It’s been 35 years since a papal visit to an Indigenous community in Canada The last time the pope visited an Indigenous community in Canada was in 1987 when John Paul II stopped in Fort Simpson, N.W.T., on Dehcho First Nations land. There, he praised the role of Catholic missionaries, saying the “revival of your [Indigenous] culture and traditions that you know today is largely due to the initiatives and continuous efforts of missionaries.” “[Your ancestors],” he said, “knew by instinct that the gospel, far from destroying their authentic values andRead more

Northumberland Ferries cancels N.S.-P.E.I. ferry service through Sunday Ferry service between P.E.I. and Nova Scotia has been suspended for the weekend due to a fire that forced more than 200 passengers and staff to evacuate the MV Holiday Island on Friday. Northumberland Ferries announced Friday evening the ferry service between Caribou, N.S., and Wood Islands, P.E.I., would be cancelled for a second day due to the emergency situation at the MV Holiday Island. It said in an update Saturday morning that all crossings would also be cancelled through Sunday. On Saturday, passengers were toldRead more

De Grasse, Brown, Blake and Rodney capture Canada’s 3rd medal in Eugene Twenty-six years after Robert Esmie, Glenroy Gilbert, Bruny Surin and Donovan Bailey captured gold for Canada in the men’s 4×100-metre relay on a Saturday night in Georgia at the 1996 Olympics, another Canadian quartet of runners have struck gold again — this time on a Saturday night in Eugene, Ore. With a boisterous American crowd going crazy for the heavily-favoured U.S. track team at the World Athletics Championships, Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney and Andre De Grasse ran theRead more

Mountie review tried to explain gunman’s behavioural patterns before rampage A psychological autopsy commissioned by the RCMP about the gunman in Nova Scotia’s 2020 mass shooting lacked “fundamental” information and can’t be treated as reliable, according to two researchers who appeared before the inquiry investigating the tragedy Friday. In the months after Gabriel Wortman’s rampage in April 2020, an RCMP’s team — including in-house profilers and an RCMP forensic psychologist — attempted to understand his state of mind at the time of the shootings and identify any behavioural patterns. In June 2020, RCMPRead more

Court proceedings for entire week cancelled due to shortage of personnel Quebec’s Inuit and legal communities are calling on Premier François Legault’s government to increase the number of judges who can serve in the province’s north, following the cancellation of a week of hearings that had been scheduled in Kuujjuaq, the largest community in Nunavik. According to Makivik — one of the main players in the justice system in northern Quebec — Inuit are paying the price for a shortage of judges in the judicial district of Abitibi, which handles court services in Nunavik.Read more

No injuries reported; ferry service cancelled for remainder of day More than 200 people were safely evacuated from a ferry travelling from Nova Scotia to Prince Edward Island on Friday, after a fire broke out in the vessel’s engine room. The fire broke out on board MV Holiday Island around 11 a.m. AT, about an hour into its crossing from Caribou, N.S., to Wood Islands, P.E.I. “Ship’s crew and safety systems contained the fire,” said Don Cormier, vice-president of Northumberland Ferries. “Captain took necessary precautions and dropped both anchors and directed theRead more

690 hectares of land at Batoche to be returned to Métis people: federal government Land at the Batoche National Historic Site, an area significant and close to Métis people’s hearts in Saskatchewan, will be transferred back to Métis control, the federal government announced Friday. A federal news release said the transfer will include 690 hectares of land at Batoche, located 78 kilometres north of Saskatoon. No fixed date for the transfer has yet been announced. “The Batoche grounds have always been important to our Métis citizens, our history and the resistance,”Read more

Emergency physician worries primary care needs could strain ER resources, as patients search for new doctors This story is part of Situation Critical, a series from CBC British Columbia reporting on the barriers people in this province face in accessing timely and appropriate health care. Dr. Anna Chodyra has crossed land and sea to practise medicine. Originally from Poland, the 47-year-old first immigrated to Canada as an international medical graduate in 2001. She did her residency in Calgary before crossing the Rockies in 2006, when she relocated to the small city of Port Moody inRead more

Honourees to be toasted during an event at Toronto’s Massey Hall on Sept. 24 Music producer David Foster is being inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. The prolific artist, who built his name as a musician and songwriter alongside some of the biggest stars in pop music, will be toasted during an event at Toronto’s Massey Hall on Sept. 24. Foster, who was born in Victoria, is known for his power ballads that defined an era of the music diva. The 72-year-old was a writer on Whitney Houston’s IRead more

Human rights advocate hails move as ‘a true human rights victory’ British Columbia is ending an arrangement with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to hold immigration detainees in provincial correctional centres, saying it doesn’t align with its stance on human rights. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said in a statement Thursday the province conducted a review that analyzed its contract with the agency, including public safety, and consulted with advocacy groups. “The review brought to light that aspects of the arrangement do not align with our government’s commitment to upholdingRead more