Tiny, orange and white kitten needs a home
Northern Ontario Watch
It's kitten season and an adorable and cuddly, 9-week-old, white and orange kitten is at Sudbury SPCA shelter waiting for loving home.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
40 minutes ago
- CTV News
North Bay road to close next week
Northern Ontario Watch The City of North Bay is closing McNamara Street between McKeown Avenue and McGibbon Street for four days starting Monday.
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Here are organizations offering free activities for wildfire evacuees in Winnipeg
Amid uncertainty around how long people will be displaced by wildfires in Manitoba, some organizations in Winnipeg are offering free entertainment for evacuees. That's good news for some trying to find ways to pass time while they're out of their homes, like Maximus Ross, an evacuee from Pimicikamak Cree Nation who's been in Winnipeg, about 530 kilometres south of his home community, for over a week. "All we do is stand around here when there's nothing to do," said Ross. "I just sleep, go on my phone." Kevin Hunter, a vice-president with the YMCA of Winnipeg, said his organization is among those trying to help give evacuees something to do in the city. The YMCA is offering free admission for evacuees at its four Winnipeg community hubs. Those locations include pools, recreation facilities, fitness areas and gymnasiums for all ages. Hours of operation and other information for those locations can be found here. "[We] hope we can help as many people as we can," said Hunter. If possible, those going to the YMCA should bring photo identification with them, he said, but "we understand that things are happening fast, so if that's not available that's OK." A Red Cross registration card or other form of identification could be used as well. Hunter said the YMCA is also working with other community groups to receive donations of things like swimsuits and towels that evacuees can use on-site. He added that residents can drop off donations of essential supplies at the YMCA community hubs. As of Thursday, more than 18,000 evacuees have registered with the Red Cross, the province said in a fire bulletin earlier this week, with 28 active wildfires burning in the province as of Friday. The province also said as of Friday, eligible evacuees can apply for support through its wildfire incidental support program. To qualify, evacuees must be permanent Manitoba residents, have a primary residence in a community or First Nation with a mandatory evacuation, and be registered with the Canadian Red Cross, which can be done online or by calling 1-800-863-6582 (toll-free) between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. Manitobans evacuated under a mandatory order are eligible to receive $34 per day for everyone age 13 and older and $27 per day for children 12 and under. More information about the support program can be found on the province's website. The Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq is also opening its doors to offer evacuees "a little bit of a reprieve and some creative inspiration … [and the opportunity] to get out and think about anything else," said Katryna Barske, public relations officer with the gallery. Barske said identification is not required, and those coming to the downtown gallery can simply tell the front desk they are an evacuee to get free admission. That offer will stand indefinitely, Barske added. The gallery, located at 300 Memorial Blvd., is open Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is also offering free admission for evacuees. Visitors should bring proof of address and alert the box office on arrival. The museum, at 85 Israel Asper Way at The Forks, is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Assiniboine Park and Zoo also donated several passes for evacuated families, but the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said in a social media post all of those passes have been claimed. It said if more passes become available, it will post that information. WATCH | Winnipeg organizations offer free admission for evacuees: Winnipeg venues offer up free entertainment for wildfire evacuees. 18 hours ago Duration 1:39 As days turn into weeks for some wildfire evacuees in Manitoba, boredom is starting to creep in. People could be displaced for weeks or months to come, so some organizations in Winnipeg are offering up free entertainment in a display of hospitality for the evacuees from northern Manitoba. Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anywhere in Manitoba or email 211mb@
CTV News
3 hours ago
- CTV News
‘The road is long': Syrian refugee engineering a fresh start in Montreal
Jad Albasha poses for a photo at the Polytechnique Montreal, in Montreal on June 3, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press) When Jad Albasha arrived in Quebec in 2016 as a 21-year-old fleeing his war-torn home of Syria, he landed in a snow-covered world that spoke French, a language in which he did not understand a single word. But now it rolls off the tongue as if Albasha has lived here all of his life. When he graduates on Saturday with a master's degree in civil engineering from Polytechnique Montréal, it will mark yet another milestone that shows how far he's come. He went from being a third-year civil engineering student in Syria, just six months away from earning a degree, to wondering if he would be stuck working at a grocery store in Laval, north of Montreal, forever. 'The road is long. I sometimes wondered 'am I going to get there?' ' Albasha said in an interview. 'Nine years later, we see that it's possible to take steps.' 'A new start' Albasha decided he would immerse himself in French upon arrival. First with a francization course to learn the basics starting in March 2016 and lasting about nine months. The goal was to speak French with the least amount of errors. Then, Albasha enrolled in a junior college program that would allow him to eventually resume his university career. However, his transcripts and missing paperwork from Syria led him to be rejected by almost every local university due to incomplete applications. With the exception of one: Polytechnique Montréal. The engineering school, which is affiliated with the Université de Montréal, has a large cohort of international students. Nine years later, his French is fluent. Enough so that he's able to work as a teaching assistant at Polytechnique. 'Merci, Bonjour, Bonsoir,' that was the limit of his French in January 2016, Albasha recalled in an interview. 'I remember before I started my French courses I was working at a grocery store and I wasn't even a cashier, I was a bag boy because I couldn't speak to clients,' Albasha said. 'It was difficult, every time someone asked me a question in French, I'd have to ask a colleague.' In January 2013, bombings at the Aleppo University killed 78 people and convinced the family it was time to leave the only home they'd known. His family — including a twin brother, an older brother and his parents — spent some time briefly in Lebanon before Justin Trudeau's Liberal government expedited Syrian refugee claims allowing them to come to Canada over a period of a few months. Even today, Montreal snow reminds him of his arrival to the country. He associates the fresh flakes with a renewal of sorts. 'It's a symbol of happiness for me, a new chance, a new start,' Albasha said. He works at AtkinsRéalis Group Inc., where he specializes in hydroelectric dams, a priority for Quebec's economic future, according to the current provincial government. He doesn't see his family returning to Aleppo. All of his friends have either spread across the globe or have died in the war. Montreal is where the family's foundation has been laid. International student cap Polytechnique Montreal's president Maud Cohen said Albasha demonstrates an important need for Quebec to bring in more engineers amid an aging population and a demographic deficit. 'The engineers really are building Quebec, they're responsible for innovation, creativity, everything that's happening in tech, in high-tech,' Cohen said. 'So might as well bring in students like this that have been trained somewhere else that have the potential of bringing a contribution to the economy faster, that have the potential to be trained here. 'We need more people like Jad ... and it's not to diminish the role of people that are already living here.' Last December, Quebec adopted a law that put a cap on international student applications, with the ultimate aim of reducing overall immigration. At a time when international students are facing a ban brought by the U.S. government and Canadian institutions look to capitalize on a brain drain due to funding cuts in the U.S., Cohen has a message for the government: 'Help us help you.' 'We recruit high-level students so how can we work together to make sure that we help you provide what the economy needs and to help us in the same way with either funding, or help us (by having) higher quotas to recruit.' Albasha is a mentor for others. He's the resource for many attempting to start anew. 'Sadly, I didn't have a chance to meet someone who'd lived through the same things as me, so I didn't have that example,' he said. But everyone deserves a chance regardless of where they come from. While recently presenting a paper in Winnipeg, Albasha went to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Inscribed on the wall was a quote: 'All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.' 'I found this to be profound and true,' he said. 'Sometimes we're not lucky, but we can't forget that if we persevere, we can get there in most cases.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2025. Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press
