'It was disgusting': Support pours in for Sask.'s Dr. Shahab following harassment at family home


Cally Stephanow CTV News Regina Video Journalist
Published Monday, January 25, 2021 

Sask. rallies behind Dr. Shahab and family

Last Updated Monday, January 25, 2021 6:44PM CST

Volume 90%

 

WATCH: Following harassment at his family home on the weekend, Saskatchewan residents have rallied to show their support for Dr. Shahab.

REGINA -- Organizations and individuals across Saskatchewan have rallied behind the province’s chief medical health officer after individuals protested at his Regina home on Saturday.

People are expressing their support online using the hashtag, #IStandWithShahab.

President and CEO of Evraz Place, Tim Reid said he thanks "Dr. Shahab and his family for their selfless commitment to Saskatchewan."

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'Group of idiots': Sask. premier defends Dr. Shahab after harassment at family home

The support comes as Premier Scott Moe took to social media this weekend calling the protestors, "idiots."

The Government of Saskatchewan said Dr. Shahab and Scott Moe will comment on the incident at Tuesday's press conference.

On Saturday, the leader of Saskatchewan’s opposition also shared his support for Shahab on Twitter.

“This is incredibly stupid and dangerous. Dr. Shahab is doing a very difficult and important job trying to protect us all from COVID-19,” Ryan Meili wrote. “He deserves our respect and support, not this unconscionable abuse.”

"Dr. Shahab, those 12 angry people do not speak for the one million residents of Saskatchewan. Thank you for all you've done for our province." Gloria Olson, a travel agent in Regina wrote on social media.

"I do think it was disgusting that people would go and threaten his safety and the safety of his family," Olson said. "When he can't even live privately outside of his work, and I'm sure he's working 12 hour days or longer to protect us. But yet he has to feel threatened by a few idiots."

Olson's post has now been shared more than 4.2 thousand times.

Olson's dad also died in November and the family hasn't been able to have a proper funeral. She said she understands the restrictions are tough but she knows they are in place to protect Saskatchewan residents.

"I believe if he was a mechanic, and I took my car to him and I didn't like the work that he did on it, do I follow him home and harass him because I don't like the job that he's doing or the job that he's done? "Or go to a restaurant and order a meal you don't like to follow the chef home and harass him," Olson said. "It's just ludicrous."

The Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) released a statement on Monday denouncing the protestors.

The President of the SMA said the organization stands with Dr. Shahab and all of his colleagues.

“Bringing a protest to Dr. Shahab’s private residence is absolutely unacceptable, and the SMA condemns these actions,” said Dr. Barb Konstantynowicz, president of the SMA.

Both RCMP and the Regina Police Service (RPS) are providing some level of protection for Shahab.


Since the protest on Saturday, there are some questions about why protestors were able to demonstrate outside Shahab's home.

At a press conference on Monday afternoon, RPS Chief Evan Bray said the protestors were not being violent and were wearing masks. He said if the was an immediate threat to Dr. Shahab, then officers would have taken action.

"The primary focus is, is there any immediate risk to the safety of anyone? And if there isn't, then the investigative work is done to determine if there any potential charges that will come from that," Bray said. "That's the work that's going on right now."



Dr. Saqib Shahab speaks Nov. 19 about new modelling that shows cases of COVID-19 could at least double in the province over the next six months. (Marc Smith/CTV News)

Vulcan County could be home to 83 wind turbines taller than the Calgary Tower

Buffalo Plains Wind Farm seeking approval from Alberta Utilities Commission

Natalie Valleau · CBC News ·  | Last Updated: January 26, 2021

  

A wind turbine overshadows a grain elevator near Pincher Creek, Alta., on March 9, 2016. A 500-megawatt wind farm is being planned for Vulcan County. (Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press)

A 500-megawatt wind farm proposed for Vulcan County is headed to the Alberta Utilities Commission.

If approved, the wind farm would be the third major green energy development in the county.

The project, called the Buffalo Plains Wind Farm, is planned for a site near Lomond, Alta., which is around 175 kilometres southeast of Calgary.

It would consist of 83 wind turbines spread across 24,000 acres (9,710 hectares) of privately owned farmland.

Jason Schneider, the reeve of Vulcan County, says the towers will be larger than usual.

"The height of the tower itself is about 115 metres and the blade is about 170 metres in diameter. To put that in comparison, the Calgary Tower is 191 metres tall," he told the Calgary Eyeopener.

He says this will produce a substantial amount of power, which will be around six megawatts per tower.

"The towers have definitely grown substantially and … they're producing three times the power as well.

More jobs in county

The reeve says an added bonus is that the project would bring much-needed tax revenue and jobs to Vulcan.

"They are proposing about 300 construction jobs and then the permanent jobs would be 10 to 15 range," he said.

"As far as permanent jobs, it is quite a bit lower than some other industries, but the construction process of this is quite substantial and it does employ a lot of people for a couple years, for sure."

Vulcan is also home to the Blackspring Ridge Wind project, which, when it was installed in 2014, was the largest single site in Canada.

"We do have a little bit of experience in the wind sector. And then we also have a solar farm that is in the process of being built right now," said Schneider.

Alberta could lead Canada in wind and solar power by 2025, expert says

$500M investment means construction to start on Canada's largest solar farm this year

He says having this sector come to their county has changed the landscape in terms of investments.

"For rough numbers, when the Blackspring Ridge project came online, it was about 20 per cent of all the county's entire tax base, which is, you know, quite substantial," he said.

"When you compare it to at the very peak of oil and gas (in 2004 and 2005) that made up 50 per cent of our tax base. So it's big numbers and they definitely change things."

The utility commission will hear public submissions on the wind farm until Feb. 24., but ultimately it is a provincial decision as opposed to municipal, Schneider says.

"We definitely do hear people with some current concerns on these, especially when you're proposing towers that are taller than the Calgary Tower," he said.

"Ultimately, the Alberta Utility Commission is the one that kind of makes the final decision."

Listen to the full interview below:

Calgary Eyeopener
How Vulcan County is finding itself in a bit of a green energy revolution. 8:14
With files from the Calgary Eyeopener.

1% PARASITES

Vancouver CEO and actress (WIFE) charged after flying 2,200 km to sneak into COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Yukon

The couple allegedly presented themselves as visiting (TEMP) workers, misleading staff at the mobile vaccination clinic in Beaver Creek

Author of the article: Gordon McIntyre

Publishing date:Jan 26, 2021 • 

Rod Baker and Ekaterina Baker. PHOTO BY FACEBOOK

In an act that B.C. Solicitor-General Mike Farnworth called despicable, a top Vancouver casino executive and his wife flew to a small town in the Yukon last week to receive early COVID-19 vaccinations.

“I can’t believe I’ve ever seen or heard of such a despicable, disgusting sense of entitlement and lack of a moral compass,” said Farnworth, whose portfolio includes public safety.

The province’s health officer and health minister have outlined a detailed plan for the distribution of the COVID vaccine to British Columbians, Farnworth added, reiterating that public health officials are currently focusing on high-risk groups.

Tickets filed with a court registry in Whitehorse last Thursday show Rodney Baker, 55, and Ekaterina Baker, 32, both of Vancouver, were each charged with one count of failing to self-isolate for 14 days, and one count of failing to act in a manner consistent with their declarations upon arriving in Yukon.

Each was fined $1,000, plus fees, under the Yukon’s Civil Emergency Measures Act. The charges have not been proven in court.

Dr. Bonnie Henry stressed on Monday the need to stoptravel because we take our risks with us and bring risks back from where we have been.

“I think they should be ashamed of themselves,” she said when asked about the Bakers. “They put a community at risk for their own benefit, and that to me is appalling.”

She took heart, she said, in her belief that the vast majority of British Columbians and Canadians would not do the same.

Rod Baker resigned on Monday as president and CEO of Great Canadian Gaming Corp., the company said. It owns casinos in Richmond, Surrey and Chilliwack, as well as Hastings Racecourse, among other Metro Vancouver holdings.

Last month, Great Canadian shareholders agreed to sell the company to an American firm, pending regulatory approval.

Ekaterina Baker, an actress, is described on her IMDb site as an up-and-coming Eastern European version of Charlize Theron

.

Scenes outside the condo owned by Ekaterina Baker. 

PHOTO BY NICK PROCAYLO /PNG

A Postmedia reporter and photographer went to the downtown Vancouver address on Alberni Street listed on the tickets the couple received in the Yukon, but were not able to speak with them.

The two allegedly travelled from Vancouver to Whitehorse, then chartered a private plane to fly them to Beaver Creek, an isolated village of about 100 people near the Alaskan border.

The couple misrepresented themselves “in various ways,” said John Streicker, the Yukon’s community services minister, including trying to pretend they worked at a local motel.

Streicker’s office was notified about the couple after they had received their Moderna vaccinations and flown back to Whitehorse. Officers went to the address they had declared was where they would quarantine, but discovered the couple was already preparing to fly home to Vancouver.

Angela Demit, chief of the White River First Nation, said her people were prioritized to get the vaccine because of the community’s remoteness, its elderly population and limited access to health care.

“We are deeply concerned by the actions of individuals who put our Elders and vulnerable people at risk to jump the line for selfish purposes,” she said. “We implore all Canadians to respect the vaccination rollout process and to not take similar actions.”

Great Canadian Gaming spokesman Chuck Keeling said in a statement the company complies with guidelines from public health authorities.

“Our overriding focus as a company is doing everything we can to contribute to the containment of COVID-19,” he said.

— with file from Canadian Press

‘Stories the numbers tell’: Critics ask why Alberta sat on coal contamination data
By Bob Weber The Canadian Press
Posted January 26, 2021 


In response to intense public reaction, the UCP caucus has launched a new campaign. It centers on the province's decision to rescind the coal policy. The party says it was intending to counter misinformation but others say their attempt at the facts isn't entirely true. Jill Croteau reports.

Critics are asking why Alberta Environment has been sitting on years worth of data about pollution from coal mines while the government considers a dramatic expansion of the industry.

“It raises some important questions about our ability to trust what’s going on,” said New Democrat environment critic Marlin Schmidt. “The fact (Alberta Environment) hasn’t reported publicly is extremely concerning.”


READ MORE: Contaminant from coal mines already high in some Alberta rivers: unreported data

On Monday, The Canadian Press reported on an analysis of coal mine contamination in the Gregg and McLeod Rivers and Luscar Creek near Jasper, Alta., dating back to the 1990s. It found toxic levels of selenium many times over the amount considered safe for aquatic life.

The Gregg and Luscar Creek mines closed in the early 2000s. Selenium levels from both declined, at best, only gradually over more than 15 years of remediation

In the case of the Cheviot mine on the McLeod River, levels gradually grew between 2005 and 2017. The operation closed last June.


READ MORE: As Alberta debates coal mining, industry already affecting once protected Rockies

The data also shows the provincial government knew about the levels for at least 15 years and did not report anything after 2006. The information was available in raw form, but Schmidt said it isn’t enough to simply collect information.

“There are numbers and then there are the numbers that the stories tell. That’s the piece that’s missing.”

3:05 Metallurgical coal exploration in Alberta unearths anger

The New Democrats were in power for four of those years. Schmidt said sitting on the information is worse now because Alberta is going through a wrenching debate over the present government’s plans to expand the industry by opening up the Rocky Mountains to open-pit, mountaintop coal mines — an option that did not exist under the NDP.

“This data’s relevance is more important now,” he said.

READ MORE: Alberta government policy change on coal mining in Rockies in court

Alberta Environment has pointed out that the raw data has always been public. Spokesman John Muir promised the province would soon release its own report on water downstream of coal mines.

Lack of action shows that monitoring often promised by industry and government as new projects are considered isn’t enough, said Katie Morrison of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

“On those rivers we’re seeing that monitoring hasn’t been enough to actually control selenium. We just continue to promise monitoring. We didn’t see action to bring those selenium numbers down.”

1:50 Fly fishing businessman weighs in on Alberta’s controversial coal policy

A 2006 provincial report found that selenium was already harming fish. As well, a 2005 published study co-authored by provincial scientists found rainbow trout were suffering facial and skeletal deformities from selenium

The province has recently sold about 1.4 million hectares of coal exploration leases. Hundreds of drill sites and kilometres of new roads have already been permitted on previously unmined mountainsides. One new coal mine, Benga Mining’s Grassy Mountain project in the Crowsnest Pass in southwestern Alberta, is before a joint federal-provincial review.

READ MORE: Alberta cancels recently issued coal leases in response to public outcry

The information on the old coal mines shows what’s at issue for new ones, said Morrison.

“Those stakes are really high. (Selenium release) has been happening other places and they have not been able to get the selenium under control.”

Benga says a new method should allow the mine to treat 99 per cent of its selenium. As well, the mine has been designed to minimize contact between water and selenium-bearing rocks, the company says.

1:52 Alberta government cancels some coal leases after public outcry – Jan 18, 2021

Morrison said that treatment is still unproven. She said if its efficiency falls to even 90 per cent, selenium levels in nearby streams will cross thresholds safe for aquatic life.

Morrison said her group produced expert testimony at the Benga hearings suggesting the company doesn’t have a convincing long-term plan for controlling selenium long into the future.

“We have not seen that technology work at the scale that we’ll need it to or with the amount of selenium we’re likely to see.”


READ MORE: Public opposition growing: Petitions against Alberta coal mines top 100K signatures

© 2021 The Canadian Press

Keystone XL 'appears to be dead,' says Notley

•Jan 25, 2021

CBC News

Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley says a trade war with the U.S. is not the best method to pursue any kind of retaliation. U.S. President Joe Biden.

10 Minutes

NYC pension funds to divest billions from fossil fuels

•Jan 26, 2021


Associated Press

New York City officials announced Tuesday that two pension funds for city workers will divest an estimated $4 billion in securities related to fossil fuel companies in order to promote clean energy use. (Jan. 26)

OUR LIVING PLANET

In Pictures: Indonesia’s Merapi volcano unleashes river of lava

Mount Merapi’s new eruption has set off its longest lava flow since the volcano’s danger level was raised in November.

Mount Merapi is Indonesia's most active volcano [Agung Supriyanto/AFP]
27 Jan 2021


The Mount Merapi volcano on Indonesia’s Java island has spewed searing ash and other volcanic debris that poured down its slopes on Wednesday, the country’s geological agency said.

Pyroclastic flows – a fast-moving mixture of extremely hot rock fragments, gas, and ash – blasted from the volcano for four hours in the early morning, according to the Research and Development Center for Geological Disaster Technology, which monitors the volcano.

There were no reports of casualties and the alert level remained at the second-highest level, it said.

This was Mount Merapi’s biggest lava flow since authorities raised its danger level in November, said Hanik Humaida, head of Yogyakarta’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center.

Authorities in November had evacuated nearly 2,000 people living on the mountain in Magelang and Sleman districts on Java Island but most have since returned. There has been no new evacuation.

The alert was being maintained at the second-highest level and authorities told people to stay out of the existing 5-kilometre (3-mile) danger zone around the crater as the local administrations in Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces closely monitor the situation.


The 2,968-meter (9,737-foot) volcano is on the densely populated island of Java and near the ancient city of Yogyakarta. It is the most active of dozens of Indonesian volcanoes and has repeatedly erupted with lava and gas clouds recently.

Merapi’s last major eruption in 2010 killed 347 people.

Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the ocean.

People look up at Mount Merapi, Indonesia's most active volcano, as it spews rocks and ash. [Agung Supriyanto/AFP]

This was Mount Merapi’s biggest lava flow since authorities raised its danger level in November. [Agung Supriyanto/AFP]

A volunteer monitors Mount Merapi during the new eruption. [Slamet Riyadi/AP Photo]

A man sprays insecticide on his crops as Mount Merapi is seen erupting in the background. There has been no new evacuation since authorities evacuated nearly 2,000 people in November, most of whom have since returned. [Slamet Riyadi/AP Photo]

Hot lava runs down from the crater of Mount Merapi, behind a mosque in Sleman. [Slamet Riyadi/AP Photo]

The 2,968-meter (9,737-foot) volcano is on the densely populated island of Java and near the ancient city of Yogyakarta. [Agung Supriyanto/AFP]

It is the most active of dozens of Indonesian volcanoes and has repeatedly erupted with lava and gas clouds recently. [Agung Supriyanto/AFP]

Indonesia: Hundreds evacuated as Mount Merapi spews hot clouds

Authorities evacuate residents from the fertile slopes of the mountain as it belches hot gas and debris.

The geological authority had raised the alert level of Mount Merapi to the second-highest level in November after sensors picked up increasing activity [Taufiq Rozzaq/AP Photo]

7 Jan 2021

Indonesia’s Mount Merapi volcano spewed avalanches of hot clouds on Thursday morning as hundreds of residents were evacuated from its fertile slopes.

Lighter eruptions continued during the day, with a column of hot clouds rising 200 metres (656 feet) above the crater.

The initial eruption of pyroclastic clouds was obscured by fog over the mountain. The amplitude record and seismic recording data from Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center estimated the hot clouds spread less than 1km (0.6 miles) from the crater.

Mount Merapi’s last big eruption in 2010 had killed 347 people and caused the evacuation of 20,000 villagers [Ali Lutfi/EPA]Local authorities evacuated more than 500 people living on the mountain in Magelang district on Java Island.


“Until now, the potential danger is not more than 5 km [3 miles],” chief of Yogyakarta’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center, Hanik Humaida, said in a statement.


The geological authority had raised the alert level of Mount Merapi to the second-highest level in November after sensors picked up increasing activity. Tourism and mining activities were halted.

The 2,968-metre (9,737-foot) mountain is about 30km (19 miles) from the Yogyakarta city centre. About a quarter-million people live within 10km (6 miles) of the volcano, according to authorities in surrounding districts.

It spewed ash and hot gas in a column as high as 6km (4 miles) into the sky in June, but no casualties were reported.

Its last big eruption in 2010 had killed 347 people and caused the evacuation of 20,000 villagers.

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 250 million people, sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Government seismologists monitor more than 120 active volcanoes.

SOURCE : AP

KEEP READING

Indonesian volcano erupts, forcing residents to flee

Indonesia: Thousands evacuated amid rising activity in volcanoes

Indonesia’s Mount Merapi spews ash in new eruption

#WAGETHEFT

Alberta leaving more than $675 million in federal emergency funds unspent: report

Alberta is sitting on the most unspent federal emergency COVID-19 funds, according to a new study from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

© Provided by Edmonton Journal Travis Toews, President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance, speaks during a press conference at the Alberta Legislature announcing a panel looking into the reform of Alberta's automobile insurance system in Edmonton, on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019. The panel are comprised of Chris Daniel (back right), consumer representative with the Automobile Insurance Rate Board, Shelley Miller (not shown), auto insurance reform lawyer and Dr. Larry Ohlhauser (back left), chief medical advisor to the superintendent of insurance. File photo.

The Tuesday report tracked whether the federal or provincial government picked up the tab for COVID-19 measures in 2020, showing there is more than $675 million in federal money still on the table for essential worker wage top-ups, job training in hard-hit sectors, rapid housing initiatives, long-term care supports, and help for early childhood educators.

Almost every province is sitting on unspent federal money, with a total of $374 billion earmarked in spending between the federal and provincial governments.

However, Alberta left the most federal transfers untouched and grants not accessed, with Ontario close behind at just more than $660 million. Alberta received the most, on a per-capita basis, from the federal government, while spending among the least based on provincial gross domestic product (GDP).

That is largely because, as first published by the Alberta Federation of Labour in November , Alberta didn’t access the full federal amount available for the low wage essential worker top-up. Of the $348 million available to Alberta in particular, the province only accessed $12 million, leaving $335.8 million unspent.

David MacDonald, the author of the report, said on the wage top-up, Alberta was an outlier.

MacDonald said once you adjust for each province’s capacity to spend, or GDP, B.C. is spending three times as much as Alberta.

“The federal government was a huge help in Alberta. Alberta received far more federal money on a per capita basis than any other province,” said MacDonald

Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) president Mike Parker said the report illustrated a “mind-blowing” failure.

“This is just a shot in the arm that we so desperately needed, and it’s been denied to all Albertans, not just those working on the front lines of health care,” said Parker. He said he’s fielded hundreds of inquiries from members about the emergency money, but he has not been able to get further information from the Alberta government.

In November, Finance Minister Travis Toews said the wage top-up was being held up until after the labour and health ministries completed an “assessment of need.”

Toews’s office did not provide comment as of press time Tuesday.

NDP Opposition Leader Rachel Notley said at a news conference Tuesday the unspent money represented “profound negligence” on the part of the Alberta government.

“This is a government that goes running off to Ottawa to scream at them about them not putting enough money into Alberta’s economy. Let us be very clear, these hundreds of millions of dollars, if our government would step up and act on it, would go directly into the pockets of Alberta workers, and therefore directly into our economy,” said Notley.

According to the report, total spending in Alberta is worth $11,200 per person — with federal supports amounting to $10,400 per person in Alberta. The report also says Albertans actually receive $1,200 more per person from the federal government than any other province.

Business supports represent the largest portion of emergency COVID-19 spending, amounting to $5,500 for every Albertan, which were mostly driven by the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loan program.

In Alberta, provincially-funded business measures are also large compared to other provinces, including accelerating the corporate tax cut to eight per cent.

The report also noted that Alberta and five other provinces don’t have sufficient plans in place to access the full amount of federal long-term care funds.

Easing rules for parental benefits created inequities among parents, documents say


OTTAWA — Newly released documents show federal officials have been aware since the fall that some new parents might be receiving a smaller amount of money than they would have if not for a change in the way COVID-19 pandemic benefits are delivered to Canadians.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

That is due to a shift in late September, when the employment insurance system kicked back into gear and three new benefits rolled out to replace the Canada Emergency Response Benefit that was supporting Canadians who had lost income since the spring.

On Sept. 27, eligible recipients started moving on to the decades-old EI system where the minimum weekly payment was set at $500 in line with the three "recovery" benefits.

Prior to that date, benefits were calculated based on earnings, meaning any new parent that started their EI claim before the change could receive less than $500 a week.

The documents obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act note the policy created inequities, and point to a similar effect for parents who will start claims after Sept. 25 this year, when the temporary rules are set to expire.

Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough's office says the government will make any necessary changes so new parents don't face "additional barriers accessing maternity or parental benefits as a result of COVID-19."

Changes to the EI program can take anywhere between three and 18 months to come into force, and they generally take effect on a particular date.

Claims made before that date are often ineligible unless the change is simple and very specific to avoid what the document describes as the need to review claims that began "as much as 100 weeks in the past."

But the undated memo outlines multiple, rapid changes and revisions to parental benefit rules in the wake of the CERB. When partial or retroactive changes were made, more problems seem to have cropped up.

There were issues with how the system handled soon-to-be-mothers applying for emergency aid, which denied them CERB payments until changes to the system could be made and back payments processed.

As well, other new parents, or those waiting the birth of their child, were put directly on EI benefits if they had enough hours to qualify, while those that didn't were put on the CERB until the government came up with a fix.

That fix meant a one-time reduction in the number of hours needed to qualify for benefits to address concerns that some parents would lose out on benefits because they lost work hours through no fault of their own.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, over 35 per cent of new mothers outside of Quebec, which has its own system, didn't qualify for federal benefits.

The pandemic has shone a light on the long-standing issue around the hours requirement, said Brock University's Andrea Doucet, an expert on parental-leave programs.

"This was made even worse as women lost jobs and reduced (their) hours," Doucet said.

"The reduction in insurable hours was presented as temporary, but will it lead to more inclusive policies that enable more parents to make claims?"

Kate Bezanson, an expert on family and labour market policy, said the document points a need for a rethink of the parental leave program, noting that leave policies work hand-in-hand with child care and employment efforts.

The Liberals have said they want to create a national child-care system, part of a plan to help more mothers enter the labour market.

"We want people to have babies, and take care of those babies happily, and also have jobs to return to and be able to do that seamlessly," said Bezanson, associate dean of social sciences at Brock University.

"This is one of those moments where if we're looking holistically and we're looking globally at our policy portfolios, let's put them together and get them to talk to each other and make the changes that have been long overdue."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2021.

Jordan Press, The Canadian Press

New work permit program for international 

graduates in Canada taking applications

A new work permit program for international students in Canada is taking applications starting today.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The federal government announced the program this month as part of a bid to convince more people to settle in Canada permanently.

Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said at the time that former students with post-graduation work permits that have expired or will soon expire can now apply for open work permits.

The program will offer affected people 18 more months to stay in the country to look for work.

The federal department estimates that about 52,000 graduates could benefit.

Sarom Rho, who leads a migrant student campaign with Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, says the "massive" change will benefit many, but others are still left out.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2021.

The Canadian Press