Latest news with #Huntsville
National Post
6 hours ago
- Business
- National Post
Geoff Russ: Doug Ford walking back initiative allowing asylum seekers to work was right choice
If Canada's leaders will not put young Canadians first, they should not be surprised when those same people abandon a country that abandoned them first. Article content After a meeting in Huntsville, Ont., on July 24, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and the rest of the premiers made it clear that they want greater powers over immigration. Article content Article content Ford specifically mentioned that his government was examining Section 95 of the Constitution Act to find a way to bypass Ottawa and unilaterally grant work permits for Ontario. Section 95 allows the provinces to make immigration decisions, 'as long and as far only as it is not repugnant' to any federal law. Article content Article content On Monday, however, Ford announced he was walking back that initiative, and this is a tiny spot of good news for young job seekers in the province. Article content Article content There are nearly 100,000 unemployed asylum seekers currently housed in hotels in Etobicoke. Prior to his retreat on the policy, Ford wanted to put them to work, even though the unemployment rate of Ontario residents aged 15 to 24 stood at 16.4 per cent, higher than the national average of 14.2 per cent. Article content During the short time he considered the initiative, Ford's elbows were up, displaying a willingness to throw them at his province's youngest and most vulnerable adult citizens. Article content Trying to add another 100,000 people to the workforce would have been a cruel strategy when youth unemployment is rampant in the Greater Toronto Area. Between January and July of 2024, it spiked from 13.2 per cent to 19.8 per cent. Article content The Ontario government would not be helping by pushing for even more cheap foreign labour, which has already likely already suppressed wages and worsened housing affordability for Canadians. Article content Article content This combination has grown alongside a national immigration policy that saw an average of 612,000 permanent and temporary residents admitted to the country yearly between 2016 and 2023. The policy of mass, low-wage immigration had a considerable effect on the Canadian economy, according to Michael Bonner, a former policy advisor in the Harper government and later Director of Policy for the Government of Ontario. Article content Article content 'The consequences are structural underemployment, stagnant wages, and a climate in which businesses are rewarded for failing to invest in hiring, training, and retaining a domestic workforce,' wrote Bonner. Article content Despite his modest promised reductions in yearly immigration, Prime Minister Mark Carney is still planning to admit 400,000 permanent residents annually by 2027, far more than the average during the years of the Harper government. Article content Housing unaffordability is a crippling fact of life for those under 40. During the spring election, the Liberals pledged to deliver a housing plan that was the 'most ambitious since WWII' and build 500,000 homes per year.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Doug Ford walks back pledge to issue work permits to asylum seekers
Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to the media during the meeting of Canada's premiers in Huntsville, Ont., on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford has walked back last week's pledge to wrestle some control away from the federal government to issue work permits to asylum seekers. He did not explain why he changed his mind. 'I don't want to take the responsibility off the federal government, but in saying that, if you have a pulse and you're healthy, you need to be working,' Ford said Monday. Ford and the rest of the country's premiers said at their gathering last week they wanted more control over immigration, usually a purview of the federal government. The Ontario premier pointed to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who cited Section 95 of the Constitution that they believed gave provinces the power to make decisions on immigration. 'We will be issuing our own work permits,' Ford said last week when all the premiers met in Huntsville, Ont. He said the federal government was taking up to two years to issue work permits to asylum seekers. But Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said work permits are usually processed within 45 days of an asylum claimant submitting a completed application that includes a medical examination and an updated address. 'The Government of Canada will continue to work collaboratively with provinces and territories to achieve our shared economic immigration objectives,' said Jeffrey MacDonald, a spokesman for the department. He said immigration is within both federal and provincial jurisdictions and Ottawa enters into legally binding agreements with each province and territory to administer, co-ordinate and implement federal legislation on immigration. MacDonald said the department is still in the midst of planning immigration levels from 2026 to 2028 with input from all provinces and territories. Despite Ford's change of mind, he still said the federal government is taking far too long to issue work permits. He said 70,000 work permits were issued to asylum claimants last year, but there were 90,000 such claimants in the province and he wants the backlog cleared. New Democrat Leader Marit Stiles said Ford needs to focus on the problems he can control. 'He wants to talk about a whole bunch of stuff that is not his responsibility in the first place,' Stiles said. 'I think that the premier needs to start actually showing up for work for the people of this province and that means showing up to fix our health-care system, showing up to address the crumbling infrastructure in this province, showing up for the post-secondary institutions.' —With files from Sarah Ritchie in Ottawa This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2025. Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
CTV News
2 days ago
- CTV News
Organized crime charges levelled at alleged drug dealers across Ontario
Police handcuffs are shown in this undated file image. Three people were busted on drug trafficking and organized crime charges. In the spring, members of the Muskoka Community Street Crime Unit (CSCU) opened an investigation into drug trafficking in Huntsville. Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox On Thursday, numerous units of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) executed warrants at several homes Huntsville and Thorold. A variety of drugs were seized during the searches. As a result, three people were arrested and have been charged including: A 34-year-old Thorold woman: Participating in a criminal organization Conspiracy Trafficking in a Schedule I substance Two counts of failing to comply with recognizance Possession of Sch I substance Unauthorized possession of prohibited firearm Possession of prohibited firearm knowing possession unauthorized Possession of a loaded prohibited firearm Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose Careless storage of a firearm A 34-year-old Toronto man: Participating in a criminal organization Conspiracy Three counts of possession of a Schedule I substance for the purpose of trafficking Possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime Two counts of failing to comply with release order A 64-year-old Huntsville man: Participating in a criminal organization Conspiracy Trafficking in a Schedule I substance The first two accused were held for a bail hearing. The Huntsville man was released and is to appear in Ontario Court of Justice in Bracebridge later. If you have any information about crime, please contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122. To report minor occurrences go online or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS). Crime Stoppers does not subscribe to call display, and you will remain anonymous. You will not testify in court and your information may lead to a cash reward of up to $2,000.
CBS News
3 days ago
- Health
- CBS News
A mom says an "everything bagel" caused her to fail a drug test. The hospital reported her to child protective services anyway
A new mother from Alabama is warning pregnant patients after she says eating an "everything bagel" for breakfast before giving birth to her second child upended her family last spring. It all stemmed from the unexpected results of one urine drug test — a routine test given to thousands of maternity patients across the country. It illustrates the findings of a joint investigation between "CBS Sunday Morning" and The Marshall Project that found the percentage of false positive results from urine drug tests to be as high as 50%. "It was almost like an out-of-body experience. I mean, I truly could not believe that it was happening," Katie, of Huntsville, who asked to only be referred to by her first name, told "CBS Sunday Morning." She was shocked to learn she tested positive for opiates. The bagel Katie ate was seasoned with poppy seeds, which come from the same plant cultivated for the production of opiates like morphine and codeine and can trigger a false positive test result for opiates. The fact that poppy seeds can cause a false positive test result is well documented. In fact, the U.S. Department of Defense even issued a warning in 2023 to service members that "consumption of poppy seed products could result in a codeine positive urinalysis result." A 2001 Supreme Court ruling determined that maternity patients cannot be tested for illegal drugs without their informed consent or a valid warrant if the test's sole purpose is to obtain evidence of criminal conduct for law enforcement purposes. But many hospitals routinely test patients, arguing the tests have a medical purpose. Katie agreed to what she believed to be a routine drug screening, simply thinking she had nothing to worry about. "I signed and said, 'Yes, that's fine,'" Katie, who took the drug test before giving birth, explained. "I didn't take any over-the-counter medicine. I didn't take Tylenol." The practice of drug testing pregnant patients before giving birth dates back to the 1980s crack epidemic and has continued in more recent years amid today's opioid epidemic. There were an estimated 54,743 overdose deaths involving opioids in 2024, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. According to a review by The Marshall Project, hospitals in at least 27 states across the U.S. are required by law to alert child welfare authorities to a positive drug test or potential exposure — even before a second, more definitive test can be given to the mother to ensure it wasn't a false positive. This often leads to long and stressful investigations that can turn a family's life upside-down. Hours after giving birth at Crestwood Medical Center, Katie feared both of her children could be taken away, when a member of the Alabama Department of Human Resources showed up in her hospital room to discuss her positive drug screen. The state social worker asked Katie to sign a safety plan, a written agreement between a parent and CPS that outlines specific steps to be taken to ensure the safety and protection of a child amid an ongoing investigation. "Safety plans are developed to protect children from safety threats when the parents'/primary caregivers' protective capacities are insufficient. Safety plans are based on identifiable safety threats and coupled with diminished parental/primary caregiver protective capacities which place the child at present or impending danger," the department's administrative code states. Katie said she was told both of her children would be removed from her custody if she didn't sign the safety plan. Overwhelmed by the terrifying thoughts racing in her head, Katie signed the plan. For nearly a month, Katie said she was only allowed monitored time with her children. And although she was breastfeeding her newborn, she still had to leave her home every night when everyone was asleep and only return in the morning when she could be supervised. "I would leave the house and I would, I mean, scream in my car because I was so devastated to leave her," said Katie, apologizing for choking up. "It was torture; it was pain I've never felt before." In a statement to "CBS Sunday Morning," Crestwood Medical Center said its health care workers conduct a urine drug screen on all patients admitted for labor and delivery "to help assess any potential medical needs of the mother and newborn." If a test is positive, the hospital said it immediately orders a confirmatory test, and notifies the Department of Human Resources in compliance with Alabama State Law. "We understand that false positive results can occur and make every effort to keep mother and child together in the hospital until a confirmatory test result is received. In these situations, our physicians, our neonatal care team and DHR work collaboratively on appropriate safety plans considering all of the information available about the mother and newborn at the time," Crestwood said. Katie said the medical center did order a second confirmatory test in her case, but health care workers had already called the Alabama Department of Human Resources, triggering an investigation. Confirmatory drug tests are sent off to a laboratory since they require a more thorough analysis. It can take up to 5 business days after receiving the sample for the lab to process and send results. By the time the second round of drug test results arrived, showing both Katie and her baby were clear of any substances, the state-run agency's child welfare probe was well underway. Katie claims the negative results weren't enough to stop the investigation, but the Department of Human Resources closed the case after a month, when she and her husband hired an attorney. Dr. Kelley Butler, a family medicine doctor in San Diego, California, called situations like Katie's "entirely unfair." "Let's also be clear: one positive urine toxicology does not equal a substance use disorder by the DSM-5 criteria," Butler explained, referring to a diagnostic tool used by mental health professionals to help diagnose certain conditions or disorders. "All it says is this person was exposed to something that made this test positive. Hello! As in the case of this everything bagel, which probably had poppy seeds, which can be a false positive for opiates." A National Library of Medicine study confirmed ingesting poppy seeds in food products like pastries, bagels, muffins or cakes can show concentrations of morphine in urine drug tests. While the highest concentrations of total morphine were found between three and eight hours after consumption, they could still show up within a 48-hour window. That's why the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency advises athletes to avoid eating anything containing poppy seeds for at least a few days before competitions, warning that it "can't predict how long morphine or morphine metabolites from poppy seeds will stay in your system." But it's not just poppy seeds that can lead to faulty test results. There's an entire suite of medications, foods and exposures that are safe to take during pregnancy or have been prescribed by a physician that can result in false positives. The National Library of Medicine also reports that over-the-counter cough suppressants like dextromethorphan, and antibiotics to treat bacterial infections like rifampin and quinolone, can also cause false positive opiate test results. Perhaps even more unsettling than accidentally ingesting something that could result in a positive opiate test, a mother can be investigated if she or the baby tests positive for opiates even when the medication was given to her by the hospital during labor. That's exactly what Victoria Villanueva says happened to her. She was 18 years old in 2017 when she gave birth to her first child in an Indiana hospital. Her medical records show that she tested negative for any illicit substances upon entering the hospital and was given morphine during labor to ease pain – but that didn't stop the hospital from reporting her to the Indiana Department of Child Services when her newborn daughter tested positive for opiates. "I was bawling my eyes out, because I was thinking, well, they were going to take my baby away," Villanueva told "CBS Sunday Morning." Villanueva and her husband both passed drug tests, but — like Katie — she was still required to sign a safety plan. She believes that it may have been because she had admitted to once experimenting with drugs two years earlier. Over the next month, a social worker came regularly to check on her and inspect her home. "I was robbed of that experience to like, you know, actually be able to enjoy my child. Honestly, I was just too busy worrying about DCS, and them, possibly, taking my daughter away from me," she said. Lynn Paltrow, founder of Pregnancy Justice, who was part of the legal team that won the 2001 Supreme Court decision that ruled it unconstitutional to use drug test results solely to criminally prosecute pregnant women, says a single test result should never be relied on to report a mother. A positive drug test "can't tell you if I'm addicted [or] I'm dependent and it certainly cannot tell you how I parent. And yet for thousands of women in this country, and families, probably millions, a drug test is used as a parenting test," Paltrow said. Butler suggests hospitals use different forms of screening, like verbal questions, to identify potential substance use issues that could affect the birth or baby. Verbal screening or questionnaires are also recommended by most major medical groups, including the American Medical Association and The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The National Library of Medicine also acknowledges that toxicology testing of pregnant patients has some limitations and possible negative consequences and said it should always be done with a woman's consent. The reporting of drug use during pregnancy to child welfare agencies "is strongly biased against racial and ethnic minorities, even following concerted efforts to prevent such bias. A positive toxicology test also shows evidence of use, but does not provide any information about the nature or extent of that use; similarly, a negative test does not rule out substance use, which is often sporadic," the National Library of Medicine states. Last fall, New Jersey Attorney General Mathew Platkin filed a civil rights lawsuit against the hospital group Virtua Health, accusing it of singling out pregnant mothers and drug testing them without their informed consent. Jennifer Khelil, executive vice president and chief clinical officer at Virtua Health, told "CBS Sunday Morning" that New Jersey law requires hospitals and health care providers to report positive drug screen results to the state's child protection agency, which then completes its own assessment and works directly with the families on next steps. "The devastating toll of the opioid epidemic requires thorough and equitable processes for identifying and supporting babies with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome and related conditions," Khelil said. Virtua Health implemented a universal urine drug testing policy — as an effort to "avoid subjectivity in testing," according to Khelil — for pregnant patients delivering at its hospitals back in 2018. In October 2024, a week after Platkin's suit was filed, the hospital group modified its universal urine testing protocol. A Virtua Health spokesperson told NJ Spotlight News at the time that it now screens pregnant patients admitted at its hospitals based on "patient indications." "I think it's wrong. When you're ruining precious moments of people's lives and uprooting things, you can't just shrug it off and say, well, sorry you fell in the cracks," Katie said. Nearly a year later, Katie is pregnant again — and the same fears are weighing on her. She spoke with her new doctor about refusing a drug screen this time, but says she was told that the hospital would report her to Alabama Department of Human Resources if she declined. "So I feel trapped. This all just happened a year ago. So it's very fresh. And I'm very wounded still from it, and terrified of it happening again," Katie said.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
‘It was on its way out': Huntsville bridge collapses months before repairs would have started
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — Construction crews were out and working on the Aldridge Creek Greenway Wednesday after a bridge collapsed along the trail Tuesday morning. The trestle bridge collapsed, dropping two rail cars into the creek below. Huntsville Madison County Railroad Authority (HMCR) said no one was injured and the train cars were not carrying any hazardous materials. 📲 to stay updated on the go. 📧 to have news sent to your inbox. The Aldridge Creek Greenway is a popular spot for people across the Tennessee Valley to enjoy various outdoor activities. Some runners, like Abraham Flores, said they were not aware of the trestle bridge collapse until they encountered roadblocks from construction crews along the trail Wednesday. 'I was just running on the trail. I parked at Challenger, running down it. And I noticed it was closed off, and I was really confused,' Flores said. 'I thought about going around it, but I was like, I think there's a reason.' That reason is that greenway space surrounding the bridge is closed to the public due to an ongoing federal investigation into the collapse, along with keeping trail users safe. Holly Weber grew up near the creek and said the bridge has been deteriorating for quite some time, saying the weather was a large factor in its structural integrity. Only on News 19: Family shares experience with daughter's rare genetic disorder 'I couldn't believe it finally came down. It looked like it was on its way out, but it kind of sucks to see it go,' Weber said. 'The wood was in bad shape. The creek floods a lot, so over the years, there was a lot of water damage to it.' Governor Ivey awarded the HMCR a $1 million grant in 2024, dedicated to repairing railroads, including the Aldridge Creek bridge. In a press release from The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, Ivey speaks of the railroad's industrial importance. 'The Huntsville and Madison County Railroad Authority has been an important short-line railroad that for years has dutifully served multiple industries. I am pleased to announce this funding for the upgrades that will help the rail system continue providing vital service for area industries for years to come.' Governor Kay Ivey Mark Lumb with the HMCR said those funds will be available in October, and repairs to the bridge and railroad could start around then. Although there is no start date or plan in place without the funding. Those repairs will now take several months and could cost more than the grant. The greenway area surrounding the bridge will be closed while the investigation continues, and will likely remain closed after its completion for repairs. It is unclear if industries that receive materials due to this train's operation will be impacted. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
