
TVDSB offering mental health supports this summer
The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) is shining a light on mental health and wellness by offering support programs over the summer.
The board is hosting drop-in mental health clinics for students and caregivers they're calling 'Wellness Wednesdays.'
No appointments are needed, and these clinics offer single-session counselling offered by school counselling and social work staff.
TVDSB is also offering pop-up developmental screening clinics for early years students. Parents and caregivers can use these clinics to gather information related to certain developmental domains, such as communication, motor skills, social skills, and more.
More information, including scheduled for these clinics, can be found online.

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'I worry that people will start to cut corners,' said Herder. Past failures reveal the stakes The drugs Canadians take are manufactured around the world. In 2024, 30.8 per cent of Canada's pharmaceutical imports originated from the United States, at least 33.5 per cent from European countries, 3.2 per cent from India, and 2.9 per cent from China — according to trade data from Statistics Canada. Over the years the industry has been dogged with a series of safety lapses. In 2023, eye drops manufactured in India were recalled after contamination with drug resistant bacteria was discovered. The products were traced to three deaths and eight cases of blindness in the United States, according to the New York Times. Eye drops A selection of eye drops line a shelf at a pharmacy in Los Angeles on Dec. 12, 2023. Repeated recalls of eyedrops were drawing new attention to the limited powers U.S. regulators have to oversee medical products made overseas. 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Last fiscal year, Health Canada conducted 312 domestic onsite inspections, 47 foreign onsite inspections and relied on information from trusted international regulatory partners like the FDA, for another 2086 site inspections. Like the United States, Canada halted international inspections in 2020 due to pandemic-related travel restrictions. While the inspections resumed, they did not increase to make up for the missed year. However, Health Canada said it does not have any backlogs for planned inspections. 'That's the strength of the reliance model,' said Kim Godard, Director General, Health Product Compliance Directorate at Health Canada, 'everyone kind of pitches in, we're not in the same situation in terms of creating huge backlogs.' The number of facilities and the scope of the industry outstrips the resources of any single regulator. 'It makes sense to rely on partners,' said Ridley. 'The FDA is so big and the United States is so big. We have the scale. It does make sense to partner with us. But that's conditional on being able to count on us to make those foreign trips.' But Ridley said the U.S. has struggled to staff foreign offices in India and China, major sources of active ingredients in drugs. Regarding the situation in the United States, Health Canada's Godard said 'there's no concern right now in Canada.' She said if a site is particularly important, gaps will be filled in by Canadian inspectors or another partner like Australia. Industry pressures and generic drugs Concerns about inspection protocols come at a time when parts of the industry are under increasing pressure to produce drugs more cheaply. 'I worry most about generic manufacturers because they are in this race to the bottom with their competitors,' said Ridley. He said major U.S. drug purchasers, retailers and wholesalers are looking for the cheapest generic. Generic manufacturers in Canada face similar pressures. 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'We're following the context, we're following the trends, we're following the technologies, we're following what's happening in the pharmaceutical industry to make sure that we're able to meet the demands of tomorrow,' said Godard.

CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
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CTV News
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- CTV News
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