More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
The federal government is banning China's Huawei Technologies from involvement in Canada's 5G wireless network. Here's a primer on what led up to this decision and what you need to know about this next-generation wireless technology:
5G technology gives Canadians faster phone and internet connections and provides vast data capacity amid growth in innovations and increased demand.
The technology that supports the network has been redesigned from previous generations. 5G relies on multiple antennas to move signals around, bouncing them quickly between locations. Phone users aren't going to notice the boost in speed if they're making a call, surfing the internet or using an online app because the difference is about 100 milliseconds, but that difference is noticeable at a larger scale.
The antennas are also smaller and can be placed in more locations like buildings or street lights. Rogers Communications Inc., Bell Canada parent BCE Inc., and Telus Corp. have been expanding their 5G networks over the past few years, beginning in major cities.
In a 2020 report, GMSA Intelligence, the research arm of a group that represents mobile operators worldwide, estimated that 5G would add $150 billion to the Canadian economy through to 2040.
Put another way, it estimated 5G would spur the same level of annual economic activity as the aerospace sector. The federal government estimated that in 2019 the aerospace industry contributed over $20.3 billion to the country's gross domestic product, and supported 1600,000 jobs.
Privacy concerns are the main driver behind the ban. Conservatives have been pushing the Trudeau government to make the move to prevent Huawei from building Canada's 5G infrastructure, arguing that it would allow China to spy on Canadians. Huawei and the Chinese government have vigorously denied the accusations, saying that the company poses no security threat.
Three of Canada's partners in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance - the United States, Britain and Australia - have already taken decisive steps to curb the use of Huawei gear in their countries' respective 5G networks.
New Zealand rejected a bid by a telecommunications company to use 5G technology from Huawei, citing national security concerns, but said in 2020 it would not ban any provider outright.
Although some of Canada's wireless providers had originally planned to work with Huawei, they had already backed away from the partnership in anticipation of the federal government's decision. In 2020, BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. announced they would be working with Sweden's Ericsson as a supplier for their 5G networks.
Rogers in March launched a 5G standalone network in partnership with Ericsson, and the company said Thursday that hasn't changed. "Rogers is focused on continuing to roll out 5G across Canada with our partner Ericsson," media relations director Chloe Luciani-Girouard said. "Today's decision has no impact on our plans and deployments."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2022.
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
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.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”