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CBC
4 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Groups begin lobbying N.S. government over potential booze sale changes
With the provincial government launching consultation on whether to expand sales points for alcohol in Nova Scotia, interested parties are not waiting for a phone call. Organizations on both sides of the issue have started issuing news releases and open letters to Finance Minister John Lohr, whose department is overseeing the process. Lohr announced last week that Infuse Public Relations and Crestview Strategy will collectively manage the public opinion polling of 1,500 random people and stakeholder engagement with 194 groups. The contract for the work is worth $300,000. A news release this week from the Atlantic division of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said 77 per cent of small businesses in Nova Scotia support allowing convenience stores and grocery stores to sell alcohol. "This moment is the government's chance to support local retailers at a time when over six in 10 are experiencing lower demand, and provide much-needed shelf space to local producers," Duncan Robertson, the federation's director of legislative affairs, said in the release. Small businesses supportive, doctors concerned The CFIB's recommendations include allowing the sale of beverages that do not exceed alcohol by volume of 7.1 per cent in convenience and grocery stores — similar to steps taken in Ontario — and opening those rules to all small businesses, not just large retailers. Nova Scotia already permits alcohol to be sold in some private wine and specialty stores, in on-site stores at breweries and wineries, and farmers' markets. Lohr also received an open letter this week from a group of 14 doctors who specialize in addiction medicine, urging the government not to expand alcohol sales because it would increase consumption and "worsen individual and societal harms." "Every day we care for patients and families suffering from alcohol use disorder and medical complications of alcohol use," the letter said. "Alcohol causes more than 500 deaths, 5,000 hospital admissions, and 35,000 emergency department visits in Nova Scotia each year, and creates more health care and social costs to our province than any other substance." The doctors went on to say that revenue earned through taxation on alcohol sales does not compensate for society-wide costs of health harms, violence and driving accidents attributable to alcohol. They wrote that alcohol is already widely available in Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation retail and agency stores. "It is crucial that the government keeps control of alcohol distribution to minimize further public costs and health harms," they said. Finance Department officials said 194 groups are included in stakeholder engagement so far. That includes 126 craft breweries, wineries and distillers, along with another 11 groups or agencies also in favour of opening things up, such as the Retail Council of Canada. Jim Cormier, the group's Atlantic director of government relations, said members have been looking at this issue particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic. "They've been looking at any way to try and get more people to get away from online shopping, using their smartphones to shop, and get them to come out to go into bricks-and-mortar stores," he said in an interview. No winners or losers Cormier said there can be extended benefits for the local economy by getting people into retail stores where it's possible to cross-promote Nova Scotia craft beer, wine and spirits with other products, such as cheese, berries and glassware. "Obviously it would be more than just Nova Scotia products, but that's the pitch we're making," he said. Potential expansion of alcohol sales concerns N.S. doctors 2 days ago Duration 4:59 Council members are looking for things to be as open as possible so there are no winners or losers, said Cormier. "If you're in a rural community and there happens to be a hardware store and they think that they could make a case that they could sell beer and do so in a responsible manner and meet all the rules and regulations, why shouldn't they be allowed to at least apply to do that?" Dr. Kirstin Weerdenburg, a pediatric emergency physician and a trauma team leader at the IWK Health Centre, said it is vital that the government not make any changes without first speaking to the people responsible for caring for those most impacted by alcohol. Talk to caregivers During her 10 years working in Nova Scotia since moving from Ontario where she also practised medicine, Weerdenburg said she's seen an increase in the number of young people presenting to the emergency department with intoxication. Data needs to be reviewed under the current regulatory regime to understand what's happening before access is expanded, she said. "I do start to get more concerned nowadays, if kids have more access, what their futures will look like." Weerdenburg is also a member of the Nova Scotia Alcohol Policy Coalition, which recently wrote to the government outlining its concerns. The group is one of several dozen representing interests related to health care, intimate partner violence prevention, addictions and marginalized communities slated to be consulted. Although the stakeholder list does not include Nova Scotia Health, the IWK Health Centre or Public Health, a Finance Department spokesperson said the three agencies would be consulted as part of an internal engagement process for government departments.
Metro
19-05-2025
- Business
- Metro
Supersize strawberries 'as big as kiwi fruit' set to hit shop shelves
The UK's exceptionally sunny spring is about to make an exciting change to your supermarket shop: strawberries so big, you may struggle to eat them. An unusually bright start to 2025 means they're naturally supersized this year, so you won't even have to pay extra for these chunky strawbs. Growers have said the fruits are ending up 10 to 20% larger than average, and with British strawberry season about to begin, your supermarket shop may soon look a little different. Bartosz Pinkosz, operations director at the Summer Berry Company, said: . 'Last week marked my nineteenth year of working in the berry industry – and during this time I have genuinely never seen a harvest produce such large berries consistently. Some are supersized – up to 30% larger than previous years, growing to the size of plums or even kiwi fruits.' The average is still 30g, he said, so not all the strawberries you see will be monsters – but it's promising if you love a traditional bowl of strawberries and cream while watching Wimbledon. Duncan Robertson, the founder of Dogtooth, a company making robot fruit pickers which are already in action on UK farms picking berries 24/7, told Metro they had seen some very large berries 'on occasion' this year. He said his robots are prepared for any size of strawberry, and could even work more efficiently if berries are bigger. 'The robot has been optimised to work with berries of all sizes – and because the time taken to pick a berry is nearly independent of its size, larger berries mean that the robot can harvest more kilograms per hour,' he said. But he warned that the largest berries might mean the robot has to slow its arms down or risk 'flinging fruit at passers by'. 2025 has seen an exceptionally sunny spring, the Met Office said, and this has been good for growing. Most regions have seen far less rainfall than usual, with bright days and cool nights: April was the sunniest on record for the UK since records began in 1910. Strawberries grow best in mild and sunny conditions, between 15 to 25°C, so the UK's weather so far has fit the bill. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Nick Marston, chairman of British Berry Growers which represents UK strawberry farmers, said: 'This year's early season strawberries are looking exceptional in both flavour and form. The warm weather, high light levels, and active pollination have come together beautifully. We're expecting a strong yield and outstanding taste quality this season.' Peter Judge, group managing director at S&A Produce, added: 'The warmer, sunnier bursts interspersed with cooler snaps earlier in the year allowed the crop to develop slowly. This has supported the creation of strong root systems, which create a really strong engine for the plants to grow fantastic fruit with excellent levels of natural sugars.' While big and sweet strawberries will probably be welcome, it also means that millions of households have already been put on notice for a potential drought, due to the sparse rainfall, however. Chris Weston, the leader of Thames Water, said the company is doing 'all we need to' to prepare for potential water shortages. More Trending Three years ago the firm came 'dangerously close' to running out of water for its 16million customers during record summer heatwaves. Explaining the weather, forecasters said 'large areas of high pressure, often extending from the Azores or mainland Europe, have lingered over or near the UK for extended periods since late February. 'High pressure typically brings settled, dry weather, and while it's not unusual to see such pressure systems in spring, their persistence this year has been more pronounced than usual. 'This spring, the jet stream has taken a more meandering path, often looping north of the UK. This has allowed high pressure to remain in place for longer stretches, effectively blocking the usual progression of weather fronts.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
End-of-life care demand challenging for paramedics
Paramedics are experiencing wide-ranging challenges in responding to an increasing number of end-of-life care patients, according to research from the University of Southampton. The study highlights the issues paramedics face, including lack of patient information, barriers to administering medication, and insufficient funding. Dr Sarah Holmes, Chief Medical Officer at Marie Curie, said: "We know that pressures on ambulance services are significant, and this study highlights the importance of equipping paramedics with the right tools to do their work." Duncan Robertson, chief paramedic for South Central Ambulance Service also welcomed the research. "It is great to see this important area of research getting published and it will help ambulance services frame how we can better support our paramedic workforce to provide excellent care at the end of a patient's life", he said. But he did go on to warn that, "as with any research, the paper is not to be read in isolation, but contributes to a wider body of knowledge". According to the paper, an ageing population coupled with shortfalls in community healthcare services is placing an increasing reliance on paramedics to deliver care during a patient's last year of life. Researchers conducted an online survey of over 900 paramedics across all 11 NHS trusts and found paramedics frequently attend patients in their last year of life, with 57 per cent estimating they do so at least every seven shifts, and 89 per cent at least every 14 shifts. But prior to arrival, 45 per cent of paramedics reported never or rarely knowing the patient's end-of-life status – just 14 per cent said they often or always knew. Dr Natasha Campling, Associate Professor at the University of Southampton and lead author of the paper said: "Our research shows that paramedics are being asked to make such complex decisions without all of the necessary information, support, resources and training to do so." She went on to say: "For patients at end of life, when paramedics are called to scene they need to be able to, for example, distinguish between reversible causes that require hospital treatment and those associated with underlying condition(s) or the dying process that can be relieved through palliative care and appropriate symptom management. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Dying face postcode lottery, says daughter We need to normalise death and dying, says carer Hospice leaders warn hundreds of beds out of use South Central Ambulance Service Marie Curie University of Southampton
