Five confirmed measles cases in New Brunswick
New Brunswick is now reporting five confirmed measles cases.
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CTV News
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- CTV News
Are you feeling the heat?
In high temperatures, a warning that some common medications can make people more vulnerable to the heat. Dr. Christopher Labos on what we should watch out for.
CTV News
15 minutes ago
- CTV News
‘We've been fortunate so far:' Yorkton completes Dutch Elm Disease survey
The City of Yorkton recently completed its comprehensive Dutch Elm Disease survey, which identified three infected trees. A lush canopy of elm trees provides ample shade and a cozy atmosphere to Yorkton's Wallace Ave. The verdant streetscape is monitored by the city as part of its urban forestry management program, which regularly checks for signs of Dutch Elm Disease (DED). All to comply with the provincial regulation aimed to stop the disease's spread. The recently completed comprehensive study, carried out by Living Tree Environment Ltd., is part of the program, and comprises of various checks from visual inspection, to detecting violations related to elm wood. As Silver Liccue, Yorkton's arborist explained, Dutch Elm Disease is a fungal disease. 'It's carried by elm bark beetles. That's the vector of the disease … it carries the spores from infected elm trees and transmits it to the live ones," she explained. The fungus clogs the tree's water and nutrient conducting system – which causes the tree to die. It first appeared in North America in 1930 and has destroyed millions of trees since. Yorkton has about 1,400 elm trees, which make up 25 percent of the public urban forest. As Liccue explained, DED has visible signs. 'The leaves will start to wilt, followed by yellowing, and from that yellowing the infected branch or twig will turn brown,' she said. According to Yorkton's parks manager, Matt Charney, the recent survey identified ten DED symptomatic trees, and three tested positive for the disease – three more than what the city wants to see. 'We've been fortunate so far because other cities have been hurt worse than we have,' Charney told CTV News. According to an official letter sent to city council by Taylor Morrison, Yorkton's director of recreation and community services, other cities in Saskatchewan were indeed hit hard. For example, Weyburn, which is just over half the size of Yorkton, has identified ten positive cases. Following a laboratory confirmation, the symptomatic trees are immediately removed as part of Yorkton's DED response plan. Then, they will be disposed at the city landfill, and adjacent trees are tested. 'The shade or just the natural beauty of an elm tree – it's very hard to lose,' Charney said. Liccue told CTV News that it takes about 50 years for an elm tree to mature and form a nice canopy – such is the case on Wallace Avenue. He noted however, that those particular trees could be around 100 years old. To preserve the city's greenery, Charney's team plants young trees to replace the lost ones in the fall. Residents also have to comply with regulations in order to stop the spread of the disease that would destroy the new lush trees. This includes an elm pruning ban from April 1 to Aug. 31, as well as an elm tree moving and storage ban. This year, the survey found eight violations. 'There's a cost value to us removing trees, and losing those trees for a long time,' Charney explained why it's important for everyone to follow the rules and be aware of the threat. Residents are encouraged to report dead or dying trees to the city. Charney asked the public to visit Yorkton's dedicated site to DED to learn more about the program.
CBC
16 minutes ago
- CBC
'Grey listing' could discourage Manitoba nurses from taking jobs at Health Sciences Centre
Manitoba nurses are set to vote this week on whether to declare the Health Sciences Centre such a dangerous workplace that nurses should be discouraged from working there until conditions change. "It's not done lightly and it's not done without lots of discussion prior to it," Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson said on Wednesday, as union members began voting on whether to give Manitoba's largest hospital what's referred to as a "grey listing" designation. "Grey listing is actually utilized when an employer is failing to keep our members safe, may be violating the collective agreement repeatedly, and is not providing a safe workplace," said Jackson. Should the vote pass, the union will begin advising nurses not to take jobs at HSC because of safety concerns, she said. "What it basically does is say to nurses, 'You may not want to apply for a job at this facility until this employer meets the recommendations that have been provided,'" she said. There have been discussions at the union since 2020 about the possibility of giving HSC the designation, according to Jackson. She said several recent disturbing incidents at the Winnipeg hospital, including a July 2 incident that saw two nurses sexually assaulted — one in a tunnel and another on their way to the parkade — has now pushed the union to call for a vote. "We're at a point now where we've had lots of discussions with the employer," she said. "We filed a grievance on safety that was arbitrated, and the arbitrator was very clear that the employer was not mitigating risk for staff in that building. "And we filed another grievance since, it's still sitting waiting for the employer to respond to, and the members just decided, 'this is enough.' This is the straw that broke the camel's back." Voting on the grey listing proposal has already begun and will continue until Friday at 4 p.m. Along with discouraging employees from working there, the union will also ask HSC to mandate swipe cards to access hospital tunnels, ensure secure entrances are staffed, and create an early warning system to alert staff to possible security incidents, should the vote pass. "Once the board approves the grey listing, it belongs to the work site," Jackson said. "So the work site will decide when it's time to take action." Jackson said that after the July 2 assaults, the union received complaints that hospital staff weren't immediately warned about what had happened. "We received many, many messages from nurses that were very upset, not just because of the sexual assault in the building … but the fact that the employer failed to notify staff in the building until well over 12 hours later that this incident had taken place," she said. "So no one knew whether the perpetrator was still in the tunnels in the building, and staff were very upset." Working with union to address concerns: Shared Health Jackson also accused HSC of "downplaying" the assaults, and referring to them as "inappropriate touching or groping." "It truly was a sexual assault," she said. "You need to call it what it is." Union members "just felt that this employer is no longer interested in keeping nurses, staff members, patients, and members of the public safe," said Jackson. "And it's time to flex, and make sure this employer understands that we're not going to stand for this." A vote in favour of grey listing would not affect patient care at HSC, and nurses already working there will continue to show up for their scheduled shifts, she said. The union has grey listed facilities just five times, according to Jackson, the most recent being the Dauphin Regional Health Centre back in 2007. In a statement sent on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Shared Health said that the provincial health organization is aware of the vote. Shared Health and the union "have been in contact regarding the potential for grey listing, and are working collaboratively to identify solutions that address safety concerns" while still meeting the needs of patients and staff, the spokesperson said. The spokesperson also wrote that "work is actively ongoing to strengthen security and support measures."
