, you won’t be able to not do it,” she said. Operation Santa is forging ahead this year even with the pandemic and for the first time it’s national and online. Letters will be available online at USPSOperationSanta.com for browsing and adopting starting Dec. 4. Due to COVID-19, the USPS said there will be no in-person adoption. Those writing letters to Santa, located at 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 88888, should get started too: They need to be postmarked by Dec. 14, but the sooner the better. And don’t forget a return address and a stamp. ___ Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press

  • B.C. doctor makes heartfelt appeal after losing 3 patients in a single weekend to COVID-19

    From the frontlines in the COVID-19 fight, a BC doctor is making an emotional appeal for others to take the virus seriously. It comes after the North Vancouver doctor lost three patients in a single weekend to the virus. Jordan Armstrong.