Trudeau acknowledges charges in Nijjar killing, calls for commitment to democracy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The Canadian Red Cross has been called in to help with contact tracing at an iron ore mine that may have played an early role in spreading the highly transmissible Delta coronavirus variant around the country.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair tweeted Tuesday that the Red Cross will provide remote contact tracing support related to COVID-19 cases at the fly-in Mary River mine until Sunday.
Operated by the Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation and located on the north end of Baffin Island – remote even for Nunavut – Mary River made headlines earlier this year because of local opposition to plans to expand the mine, including a week-long blockade of its access road and airstrip by Inuit hunters.
A few cases of COVID-19 were detected at the mine sporadically through 2020, but the situation escalated last month when what is now known as the Delta variant began to spread there.
An outbreak at the site was confirmed by territorial health officials on May 2. At the time, there were nine active cases of COVID-19 at Mary River among some 1,000 workers.
Although shift changes and other non-essential travel were halted when the outbreak was declared, the case count continued to climb. By May 4, the nine cases had become 12. Two days after that, the number was 23 and non-essential operations at the site were shut down.
That meant a flurry of activity as most of the mine's active workers returned to their homes across the country. Yet it wasn't until more than three weeks later that health authorities in Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, and elsewhere began to publicly warn household members and high-risk contacts of those who worked at the mine and tested positive for the virus.
It is difficult to determine exactly how many cases were the result of exposure at the Mary River mine, because Nunavut does not include them in its overall COVID-19 case count.
Instead, individuals who test positive at the mine are counted as COVID-19 cases in their home communities – where they live during the weeks when they are not at the site.
Provincial health authorities in Ontario reported on May 31 that they were aware of more than 120 positive cases in workers who had returned to the province from Mary River, covering 33 of Ontario's 34 health regions. The timespan of mine workers returning to the province closely aligns with that of the Delta variant becoming a serious concern in Ontario, although no direct connection has been proven.
Dr. Michael Patterson, Nunavut's chief public health officer, told reporters on Monday that the last new diagnosis of COVID-19 at Mary River was made on May 29, and that there have not been any active cases there since June 5.
The mine remains in an outbreak situation, however, and the territory reminded mine employees last week that once they leave the site and return home, they must isolate and notify their local public health authority.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Princess Anne paid tribute to veterans buried at a cemetery in British Columbia today, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a photo finish, edging out Forever Young and Sierra Leone for the upset victory.
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
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.