Lunenburg hospital first in N.S. to earn energy star certification
Fishermen's Memorial Hospital is more energy efficient than 92 per cent of similar buildings across Canada. The hospital is celebrating the news. Watch Amy Smith's interview with Robert Barrs, who managed the site's environmental stewardship program.
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CBC
18 minutes ago
- CBC
Meet the helpers spending days on their feet to serve First Nations wildfire evacuees
Since April 1, 31 First Nations across Canada have had to evacuate due to wildfires, displacing 20,059 people, according to Indigenous Services Canada. Some of those evacuees have turned to helping others in similar situations. Chateh, Alta., a Dene community in northern Alberta, had to be evacuated suddenly on May 29 due to a wildfire. Fleeing your home can be a scary and disorienting experience, especially if you have to do so in a rush. Hayley Natannah, from Chateh, was recruited to run the donation centre in High Level, Alta., about 100 kilometres away. She said some people were notified about the need to leave by RCMP officers knocking on their doors. "It happened so quickly …. Some parents didn't have time to pack their child's clothes," Natannah said. As the person running the donation centre, she was responsible for making sure people had access to clothing and essential toiletries. The community of about 927 people has been through multiple evacuations — two floods and three wildfires — but getting things organized can still be a challenge, she said. It was her first time taking on that responsibility and she said she wasn't quite sure how to tackle it initially. However, she said she was soon finding out what evacuees needed and collecting donations by sharing information online. The long days — the donation centre was open for 12 hours a day — took a physical toll, Natannah said. She ended each of the seven days exhausted with "cramped-up legs and body aches." However, Natannah said the volunteers were instructed in how to practise self-care, which they found was essential. Without that, she said, it would have been impossible to maintain her mental health. Making sandwiches Raven Reid, who is Mikisew Cree, works as a music teacher with the Community Arts Mentorship Program in Stanley Mission, Sask., a Woodland Cree community. She said they lost power early as the fires surrounded them. "Northern Saskatchewan was on fire and Stanley Mission was sort of right in the middle of it," Reid said. The evacuation of Stanley Mission began June 4. It was her first real experience of evacuation and Reid said she found it difficult to process. "It was really terrible to see. The smoke was very thick in the air," she said. As the community prepared to leave, teachers from the elementary and high schools pulled together and spent their days working to feed the community, Reid said. "So I was peeling potatoes for hours and making sandwiches," she said. They made 500 lunches for people to take with them as the first evacuations began. "It is a lot but when you're doing it from your heart, it doesn't seem like it's enough," she said. After that, Reid fled to Saskatoon where her kids live but she said many of her colleagues stayed behind to feed firefighters and other service people. The local co-op donated food to those still present and since the community was without reliable power for days on end, it was important to make sure the frozen foods were eaten quickly. "I really wish that I could have stayed, too… but my kids were really worried about me," Reid said. She said the principal asked her to then go to Regina — taking her son with her — to help the evacuees at the soccer stadium. She said she would bring her guitar to hopefully provide comfort, entertainment and learning. "It would be very scary to leave my community, especially if I have never been in a big city before," she said. "Fine arts always help a situation." The evacuation order for Stanley Mission was lifted June 12. Making a difference Residents of Chateh began returning home earlier this week. Natannah said while she felt the evacuation was well-managed by the community, there were some hiccups. Some evacuees struggled to manage the stress of the situation and took it out on volunteers, she said. "Not many people stop and take notice that a person's doing hard work over there," she said. However, she was grateful to those who took the time to express their thanks. "It makes my heart happy that they said some kind words saying that we did awesome work. It's like, 'thank you for noticing.'" Natannah said she isn't in it for praise, though. "It just makes me feel great that I'm making a difference," she said.
CTV News
29 minutes ago
- CTV News
Alberta surpasses 1,000 measles cases, second province to do so
Vials of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are seen in this file photo. Alberta is the second province in Canada to count 1,000 measles cases this year, having crossed the threshold on Friday. With 24 new cases in as many hours, Alberta now has confirmed 1,020 cases of measles. As of Friday, 25 were considered active, or communicable, cases. No deaths have been reported. Ontario's total number of cases crossed 1,000 in late April and currently sits at nearly 2,180. Together, Alberta and Ontario account for more than 90 per cent of measles cases in the country. CTV News Edmonton has reached out to the Primary and Preventative Health Services' ministry for comment. In an interview last week, Dr. Chris Siroka, lead medical officer of health for the Edmonton zone, applauded the cooperation by all levels of Alberta's government and health system to promote immunization, educate the public about symptoms, and provide access to testing. 'Those steps are the good steps to take around prevention and around rapid contact identification,' Siroka told CTV News Edmonton. 'Rapid case identification and contact tracing is what will help stop transmission or help reduce transmission events… and that same work is happening in Edmonton as it is happening in Calgary and every other corner of the province.' However, one of the province's former chief medical officers of health, Dr. James Talbot, said the milestone suggests a grim outlook for the summer and fall, during which measles cases will likely rise not only in Alberta but also neighbouring provinces and territories due to summer travel. Then, Talbot expects Canada will lose its measles elimination status in October, which it achieved in 1998. Alberta reaching 1,000 measles cases also means that Alberta will begin to see more serious outcomes, like death, brain damage and miscarriages. Talbot said, 'If the measures were working, we'd see the numbers going down and we wouldn't see spread to new areas. And both of those are happening.' He expects cities and areas such as Edmonton that have so far avoided high measles cases will not fare as well in the summer. The Edmonton zone on Friday saw its first new measles cases since early May, one day after Alberta Health Services issued a warning about two measles exposures in the capital city. According to the government, between one and three people out of every 1,000 diagnosed with measles die. One in 1,000 diagnosed with measles will get encephalitis. Measles is considered preventable with immunization. Two doses of a vaccine makes a person nearly fully protected. Ninety-five per cent of a population needs to be immunized for herd immunity.
CBC
33 minutes ago
- CBC
Applications open for Canada's new disability benefit program
Canada's new disability benefit — a program that provides eligible people with up to $200 a month — is now open for applications. The program is available to people with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 64 who already have been approved for the disability tax credit. The government says payments are set to begin in July. The payments are meant to supplement provincial and territorial programs, and Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said all provinces and territories except for Alberta have pledged not to claw back their own benefits. The benefit was part of the Trudeau Liberal government's promise to help lift people with disabilities out of poverty. Many advocates for people with disabilities have panned the benefit, saying it will do little to actually address poverty. Hajdu, whose new portfolio covers disabilities, said she has heard that criticism. "I don't think that disability [benefit] is what a person needs to sustain themselves, and I don't think it was designed in that way," she said in a recent interview. "But it is a payment that allows for a fuller autonomy of people with disabilities in that it's not directed towards any specific thing. It is a benefit that people can use to supplement whatever other earnings or income that they have." As part of the program, the government is providing funding to community organizations to help people who may need guidance on applying for the tax credit or the benefit program.
