Plants have best friends too!
From helping each other defend against insects or diseases to improving the soil they share, plants help each other out. Jackie Bantle from the University of Saskatchewan talks to Saskatoon Morning about the importance of companion plants.
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CBC
28 minutes ago
- CBC
Small but 'life-changing' policy helps Parkinson's patients who need emergency care at Guelph's hospital
When people go to the emergency department, they're not allowed to take their own medications while they wait, which Theresa Daly says can be a huge problem for people with Parkinson's. A longtime nurse and social worker who actively works in Parkinson's disease support groups, Daly says she's thrilled the hospital in Guelph, Ont., has recently made a tweak to a long-standing practice to make it easier for Parkinson's patients to take their medications on time. "It's life-changing," Daly said. "Life-giving and life-saving and certainly quality of life saving." Hospitals have a policy that any medication given while a person is in the hospital must be through the pharmacy or a physician's order. Hospitals will monitor every patient's medication to avoid mixing, doubling up, choking or even overdosing. But emergency departments can be very busy and this can lead to people not getting medications on time. One of the more common medications for Parkinson's is Levodopa, used to control some of the physical deterioration symptoms. Daly says when a dose is missed, it can lead to people not feeling "normal" again for days, weeks or even months afterwards. The new policy at Guelph General Hospital says, an emergency department nurse is able to give permission to those with Parkinson's to take the medication they brought from home. Daly volunteers with the southwestern Ontario branch of Parkinson Canada and her brother also has the disease. She says she's very familiar with the toll the conditions take on both a sufferer and their loved ones. "To see them move into suffering because they haven't had their medication on time affects two people. The person with Parkinson's and the one who loves them. So it's a big deal," Daly said. 'Hospitals don't like you bringing your own pills' Parkinson's disease is a neurological and degenerative condition. It has no cure and can get worse over time. The most commonly known issues from PD include slowness of movement, rigidity, tremors and instability. There are other symptoms associated with the condition including insomnia, anxiety, depression, bladder issues, faintness, leg swelling, heavy sweating, double vision and a multitude of other challenges. Ian Smith has Parkinson's and in the past few months, he's had to go to Guelph General Hospital three times. "[Parkinson's patients] all have different problems, some more than others ... and generally, hospitals don't like you bringing your own pills in," he said. While Smith doesn't always feel drastic effects if he misses a pill, he's familiar with how demanding the medication schedule can be. He takes three pills a day with specific food and timing restrictions. "My little Parkinson pill isn't high on the priority list because nobody has told them that it should be," Smith said. By allowing Parkinson's patients to monitor their medication, he said it's less stress for both them and, he assumes, the medical professionals. Not red tape but 'a matter of best practice' Andrea de Jong is the director of the emergency department Guelph General Hospital hospital. She said it's become a successful best practice to give emergency room nurses the power and knowledge to administer medications without having to get an order from a physician. She said there are still restrictions on who is able to administer Parkinson's medication that's brought in from home, but nurses are very familiar with these guidelines. "This ideally helps them go back home quicker and overall have a better experience here," she said. Daly said that Guelph General Hospital was very quick to approve this directive with their emergency department teams and medical advisory committee and said it's in line with much of the work Parkinson Canada aims to do within hospitals. A patient's knowledge of their own rights and their ability to advocate is a separate hurdle, she said. "There's a double prong education piece to this... people with Parkinson's have to know that it was okay, and emerge has to know that they have Parkinson's and that it's important they get their pills on time," Daly said. Parkinson Canada spokesperson Emma Gostovic told CBC News that the organization wasn't aware of any other hospitals in the country with a similar directive for Parkinson's patients and their medications. Most hospitals are still aware this is a concern and are conscious of medication timing, she said. Gostovic called Guelph General Hospital's model one they'd like to "explore and share with others throughout the clinical community."
CTV News
37 minutes ago
- CTV News
‘If you're seeing liquids or funny smells… call 911': Thousands of abandoned oil wells pose danger to landowners in Brant County and across Ontario
A public meeting in Brant County raised concerns on tens-of-thousands of abandoned oil and gas wells across Ontario Wednesday. CTV's Alexandra Holyk reports. A public meeting in Brant County raised concerns on tens-of-thousands of abandoned oil and gas wells across Ontario Wednesday. CTV's Alexandra Holyk reports. Thousands of abandoned oil wells pose danger to landowners in Brant County and across Ontario A public meeting in Brant County raised concerns on tens-of-thousands of abandoned oil and gas wells across Ontario Wednesday. The province and Brant County confirmed there are around 27,000 wells left behind, with a potential for more being undocumented. A majority of these wells are on private land and in homeowners backyards. These wells were abandoned without following modern safety protocols. Rebecca Comley, the acting medical officer of health for Grand Erie Public Health told CTV News this can cause concern for health and safety. 'Legacy wells can be a source of potentially dangerous gases such as hydrogen sulfide,' said Comley. 'Leaking hydrogen sulfide into the atmosphere, into the air, especially in contained spaces can cause a very dangerous health risk.' Comley said these gases can smell like rotten eggs. 'Our noses can detect it at a very low level; less than one part per million,' said Comley. 'It's important to remember though the smell doesn't correlate with the concentration in the air… we can often lose the sense of smell at higher concentrations.' The wells also pose a threat to contaminating groundwater, possibly affecting the health of plants, animals and people. The province said it's spending nearly $20 million to tackle challenges related to these wells. They said so far they have spent around $33 million to plug 440 wells across Ontario. What should landowners look out for? Brant County officials have asked residents to take a deeper look at their properties. 'Ignoring [oil and gas wells] and having something tragic happen is not the way to go. It's putting themselves, their neighbours or their families at risk,' said Kent Pottruff, the community of emergency management coordinator for Brant County. 'So, the [Ministry of Natural Resources] stated they want to work with [landowners], there's resources available to assist them.' At Wednesday's meeting, the ministry said oil and gas wells on private property that meet criteria may be eligible to be partially or fully covered financially. Deputy Chief Brant Cain with the Brant County Fire Department said identifying an oil and gas well is simple. 'If it smells funny, it probably is funny. If it looks funny, it probably is funny,' said Cain. 'If you're seeing liquids or funny smells coming from something you've struck while excavating on your property, that's a good sign to call 911.' Officials said the best way for a landowner to see if their property is impacted by a documented legacy oil and gas well is to use a well map.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
More than 2,200 died of opioids in Ontario last year as numbers trend downward: data
Fentanyl is heated in sterile water using a cook kit in a consumption room at Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service, in Toronto, on Thursday, Jan.9 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young TORONTO — More than 2,200 Ontarians died from opioids last year, a 15 per cent decrease from 2023, newly released data from the Office of the Chief Coroner shows. 'What goes through my head is a small degree of optimism in the fact that we have seen less people die last year, which is very good, but that's within a context of 2,231 people dying last year,' Dr. Dirk Huyer, the chief coroner, told The Canadian Press in an interview. His office had recorded 2,639 opioid deaths in 2023. 'I also have a degree of worry that this is a short interval, for whatever reason that we haven't identified, and that the numbers could potentially get worse again,' Huyer said. The mortality rate from opioid overdoses was 14.3 deaths per 100,000 people in 2024. That is down from the peak of 19.4 deaths per 100,000 people at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, when opioids took the lives of 2,880 Ontarians. Fentanyl and its related substances were found in more than 83 per cent of opioid toxicity deaths, while stimulants were found in 69 per cent of deaths. Prescription benzodiazepines were seen in 45 per cent of deaths last year, a sharp increase from 33 per cent the year before. Non-prescription benzodiazepines were found in 62 per cent of deaths, slightly down from 66 per cent in 2023. The opioid crisis began to hit Ontario in 2015 and 2016 when illicit fentanyl made its way east from British Columbia. There were 728 opioid deaths in 2015 and by 2018, that doubled to 1,565 deaths. The crisis peaked in the middle of the pandemic. Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, declined a request for an interview about opioid deaths in the province. The Canadian Press has asked him on more than a dozen occasions since 2022 to discuss the opioid crisis but he has never agreed to an interview on the subject. Health Minister Sylvia Jones did not respond to an interview request. The Ministry of Health said the province is 'making it easier for people to break the tragic cycle of addiction by expanding access to safe and comprehensive mental health support.' 'Through Ontario's road map to wellness, the government is investing $3.8 billion over 10 years, and $124 million through the addictions recovery fund, supporting 500 new addiction recovery beds, more than 32 youth wellness hubs, over 100 mobile crisis teams, and innovative models of care like mobile clinics,' the ministry said in a statement. Huyer lamented the fact that the province does not precisely know what's behind the decrease in opioid deaths, but postulated that it could be due to a slightly less toxic supply of drugs. 'I wish we knew because then I think everybody would be able to answer the question on where they should be focusing and how to help provide the best for everybody,' he said. Other hallmarks of the Ontario opioid crisis remain unchanged. Men account for 75 per cent of deaths, opioids disproportionally kill marginalized people and one in five opioid overdose deaths across the province occurs in the homeless population. The province has undergone a fundamental shift in its approach to the opioid crisis, which included banning supervised consumption sites it deemed too close to schools and daycares. That legislation came about after a Toronto woman was killed by a stray bullet from a shooting outside one of the sites. One Toronto consumption site challenged that law in court days before it came into effect on April 1. A judge granted an injunction to allow 10 such sites to remain open while he considers his decision. But nine of the 10 sites had already agreed to transition to the province's new abstinence-based model — homelessness and addiction recovery treatment, or HART, hubs — and closed. The province is investing $550 million to fund a total of 28 HART hubs across Ontario, along with 540 new, highly supportive housing units. Liberal health critic Adil Shamji, who still works part time as an emergency department physician and was on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic, said he's disappointed in the province's response. 'But there's no level of disappointment that can approach the level of heartbreak that families across Ontario are experiencing,' he said. The new homelessness and addiction treatment hubs also miss the mark, he said. 'They have no new services to offer and in many cases are underfunded, overwhelmed, and at a very immature stage where they're not able to meet the demand,' Shamji said. He said there's a void of leadership on the file. 'When you have the medical condition that touches on so many different people in so many different walks of life, it speaks to the need for a public health response and for leaders to come out with ambition, boldness and with the seriousness that it deserves,' he said. 'And we're not seeing that from this government, from the minister of health, from public health or the chief medical officer of health.' The Office of the Chief Coroner reported 197 opioid deaths across the province in April, the most recent data available, but stressed that number is very preliminary and will rise since death investigations and toxicology results often taken months to complete. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025. Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
