Category: Canada

Coming up in Cowichan: Seedy Saturday and Walk of Alzheimer’s

This March, bestselling author and Salt Spring Seeds owner Dan Jason will be visiting Cobble Hill to promote a new edition of his book, Some Useful Wild Plants: A Foraging Guide to Food and Medicine from Nature. Jason will attend Cobble Hill’s Seedy Saturday at the Cobble Hill Community Hall on Saturday, March 11, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Featuring over 100 common useful wild plants in Canada, Some Useful Wild Plants serves as a guide for foragers, herbalists, gardeners, and anyone interested in learning more about the many ways plants can be used to our advantage.

Report says mental health funding would yield economic benefits

More money for child and youth services would boost Canada’s economy and patient health, a new report from the Mental Health Commission of Canada suggests, buttressing Ottawa’s push for targeted mental health investments. The commission, which bills its findings as a tool to help provincial and territorial decision-makers, says more than 7.5 million Canadians face mental health issues, with a price tag of $50 billion a year – nearly $1,400 a person.

BC Views: Fake news and the blood system

… wimpier spotted owl cousins. The other fake news protest was a more serious matter. An outfit calling itself the B.C. Health Coalition brought two “survivors” of blood transfusions to warn of the danger posed by a “pay-for-plasma” company that wants …

Raising smoking age does cut teen smoking

… to 21 or even 25 years would reduce smoking initiation substantially, reduce the prevalence of smoking, improve health across the lifespan, improve the outcome of many teenage pregnancies and save lives.” He said if a man has never smoked by age 18, …

New glasses help the legally blind see

… the glasses are safe and effective for the legally blind. While eSight’s headsets don’t require the approval of health regulators – they fall into the same low-risk category as dental floss – there’s not yet firm evidence of their benefits. The …

Sudden bankruptcy stuns immigrant settlement agency’s clients

Doreen Bartley, whose son attended the youth programs at MicroSkills and volunteered there, says she is “saddened not only for my child, but for the entire community.” A settlement services agency that served northwest Toronto’s immigrant community for 33 years has abruptly gone bankrupt and closed its doors, leaving 90 employees and hundreds of clients in the cold.

Take cancer check: doctor

That’s the advice of Dr. Nicole Zavagnin, the regional primary care lead for Cancer Care Ontario at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. “Regular, age-appropriate cancer screening can help us to identify certain cancers when they are smaller and more easily treated,” Zavagnin said Wednesday.

Premier Ready To Talk With Ottawa About Health Care Funding

In it, Pallister says he is “reluctantly” ready to begin negotiations, but disappointed efforts to work out a national deal with all the provinces has failed. All of provinces balked at the initial offer from the federal government last year which suggested a modest increase to health transfer payments.

AHS launching mumps info website as Alberta cases increase slightly

WATCH ABOVE: What is mumps? Dr. Joanna Oda, a medical officer of health with AHS, explains what the virus is, how it spreads and the symptoms. Six cases of mumps have been reported in the Edmonton region and four in the Calgary zone – up from three last week – according to Alberta Health Services , which is in the process of launching a website to keep the public informed about the latest uptick.

Masterpiece on track for fall opening

… centre and north wing totalling 151,000 square feet and 120 units. One-hundred units will be subsidized by Alberta Health Services for long-term care and dementia residents. There will be another 40 independent living spaces and a further 60 to be …

Health Canada proposing smoking ban in apartments, raising legal age to 21

Ottawa is considering new anti-tobacco guidelines that could ban smoking inside apartments and on post-secondary school campuses, as well as raise the legal age for buying tobacco products to 21. According to a discussion paper published by Health Canada on Feb. 22 , approximately four million Canadians smoke, making up about 15 per cent of the population. Their new proposal is to cut the smoking population to less than five per cent by 2035.

Charity walk needs teams

Money raised from the event will support programs, education and services in Kelowna and across B.C., as well as research into causes of and cures for dementia. Last year, the walk raised more than $813,000 across B.C. Teams that raise more than $250 by March 14 will be entered to win $500 in Air Canada gift cards.

B.C. gets money for addictions and mental health in federal deal

After decrying Ottawa’s “divide and conquer” approach on health care agreements, British Columbia signed its own side deal Friday to get extra cash for its ongoing overdose crisis. B.C. had been one of the most vocal critics of Ottawa’s strategy to pick off provinces one by one with special agreements, rather than negotiate across-the-board health transfers with all the provinces.

Alzheimer’s Walk wants you

Penticton residents can join a team to participate in the Investors Group Walk for Alzheimer’s and show their support for people who face dementia. The event is Canada’s largest fundraiser for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias and takes in 21 communities across B.C. on Sunday, May 7. The walk is a fun and family-friendly event and is unique to each community.

Loads to do for Family Day in Kelowna

There will be free skating, winter sport demonstrations and family soccer Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Capital News Centre, 4105 Gordon Dr. The Kelowna Speed Skating Club will have coaches available from 2 to 3 p.m. to give skating tips; people can try speed skates or use their own. The Kelowna Skating Club will have coaches on the leisure ice from 2 to 3 p.m. giving skating tips to children under six years old.

St. Albert to consider bylaw changes to allow urbana

St. Albert residents may soon find the city abuzz with the sweet sound of honeybee hives in backyards across the city. Council unanimously approved a motion directing administration to develop the policies and bylaw amendments that would be required to allow beekeeping in the city, with a budget of $15,000.

Blood drive in honour of Tom Cameron

… of his time, energy, or other resource within his power. In recent years, however, Cameron dealt with a series of health issues, including a couple of strokes and blood in his lungs. Despite deteriorating health, he never left the helm of Maple …