Canada

The CSA Group — a not-for-profit standards organization — released for review a new draft standard on the “Selection, Use, and Care of Respirators” (CSA Z94.4:25) for workplaces, specifically including health care. This new standard is designed to ensure much better protection for health-care workers and for everyone seeking health care.

CSA Group is an independent not-for-profit standards organization with international accreditation, including from the Standards Council or Canada. Since it was founded 1919 as the Canadian Engineering Standards Association, it has helped keep Canadians safer by establishing standards for many products, including safety equipment.

From this page: https://whn.global/whn-response-to-canadas-csa-z94-4-25-respirator-standard/

Canada’s national standards body, the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), has released a public draft of CSA Z94.4-25: Selection, Use, and Care of Respirators. This standard reflects decades of science and applies airborne transmission risk assessment consistently across all workplaces, including healthcare. WHN has released the following statements to support the standard and respond to the petition in opposition.

CSA Z94.4-25 represents a long-overdue shift toward protecting healthcare workers and other professionals from airborne hazards. It incorporates modern scientific understanding, including the Source-Pathway-Receiver model, and offers a practical, scalable approach to implementing respiratory protection programs.

The theme seems to be "reduce operating spending, increase capital spending". We'll see how that will blow over with the opposition.

Author: Joel Lexchin | Associate professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto; York University, Canada; University of Sydney

New drug approvals by Health Canada are based on the results of clinical trials. But before clinical trials can go ahead, they need to be approved by ethics committees known as Research Ethics Boards (REBs).

Virtually all hospitals where research is conducted have REBs, as do universities and other institutions. The REBs are supposed to ensure that patients understand the nature of the research and have given informed consent, that the trials are conducted in an ethical way that minimizes any harm to them and that the investigators are competent to do the research.

Given the crucial role they play, it’s important that REBs are not influenced by factors like financial motives, conflicts of interest or the goals of drug companies. Without oversight, these factors may encroach on the decisions made by REBs in Canada.

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Canada has been looking to open new markets for the commodity after China announced preliminary anti-dumping duties on Canadian canola imports in August, a year after Canada said it would levy a 100 per cent tariff on imports of Chinese electric vehicles.

In a joint statement released late on Monday, the two countries said that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had held a phone call with Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand on October 30, “reaffirming the strong and enduring ties between Pakistan and Canada and emphasising the importance of deepening cooperation in areas of mutual interest”.

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“Pakistan and Canada agreed to facilitate the export of Canadian canola to Pakistan, recognising the significant potential of Pakistan’s expanding market for this Canadian commodity,” the statement said.

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“Both sides also expressed keen interest in expanding bilateral cooperation on energy security and critical minerals, recognising the strong and growing role of Canadian companies in achieving Pakistan’s ambitious mineral development goals and harnessing its clean energy potential,” the statement said.

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Subsequently, Anand said on X that she spoke to Canola Council of Canada and explained that “our diplomatic efforts had resulted in Pakistan’s decision to lift restrictions on imports of Canadian canola”. “This decision re-establishes a significant market for Canadian canola producers,” she said. “As Pakistan expedites regulatory approvals, for Canadian canola, I understand that import orders have already been placed,” she said.

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The Canadian government is setting up a critical minerals stockpile designating a list of six key critical minerals as strategic priorities under the Defence Production Act, a move intended to help Canadian producers compete with China by setting minimum prices for the materials and giving companies some certainty of long-term sales.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson made the announcement Friday on the sidelines of a G7 energy and environment ministers’ meeting in Toronto. The official statement did not identify specific critical minerals, but CBC cites copper, lithium, graphite, cobalt, nickel, and rare earths as resources for which demand could grow dramatically in the years ahead.

“We need to create the certainty of demand and the certainty pricing so that those mines and processing facilities can get built,” Hodgson told a news conference Friday. The announcement also “enables Canada to launch our own defence stockpiling regime, and to support multilateral stockpiling efforts,” he added.

On Friday, Hodgson announced an initial round of 26 “investments, partnerships, and measures” aimed at unlocking $6.4 billion worth of critical mineral development. The actual investments totalled about $120 million, along with offtake agreements, expressions of interest. or export guarantees totalling up to about $1.2 billion. Specific projects included:

• The Nouveau Monde graphite mine near Montreal;

• Rio Tinto’s scandium production demonstration site in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec;

• Ucore’s samarium and gadolinium production plant in Kingston;

• Torngat Metals’ rare earth production project in Quebec;

Vianode’s synthetic graphite plant in St. Thomas, Ontario;

• North America’s only natural graphite producer, Northern Graphite, for a project near Montreal;

• A half-dozen smaller research projects that connect Canadian firms with international partners.

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Mining Association of Canada President Pierre Gratton said the state intervention was needed to help companies get launched. “Some commodities where China dominates, you can’t get a project off the ground. We have projects across the country that can’t get financing because they’re seen to be too vulnerable,” he said. “China can swoop in tomorrow, lower prices, and the project is dead on arrival.”

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Premier Danielle Smith has used the ‘notwithstanding clause’ to shield the strike-breaking bill from a court challenge.

When the OHIP claim for a newborn dying at a Toronto-area hospital was rejected, Dr. Jane Healey faced a difficult choice: forgo her pay or ask the grieving parents to go stand in line at Service Ontario.

The baby died of a genetic condition after 10 days, Healey said. In the end, she decided against bothering the family.

“That means that we aren't remunerated for some of that very difficult, highly emotional work that stays with you,” she told CBC Toronto.

And, Healey says she isn’t alone.

OHIP billing issues have become a sticking point for physicians as they work to finalize a new compensation deal with the province. Last month, an arbitrator directed the two sides to come up with solutions quickly.

Over 99 per cent of claims are paid automatically as submitted, “reflecting the system's productivity,” said Health Minister Sylvia Jones's spokesperson, Ema Popovic.

That’s true, the Ontario Medical Association acknowledges. But there are over 200 million claims that get processed every year — meaning about 1.16 million claims are rejected annually.

OTTAWA — Sweden is sending a large delegation of some of its most prominent people to Canada later this month as it seeks closer ties across the Arctic.

Rideau Hall says Gov. Gen. Mary Simon will welcome King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia to Canada for a visit to Ottawa and Montreal from Nov. 18 to 20.

Canada is starting a dispute resolution process against Stellantis after the automaker said last month that it’s moving jobs to the U.S.

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly told a parliamentary committee Monday that Ottawa wants to recover some of the billions it has committed to Stellantis.

Joly said Stellantis moving production of the Jeep Compass from Brampton, Ont., to Illinois is a violation of a contract.

"Today, before the close of business, the government will take the next step under the contracts to recover Canadian taxpayers’ money,” Joly said.

In August, Solomon announced the government had signed an agreement with Cohere to identify where “AI tools can improve public services.”

Cohere’s reported connection to the U.S. AI firm Palantir increases the alarm. Led by MAGA funder Peter Thiel, Palantir sees the Canadian company’s models being deployed to Palantir customers, possibly including U.S. defence and intelligence agencies.

Winnipeg is about to put new limits on where people who are homeless can sleep outdoors —restrictions that could change the face of encampments across the city.

As of Nov. 17, people will no longer be allowed to set up tents within 50 metres of playgrounds, splash pads, pools or daycares, or within 30 metres of transit stops, bridges and docks.

Not everyone at city hall supports the approach.

Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry Coun. Sherri Rollins — whose ward includes the Mostyn Park area — says the rules may simply push people from one place to another.

"You can see that migration … whether along the Assiniboine [River], or they've now moved behind every single business in Osborne Village," Rollins said.

The Ontario government is aggressively withholding key details about its large stockpile of American alcohol products, valued at approximately $79.1 million at cost, that were pulled from store shelves as an act of retaliation in the ongoing Canada-U.S. trade dispute.

In August, CBC News filed a freedom-of-information request to the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), seeking the fate, size and disposal plans for U.S. alcohol products removed in March. The LCBO took 64 days to respond — 34 days longer than the 30-day limit allowed by law.

When the documents were finally released, they spanned 50 pages, but were heavily redacted. Most of the information about how much inventory is at risk of expiring, how much has already been destroyed and the total cost to taxpayers remains hidden.

For the first time, Health Canada has approved a new drug that can slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and it’s giving new hope that the disease can be tackled early.

On Monday, Health Canada announced approval for lecanemab, commercially known as “Leqembi.”

The treatment has already been approved in some other countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Japan, Mexico and China. It is currently under regulatory review in 15 other countries and regions, including the European Union.

Lecanemab is meant for adults who have a clinical diagnosis of mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease.

The article is pretty short, and discusses the factors to focus on, but if you just want the ending:

Sports events can deliver meaningful short-term revenue, reputational exposure and long-term benefits, but those outcomes are neither automatic nor evenly distributed.

Thoughtful policy design, transparent evaluation and binding community and environmental safeguards determine whether a World Series run or a World Cup week becomes a fleeting headline or a lasting city asset.

The main benefactor of the World Cup will be FIFA, not host cities. As The Economist noted in its review of economist Andrew Zimbalist’s Circus Maximus, there is “little doubt that under current conditions, prudent city governments should avoid the contests at all costs.”

Carney's finance minister has been promising to deliver "generational investments" in this budget

but at the same time, Carney has warned that his plan to transform the economy will involve "sacrifices." These investments and sacrifices are distributed according to a peculiar logic.

For example: Carney has been publicly wringing his hands over the $10 million he claims Canada Post "loses" every day. In their analysis of that framing,The Breach pointed out that this number (an unusually high estimate) is tiny compared to the $169 million the military spends daily. That hasn't stopped Carney from slashing the postal service's activities, all while promising an extra $9.3 billion to the country's armed forces by March.

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[South Korean] President Lee Jae Myung proposed expanding bilateral cooperation during a summit with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday, describing Canada as “a key partner for Korea that goes beyond a friendly nation, one akin to an ally.”

Lee held a summit with Carney, who was in Korea for the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, at a hotel in central Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, on Thursday morning.

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We are already cooperating in many areas beyond defense, including the economy, and I expect to see even greater collaboration moving forward,” Lee continued. “Canada’s leadership in foundational AI research has greatly benefited the world.”

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"Despite the complexities of the global order and the many challenges it presents, I hope Korea and Canada can work together to overcome them,” Lee said.

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“Korea is an important partner for Canada in all areas, including defense, commerce and culture,” Carney said. “Our trade relationship is important, and cooperation in defense and cultural exchanges is increasing. This is a very significant moment for the Korea-Canada relationship.”

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