The Globe and Mail • 13th May 2018

Hearing loss leaves many struggling with costs amid subsidy shortage

For Erica Lindell, hearing aids are essential. Without them, the mother of two living just outside Winnipeg couldn’t hear her kids call for help, or even keep her IT job, which requires a lot of phone calls. But the devices are also a source of debt: She’s had to take out two separate loans – one for $10,000 and another for $5,000 after the first pair expired – to cover the cost of the devices.

Ms. Lindell’s situation is not unique. Hearing aids can range from $1,200 to $4,000 or more for each

Quesnel Cariboo Observer • 26th April 2019

Rebuild Junction gets second life with new owners

Co-owners Shawn and Jeff have been involved with the store since it was started as a non-profit

Shawn Severinski and business partner Jeff Robertson shake hands in front of Rebuild Junction. The pair took over as owners when the Quesnel Shelter & Support Society was unable to fund the initiative for another year. Heahter Norman photo

Shawn Severinski and Jeff Robertson have been with Rebuild Junction Secondhand Building Supply since it was started as a social enterprise by the Quesnel Shelter

The Globe and Mail • 28th April 2018

Toronto van attack: The minutes that forever link the victims and bystanders

It was a warm, sunny day in Toronto, the first good weather after a wet and cold April. Throngs of people spilled onto the street from the offices and apartments that flank Yonge Street in North York. They were a typical Toronto mix of backgrounds. They were students, mothers pushing strollers, seniors with walkers and executives in suits. Some were out for coffee or lunch. Others were going to the bank or hurrying back to work. Many were on Yonge at that moment through mere chance. What they we

The Walrus • 1st June 2018

Signing Away Our Lives on Facebook

When British Columbia resident Deborah Douez signed up for a Facebook account, she didn’t expect that she’d end up going to court against the social-media giant. In 2012, she was told by a friend that her name and photo were showing up in Facebook ads promoting a company that sponsors competitive obstacle mud races, and the friend was wondering if Douez was working for that company.

But Douez wasn’t. All she had done was “like” the company’s Facebook page, the way countless other users do every

The Globe and Mail • 15th April 2018

Veterinary students rallied to rescue their class cows − then they discovered they’d been sold to a veal farmer

Seneca College will discuss whether to continue sending cows used as teaching aids to stockyard auctions after a group of students spent a month raising money to save four animals that were ultimately sold to a veal farmer.

Emma Brown, the co-ordinator of the veterinary technician program at Seneca College, said it is possible the practice may change, but it is not just her decision, it is up to all of the faculty in the program. “It’s a collective decision that will have to be discussed going

The Globe and Mail • 23rd April 2018

Twenty-five minutes of horror on Yonge Street: How the Toronto van attack unfolded

On most days, the lunch crowd at the busy north Toronto intersection thins out by about 1:30. But on Monday, the sidewalks were busier than usual. Mothers with strollers and office workers alike lingered outside, savouring their first taste of sunshine after a long, cold winter.

Taxi driver Agyeman-Badu had just turned onto Yonge Street just south of Finch Avenue, when he noticed a white van driving on the sidewalk. He thought it was odd, but ignored it.

But when the van hit a fire hydrant, kn

Quesnel Cariboo Observer • 21st June 2019

On the cutting edge: Meet Quesnel’s knife maker

Mike Jones holds one of his knives outside the door to his workshop. Heather Norman photos

Mike Jones made his first knife six years ago, after he and a friend bought knives at a two-for-one booth at a Vancouver night market and his friend decided to disassemble his own knife in favour of building it a new handle.

It wasn’t something Jones had thought of before.

“When I got home, I jumped on YouTube to see how to do that,” says Jones.

All the videos that popped up were tutorials on building

Quesnel Cariboo Observer • 18th January 2019

High hospital occupancy amidst seniors housing shortage in Quesnel

G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital has been operating over capacity since at least 2013, according to Ministry of Health figures obtained by Black Press Media and confirmed by Northern Health.

Most recently, in the 2017-18 fiscal year, G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital ran at an average of more than 19 per cent over capacity.

When a hospital is operating over capacity, it means it has more patients in need of a bed than beds available.

Ideally, says Debbie Strang, the Health Services Administrator at G.