Author: Silas Reed

China is accusing Canada of hypocrisy for criticizing Beijing’s human-rights record, pointing to issues faced by Indigenous Peoples. The blowback comes after Ottawa sanctioned eight Chinese officials it accuses of “grave human rights violations” against ethnic and religious minorities, and voiced concern about democracy in Hong Kong.Ottawa issued a statement last month that cited reports of arbitrary and violent detainment of Uyghur people, as well as repression toward Tibetans and Falun Gong practitioners.Global Affairs Canada also says it “deplores” that authorities are issuing international bounties for Hong Kong democracy activists and former lawmakers from the territory, including Canadians.Beijing says those…

By Jack Farrell The Canadian Press Posted January 2, 2025 6:46 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size A judge is asking the Alberta government to consider developing minimum safety standards for clothing donation bins after three people got stuck trying to get inside and died. Justice Jayme Williams reviewed the accidental deaths in Calgary and Medicine Hat between 2017 and 2019.She says in a report that the benefits of the donation bins programs are significant and should be continued, if not expanded, but not at the expense of safety. Get daily National news Get…

Descrease article font size Increase article font size The Nēwo-Yōtina Friendship Centre has been operating Wâhkôhtowin Harm Reduction under an urgent need’s exemption for its overdose prevention since 2021. However, in a Facebook post made on December 31st, the center announced they received a new exemption to operate as a supervised consumption site (SCS) under the guidelines laid out by Health Canada.That makes it the City of Regina’s first and only supervised consumption site.The Nēwo-Yōtina Friendship Centre shared over social media, “Supervised consumption sites have been proven to save lives and benefit communities. Our supervised consumption site offers a range…

By Staff The Canadian Press Posted January 2, 2025 3:42 pm Updated January 2, 2025 3:44 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size A new study suggests Canadian forests are increasingly primed for severe wildfires, underlining the pressing need to proactively mitigate the increased threat posed by climate change. The study by Canadian researchers, published in the journal Science, looked at fire severity from 1981 to 2020.Co-author Xianli Wang, a scientist with the Canadian Forest Service, says there were on average an additional two days conducive to high-severity fires in 2000 to 2020, compared to…

When asked about her life in Syria a decade ago, Amani Shamseddin struggles to find the words. Sitting on the couch in her Edmonton home as her children clamour for her attention, she pauses to think.“It wasn’t safe, we had so many incidents,” the 33-year-old says after a moment. “I don’t want to bring it back.”In the fall of 2015, the newly elected Liberal federal government embarked on its pledge to resettle 25,000 Syrians fleeing the country’s brutal civil war in just 100 days.Since then, Canada has welcomed more than 100,000 Syrian refugees. 1:47 Syrian refugee family ‘so proud’ to…

A woman from Waterloo, Ont., plans to buy herself a special sandwich and maybe something bigger after recently becoming a multi-millionaire. The OLG says that Sarah Nellis, who is a mother of seven, recently won the $5 million top prize while playing a game called Instant Mega.“I was certainly surprised when I saw that I’d won the top prize,” Nellis told the OLG while she was claiming her bounty. Get daily National news Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. “I shared the good news with my mom and…

By Staff The Canadian Press Posted January 2, 2025 3:16 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size A Quebec man killed in an avalanche in Utah over the weekend is being remembered as an avid outdoorsman who loved nature. Utah authorities said David Éthier died while splitboarding Saturday in Millcreek Canyon near Salt Lake City and his body was recovered on Tuesday. Get daily National news Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Éthier, who local media say was from Sherbrooke, Que., had worked…

Groom, wrap, tack and mount. Then it’s time to work the horses. “In order to do it well and train horses, you have to build such a relationship with them,” Kate Wager said.Wager has been riding since she was a child. She is now the board chair of Dressage Manitoba.Seven years ago, she took up dressage and hasn’t looked back. She now rides and trains multiple horses four to five times a week.“Dressage is a style of training and riding,” Wager said. “It evolved from Cavalry movements back in the day training horses to go to war basically.” Get daily…

A Calgary army reserve officer was killed in an ice-climbing accident in eastern British Columbia over the holidays. Maj. Dave Peabody died while off duty on Dec. 26 in Kootenay National Park, the military said Thursday.“Maj. Peabody was an outstanding leader and a valued member of the Canadian Armed Forces community in Calgary,” Lt.-Col. Andrew Beauchamp, commanding officer of The Calgary Highlanders, said in a statement.“Our sincerest and heartfelt condolences go out to the family and loved ones of Maj. Peabody.”Peabody, who was 48, served as an infantry officer with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry after joining the Canadian…

The Ford government has confirmed that nine of the 10 supervised consumption sites it will force to close by March have been greenlit to transition into intensive addiction recovery hubs. The Ministry of Health announced Thursday that drug injection sites in locations including Toronto, Ottawa and Thunder Bay will all be given funding to switch from supervised consumption to rehabilitation facilities.The transition is necessary because of Ontario’s summer announcement that 10 supervised consumption sites within 200 metres of schools and child-care centres would be ordered to close by March 31.The move came with other measures that effectively ban the sites…