International students will be allowed to work 24 hours a week starting in September
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says international students will be able to work off-campus for up to 24 hours per week starting in September.
As the United States calls for nationwide plans to quickly test and treat humans during an outbreak of bird flu, Canada says it has similar measures available to monitor and detect the virus.
Officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease control issued a directive earlier this week for health officials across the country to prepare, with actions similar to what public health officials in Canada tell CTVNews.ca are being done here.
The warning south of the border followed the recent diagnosis of one person in the U.S. with avian influenza, also known as avian flu, H5N1 and bird flu, after contact with presumably infected cows.
Multiple U.S. agencies issued a joint news release last month about cases of H5N1 spreading among dairy cattle throughout the United States, including Idaho and Michigan, two U.S. states on the border with Canada.
There have been no reports of humans ever catching the virus from sources within Canada, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), though a single fatal case was reported 10 years ago in an individual who had travelled to China.
PHAC told CTVNews.ca on Tuesday that officials in Canada have similar plans as their U.S. counterparts to address any transmission and spread of the virus to humans.
It says its National Microbiology Laboratory can rapidly test and detect human cases of bird flu – a type of testing American health teams were asked to prepare for earlier this week.
"PHAC has established a surveillance system for emerging respiratory diseases which, in collaboration with jurisdictions, allows for the detection and monitoring of individuals occupationally exposed," Anna Maddison, spokesperson for the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca.
Maddison said PHAC has "several products" available to monitor illnesses including bird flu, and that this surveillance is conducted with help from provincial and territorial public health teams.
Although the risk of avian influenza infecting people in Canada is low, PHAC officials say, Canadians should avoid contact with any live or dead wildlife.
People who may be regularly exposed to infected animals, such as farm workers, veterinarians, hunters and wildlife workers, should wear proper personal protective equipment and practice good hand hygiene, Maddison said.
Earlier this week, CTVNews.ca asked experts whether Canadians need to be worried about transmission through their food, following a warning from some states not to consume runny egg yolks.
The director of an infectious disease research centre said there's no cause for concern related to avian flu, calling Canada's agricultural surveillance "excellent."
With files from CTV News' Hunter Crowther and Kendra Mangione
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says international students will be able to work off-campus for up to 24 hours per week starting in September.
Toronto police say 12 people are facing a combined 102 charges in connection with an investigation into a major credit fraud scheme.
B.C. Premier David Eby has joined other politicians denouncing remarks at a demonstration in Vancouver where protesters chanted “long live Oct. 7,” praising that day's attacks by Hamas on Israel.
Members of Parliament are questioning why Canadian security officials did not inform them that they had been the target of Beijing-linked hackers, after learning from the FBI that the international parliamentary alliance they are a part of was in the crosshairs of the Chinese cyberattack in 2021.
Norovirus is spreading at a 'higher frequency' than expected in Canada, specifically, in Ontario and Alberta, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Moderate drinking was once thought to have benefits for the heart, but better research methods have thrown cold water on that.
Tobacco manufacturers have until Tuesday to ensure every king-size cigarette produced for sale in Canada has a health warning printed directly on it.
The clock is ticking ahead of the deadline to file a 2023 income tax return. A personal finance expert explains why you should get them done -- even if you owe more than you can pay.
Anne Hathaway first shared she lost interest in drinking after a bad hangover in 2018. She’s now five years sober.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
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.
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.