Kenney to be sworn in Tuesday
The United Conservative Party led by Jason Kenney will officially take over the Alberta government today (Tuesday). It will be the formal end of the four-year NDP government under Premier Rachel Notley. Kenney and his cabinet members will be sworn in at a ceremony in Edmonton and the first meeting is expected to happen immediately afterwards.
Canada streamlining “legacy” refugees
The backlog of “legacy” refugees waiting over seven years to find out if they can stay in Canada will soon be cleared. Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said the old list of claims stood at 32,000 at one point and will be cut down to practically zero. The backlog was created when the Conservative government established a 60-day deadline for new refugee hearings.
Canadian led study on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome published
Orphans, inmates and Indigenous groups are the most at risk for Fetal alcohol syndrome. That’s according to a Canadian led study published today. The report from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health covered nearly 70 studies across 17 countries. It identified five sub-populations found to have 10 to 40 times higher chance of the disorder.
Anti-Semitic harassment a growing concern in Canada
Antisemitism is on the rise in Canada for the third straight year. A report from B’nai Birth saw a 16.5 per cent rise in anti-semantic harassment, vandalism and violence with over 2,000 incidents across the country last year. That is 300 more than in 2017. The report added most of the harassment was through social media. It said 80 percent of those incidents were through social media and ranged from malicious sentiments to threats of violence and calls for genocide.
Youth suicide sees 19 year high in U.S.
Teen suicides rose to a 19 year high in the U.S. and a Netflix series is being blamed. Since the show “13 Reasons Why” was released in March 2017 there were almost 200 more youth suicides than usual after considering historical and seasonal trends. April of 2017 saw 190 U.S. youths take their own lives at a rate 30 per cent higher than the five years previous.
