'Cybersecurity incident' shuts down London Drugs stores across Western Canada
All 79 locations of pharmacy and retail chain London Drugs were shut down Sunday after it was the victim of a “cybersecurity incident.”
The Native Women's Association of Canada says it has been forced to lay off roughly half its workforce due to a major shortfall in federal funding.
The organization — which advocates on behalf of Indigenous women and girls as well as two-spirit, transgender and gender-diverse people — said it received grants totalling $48 million last year as part of Canada's national apprenticeship program and other initiatives.
This year, revenue dropped to just $10 million, with funding for staff at just $3 million, down from $11 million in 2023, forcing the layoffs of 75 contract and permanent staff members, roughly half its workforce.
"We have a genocide on our hands in Canada. It's daunting every single day," chief executive Lynne Groulx said in an interview Wednesday.
"We're here trying to do what we can. It's not enough — it's absolutely not enough."
The organization also had to make cuts at all levels of management and cut back on phone services as well in order to keep operations going. As a result, said Groulx, those operations won't have the same capacity as previous years.
"It's an unfortunate readjustment," said Groulx, both for the organization and the staff members it had no choice but to lay off.
The organization is calling on the federal government to provide more stable core funding to ensure predictability in its advocacy efforts.
President Carol McBride said in a release Thursday that until that happens, their "financial hands are tied" as they do not have enough money to sustain current operations.
"We need some relief and assistance from this dysfunctional funding model that we live in," said Groulx.
In a joint statement, two federal departments — Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations Canada — said they are in discussions with the association about a new funding agreement to replace the current one, which is scheduled to end March 31.
In the meantime, the association said, it has tried to bridge the gaps created between those short-term federal agreements by trying to grow businesses of its own.
That includes a storefront, event spaces and a café inside its offices in Gatineau, Que. The group even conducted a feasibility study to explore the idea of building a hotel.
The hotel alone could replace by a factor of three the core funding it gets from the federal government. And while the organization is looking into acquiring land for that project, it is still in the preliminary stages, Groulx said.
"We don't want to be dependent on the government forever."
A $100,000 grant was provided to the organization in order to explore the feasibility of the project — an expenditure Groulx said did not have an impact on funding levels for staff or other operations.
In the statement, Indigenous Services said it is unaware of any allegations of misuse of public funds by the association, but also notes any such complaints would have to be directed to the organization itself.
"In keeping with Treasury Board guidelines, routine audits of recipients are a standard and prudent practice in the stewardship of government resources," the statement reads.
Groulx said she is confident in how her organization handles government funds, citing the annual reports the organization releases each year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024
All 79 locations of pharmacy and retail chain London Drugs were shut down Sunday after it was the victim of a “cybersecurity incident.”
Three women diagnosed with HIV after getting 'vampire facial' procedures at an unlicensed medical spa are believed to be the first documented cases of people contracting the virus through a cosmetic procedure using needles.
Elias Lindholm scored 1:02 into overtime and the Vancouver Canucks came all the way back to beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series on Sunday.
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Aerial photos posted by Chinese state media on Sunday showed wide devastation in part of the southern city of Guangzhou after a tornado swept through the day before, killing five people, injuring dozens others and damaging more than 140 buildings.
Ontario is introducing a suite of measures that will crack down on cellphone use and vaping in schools.
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday described domestic violence as a 'national crisis' after thousands rallied around the country against violence toward women.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Vancouver Canucks when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series Sunday.
U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn't order the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny in February, according to an official familiar with the determination.
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
As if a 4-0 Edmonton Oilers lead in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings wasn't good enough, what was announced at Rogers Place during the next TV timeout nearly blew the roof off the downtown arena.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.