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Global News
5 days ago
- Health
- Global News
Saskatchewan Health Authority announces new Indigenous hair consent policy
Toward the end of 2024, a Metis man, Ruben St. Charles, went to the hospital to get hip surgery. While in surgery a staff member cut St. Charles' hair without his consent, a ponytail that he had been growing out for more than 30 years. St. Charles woke up shocked and upset when he realized his hair had been thrown away. Now, months later, the Saskatchewan Health Authority has released a new policy stating that consent is needed before cutting an Indigenous person's hair. Unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happened. Just last year in Edmonton, an Indigenous man from Pasqua First Nation had his hair cut off and thrown into the garbage while at the hospital. In 2022, a young Indigenous boy also had his hair cut off while at a daycare in Saskatoon. Metis Nation Saskatchewan Minister of Health, Mental Health and Addictions Beverly Fullerton says she believes there is disconnect between Indigenous and Metis cultures at all institutions. Story continues below advertisement 'The majority of the colonial policies in place that are impacting Indigenous people do not reflect their needs, their uniqueness and the diversity that we live with every day.' explained Fullerton. 'Indigenous hair, it holds meaning. It holds wisdom, it holds the teaching of our ancestors and for a lot of our Indigenous relatives and kin, hair is so meaningful to them. It is not just something we wear. At the University of Saskatchewan, Dr. Holly Graham from Thunderchild First Nation is collaborating with the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing to offer a series of five virtual workshops. These workshops will include: Anti-Indigenous Racism, Cultural Humility, Cultural Safety, History of Indigenous Peoples, and Implementing Call to Action #24. Dr. Graham also has an online Indigenous Nursing Professional Practice Group that nurses can join to educate themselves and work toward addressing the current health disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Get weekly health news Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday. Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Before we can reconcile in a meaningful way, we have to know the truth and the truth is related to how we prevent or mitigate repeating past harms and mistakes.' shares Dr. Graham. During her interview, Dr. Graham shared the work Wahkohtowin, which means we are all interconnected and related. She said she felt that the word reflected this story. 'We all make mistakes, and I think that it is so important that we own them and one of the quickest and simplest ways to restore that relationship is to say I'm sorry. And then hear what the person has to say… really, we just want to know that the other person is aware that they've harmed us and that we know that they are sorry,' said Dr. Graham. Story continues below advertisement According to Bonnie Marwood, an advocate for Ruben St. Charles, all he wants is an apology from the staff member that cut his hair. Marwood expressed they hope this never happens again. 'It would be really nice to see their staff educated to learn why it is important and so that it's not just a rule, but they have the education behind it and that this policy isn't just performative.' said Marwood. Dr. Graham, Marwood and Fullerton agreed that the policy was a step in the right direction, but at the same time they all expressed their concerns about the fact there were not any Indigenous or Metis representatives at the table while creating this policy. Global News reached out to the SHA for a statement regarding the new policy and the incident involving St. Charles, 'The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is committed to creating a culturally safe and respectful environment in all our facilities, with all SHA team members having a role in fostering inclusive, respectful and culturally responsive health care. We acknowledge the deep cultural and spiritual significance of hair and braids in First Nations and Métis cultures and recognize that cutting hair without permission can cause emotional and spiritual harm, evoking past cultural trauma. The SHA has, and again, extends its deepest apologies for the individual's experience. A formal review was initiated at the time to investigate what had occurred and identify needed actions. Story continues below advertisement The SHA's new Indigenous Hair Cutting Policy is important in our ongoing journey toward reconciliation and the delivery of equitable and culturally safe care. It reaffirms our commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action and supports our work to advance a culturally responsive health-care environment that acknowledges and respects the spiritual and cultural significance of hair to many Indigenous peoples. The SHA also has created mandatory cultural responsiveness training for all staff and physicians. To date, more than 90 per cent of staff and physicians at the SHA have completed this training. Our priority is to provide high-quality, compassionate care that respects each patient's cultural background and lived experience.' For more information, please watch the video above.
Toronto Star
5 days ago
- Health
- Toronto Star
RFK Jr.‘s war on mRNA vaccines breeds distrust, threatens Canada's access to development: experts
TORONTO - Canadian doctors and scientists say Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s defunding of mRNA vaccine development projects will have negative health effects in Canada and around the world. University of Saskatchewan virologist Angela Rasmussen says unlike other vaccines, mRNA vaccines can be made very quickly and easily modified to fight new viruses and adapt to changing strains.
Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
RFK Jr.'s war on mRNA vaccines breeds distrust, threatens Canada's access to development: experts
TORONTO – Canadian doctors and scientists say Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s defunding of mRNA vaccine development projects will have negative health effects in Canada and around the world. University of Saskatchewan virologist Angela Rasmussen says unlike other vaccines, mRNA vaccines can be made very quickly and easily modified to fight new viruses and adapt to changing strains. Rasmussen and other medical experts say that ability is critical as the world prepares for H5N1 bird flu as a possible next pandemic. Canada Research Chair in Viral Pandemics Matthew Miller says the U.S. is one of the largest funders of medical research in the world and defunding mRNA vaccine research will likely stall development and threaten Canada's access to vital vaccine technology. Calgary pediatric infectious diseases specialist Dr. Cora Constantinescu says Kennedy's false claims that mRNA vaccines are unsafe and ineffective will cause a 'vaccine confidence crisis' on both sides of the border. She says that disinformation can also affect people's views of non-mRNA vaccines — something that's especially dangerous right now when both Canada and the U.S. are seeing outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles. On Aug. 5, Kennedy announced the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was halting funding for 22 mRNA vaccine projects worth nearly US$500 million. In May, Kennedy cancelled funding for Moderna's development of a pandemic influenza vaccine. A spokesperson for Moderna Canada said in an email Thursday that the company is 'continuing to explore alternatives for advancing our H5N1 program, consistent with our global commitment to pandemic preparedness.' Both Pfizer Canada and Moderna Canada confirmed to The Canadian Press on Thursday that the U.S. backing away from mRNA vaccines should not affect availability of their updated COVID-19 vaccines in Canada this fall. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2025. Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
Arab News
05-08-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Frequent disasters expose climate risks to infrastructure in South Asia
Katmandu: Floods that damaged hydropower dams in Nepal and destroyed the main bridge connecting the country to China show the vulnerability of infrastructure and need for smart rebuilding in a region bearing the brunt of a warming planet, experts say. The flooding of the Bhotekoshi River on July 8 also killed nine people and damaged an inland container depot that was being built to support increasing trade between the two countries. The 10 damaged hydropower facilities, including three under construction, have a combined capacity that could power 600,000 South Asian homes. Another smaller flood in the area on July 30 damaged roads and structures, but caused less overall destruction. Elsewhere in the Himalayas, flash floods swept away roads, homes and hotels on Tuesday in northern India, killing at least four people and leaving many others trapped under debris, officials said. The Himalayan region, which crosses Nepal and several nearby countries including India, is especially vulnerable to heavy rains, floods and landslides because the area is warming up faster than the rest of the world due to human-caused climate change. Climate experts say the increasing frequency of extreme weather has changed the playbook for assessing infrastructure risks while also increasing the need for smart rebuilding plans. 'The statistics of the past no longer apply for the future,' said John Pomeroy, a hydrologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. 'The risk that goes into building a bridge or other infrastructure is generally based on historical observations of past risk, but this is no longer useful because future risk is different and often much higher.' While damage estimates from the July floods in the Rasuwa region are still being calculated, past construction costs give a sense of the financial toll. The Sino-Nepal Friendship Bridge alone, for example, took $68 million to rebuild after it was destroyed by a 2015 earthquake that ravaged Nepal. The latest disaster has also stoked fears of long-lasting economic damage in a region north of the capital city Katmandu that spent years rebuilding after the 2015 quake. Nepali government officials estimate that $724 million worth of trade with China is conducted over the bridge each year, and that has come to a standstill. 'Thank God there wasn't much damage to local villages, but the container depot and bridges have been completely destroyed. This has severely affected workers, hotel operators, laborers, and truck drivers who rely on cross-border trade for their livelihoods,' said Kaami Tsering, a local government official, in a phone interview with The Associated Press. Among those affected is Urken Tamang, a 50-year-old parking attendant at the depot who has been out of work for several weeks. A small tea shop he runs nearby with his family has also suffered. 'We've been unlucky,' said Tamang, a former farmer who sold his land and changed jobs when work on the depot began. He added: 'The whole area was severely damaged by the 2015 earthquake, and just when life was slowly returning to normal, this devastating flood struck.' Disasters show need for climate-resilient infrastructure The Nepal floods are the latest in a series of disasters in South Asia during this year's monsoon season. Research has shown that extreme weather has become more frequent in the region including heat waves, heavy rains and melting glaciers. Climate experts said smart planning and rebuilding in climate-vulnerable regions must include accounting for multiple risks, installing early warning systems, preparing local communities for disasters and, when needed, relocating infrastructure. 'What we have to avoid is the insanity of rebuilding after a natural disaster in the same place where it occurred and where we know it will occur again at even higher probability,' said Pomeroy, the Canadian hydrologist. 'That's a very poor decision. Unfortunately, that's what most countries do.' Before rebuilding in Rasuwa, Nepal government officials need to assess overall risks, including those due to extreme weather and climate change, said Bipin Dulal, an analyst at Katmandu-based International Center for Integrated Mountain Development. The bridge connecting the two countries was rebuilt to better withstand earthquakes after it was destroyed in 2015, but it appears that officials didn't properly account for the risk of flooding as intense as what occurred in early July, Dulal said. 'We have to see what the extreme risk scenarios can be and we should rebuild in a way in which the infrastructure can handle those extremes,' said Dulal. Dulal said that large building projects in South Asia typically undertake environmental impact assessments that don't adequately factor in the risks of floods and other disasters. The center is developing a multi-hazard risk assessment framework that it hopes will be adopted by planners and builders in the region to better account for the dangers of extreme weather. Resilient structures can save billions in the long run In 2024 alone, there were 167 disasters in Asia — including storms, floods, heat waves and earthquakes — which was the most of any continent, according to the Emergency Events Database maintained by the University of Louvain, Belgium. These led to losses of over $32 billion, the researchers found. 'These disasters are all wake-up calls. These risks are real,' said Ramesh Subramaniam, global director of programs and strategy at the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. A CDRI analysis found that $124 billion worth of Nepal's infrastructure is vulnerable to the impacts of climate-driven disasters, creating the potential for hundreds of millions of dollars in annual losses if the country doesn't invest in resiliency. 'Investing a relatively smaller figure now would prevent the loss of these enormous sums of damages,' said Subramaniam. Subramaniam said that most climate investments are directed toward mitigation, such as building clean energy projects and trying to reduce the amount of planet-heating gases being released. But given extreme weather damage already occurring, investing in adapting to global warming is also equally important, he said. 'I think countries are learning and adaptation is becoming a standard feature in their annual planning,' he said. Global efforts to prepare for and deal with such losses include a climate loss and damage fund set up by the United Nations in 2023. The fund currently has $348 million available, which the UN warns is only a fraction of the yearly need for economic damage related to human-caused climate change. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank have also provided loans or grants to build climate-resilient projects. In Nepal's recently flood-ravaged region, Tsering, the local government official, said the repeated disasters have taken more than a financial toll on residents. 'Even though the river has now returned to a normal flow, the fear remains,' he said. 'People will always worry that something like this could happen again.'
05-08-2025
- Business
Beef costs more than ever, but Canadians won't let that ruin barbecue season
As Canadians fire up their grills for the August long weekend, one of the nation's most cherished summer traditions is now facing a costly twist: beef prices have surged 25 per cent over the past year, far outpacing the rate of inflation and putting the price of summer burgers and steaks into uncharted territory. The price of ground beef hit $14.67 per kilogram in May of 2025, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada (new window) — a 25 per cent increase over the $11.72 recorded a year earlier and well above the country's current inflation rate of 1.7 per cent. This weekend marks one of the busiest grilling holidays of the year in Canada, as families and friends gather at cottages, campgrounds and in backyards from coast to coast. Even with ground beef hitting historic highs, Canadians seem unwilling to let go of their cherished burger, or trade it in for tofu. If anything, the lingering effects of trade tensions and a growing movement to support local producers have only strengthened demand for homegrown beef, according to some analysts. Demand for beef is phenomenal. It's really a good news story, Kevin Grier, a Guelph, Ont.-based, economist who specializes in livestock, meat and grocery market analysis, told CBC News. If you want somebody to blame, really blame the consumer because we keep on coming back. Persistent Western drought shrinks herd Behind the price spike are some familiar factors: smaller herds from prolonged drought in Western Canada (new window) and high input costs for feed. WATCH | Why beef prices might stay high for a while: There's been so much drought in southwest Saskatchewan and southern Alberta that some of these farmers have not had any moisture since the snow melted in April, said Stuart Smyth, a professor in the department of agricultural and resource economics at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. Smyth said some western producers are choosing to shrink their herds rather than absorb the high cost of feed, which in some cases has to be hauled in from other provinces. Faced with the prospect of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars, many are opting to downsize instead. That's why we've seen this drop of half a million head of cattle over the last five years, is because this has been a fairly prolonged drought in one of the regions that has the highest number of livestock, he said. Some ranchers see an upside Still, not every farmer is feeling the pinch. Thanks to strong demand, fuelled by barbecue culture's surge in popularity and a renewed push to support local amid ongoing trade tensions, some cattle producers are, for once, seeing a rare upside. Enlarge image (new window) A persistent drought in Alberta and Saskatchewan has forced many cattle farmers to haul water to their herds, driving up costs. Photo: Submitted by Kent Holowath Unlike previous cycles of food inflation, this one is offering certain producers a better return. We don't get to set our prices, said Lee Irvine, a cattle farmer outside of Calgary, adding what they earn for their cattle is often out of their control. Instead, they're price takers, accepting whatever the market offers at auction. So when consumers are willing to go out and pay higher prices for beef, there's trickle-down effects to the primary producers, he said. We're selling our cattle at a higher margin right now. Enlarge image (new window) Source: Statistics Canada Photo: CBC Still, not all producers have been able to take full advantage. After back-to-back years of drought, Irvine said his operation didn't receive enough spring rain to sustain a full herd this year. We're only running about 20 head, he said. Normally we'd have anywhere from 30 to 60. Cost of cattle puts butchers in a crunch Some butchers said the issue isn't a shortage of cattle; it's the cost of buying them. Enlarge image (new window) While beef commands higher prices on store shelves, tight supplies and higher input costs squeeze margins and complicate inventory management for processors and retailers. Photo: CBC News / Colin Butler We have no problems getting beef, but we just got to pay the higher prices for them, said Andy Trbizan, who runs the Mt. Brydges Abattoir in Mount Brydges, Ont., alongside his daughter and son. I'm thinking it's got to be about 15 to 20 per cent higher than what it used to be. Despite passing those costs onto the consumer, whether its steak, chuck or a whole brisket, beef has proven resilient. The jump in beef prices hasn't deterred shoppers or wannabe pit-masters. Instead, BBQ culture seems to be enjoying a full-blown heyday (new window) . The trade and marketing association Canada Beef says since 1989 demand for beef last year was only higher in 2020 and 2022. Demand is really high, especially in the summertime, Trbizan said, noting the abattoir often sees lineups that stretch out the showroom door on weekends. People want to get out, do their barbecues and they want to entertain. If you want somebody to blame, really blame the consumer because we keep on coming back. Kevin Grier, livestock, meat and grocery analyst And smoking meat has become very popular, so everybody has their smokers out and they're trying new things as well, his daughter Nicole Miller said. These conditions are expected to keep beef prices elevated through at least 2027 (new window) , with little immediate relief in sight, according to a recent industry report. This projection underscores the slow and steady nature of herd rebuilding, which requires time for animals to mature and reach market size. Experts suggest consumers may need to prepare for a prolonged period of higher prices, even as producers work toward stabilizing supply. For now, summer barbecues come at a premium, but it's a price Canadians appear willing to pay. Colin Butler (new window) · CBC News · Reporter Colin Butler is a veteran journalist with 20 years' experience in print, radio and television in seven Canadian cities. You can email him at
