News/Canada/British Columbia

Researchers at the University of B.C. have created a new website and social media campaign they hope will empower young people to take the experience of period pain more seriously.The website Period Pain is Real Pain, which was created with the input of youth partners, includes resources about period pain, related conditions like endometriosis, and pain relief.It also features a free quiz that helps youth determine whether they should speak to a health-care provider about their pain. Period pain common: researcherUBC PhD student and campaign developer Zeba Khan, who studies period pain care in Canada, said period pain is a very common experience, one that affects more than 60 per cent of females of reproductive age."Despite being so common, there is this narrative that period pain is norma...

High-profile officials in the U.S. federal government, along with a prominent billionaire, are now weighing in on the fate of a flock of ostriches ordered killed on a farm in a remote part of the B.C. Interior.Former TV host Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is now the administrator for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has offered to relocate the birds to his ranch in Florida, as first reported by the New York Post.CBC News has confirmed the offer with Katie Pasitney, who is acting as a spokesperson for Universal Ostrich in Edgewood, B.C., which is co-owned by her mother. She said Oz had called the farm Monday morning to discuss the offer, and they were considering it, but in a later interview with the Canadian Press, she said they are not interested in relocating the birds.Meanwhile,...

The union representing Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) workers tasked with carrying out a cull at a B.C. ostrich farm says there are fears over the workers' safety as emotions run high.Over 400 birds at Universal Ostrich farm in Edgewood, B.C., face the prospect of a cull due to an avian flu detection in December.The CFIA, which is handling Canada's response to an ongoing avian flu outbreak, won a court case earlier this month and says the cull will go ahead due to concerns over the spread and mutation of the virus.But a vocal contingent of supporters — including U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — has spoken out against the cull, arguing the flightless birds, many decades old, pose little threat of spreading avian flu and the herd should be preserved for scientific study....

RCMP say they are investigating after a second ostrich was found dead in suspicious circumstances on a B.C. farm where roughly 400 of the birds have been ordered killed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).Though a kill order for the ostriches is in place, the CFIA has said the cull will be "humane", with "veterinary oversight." In the meantime, the RCMP are monitoring the farm to ensure overall safety.This is the second investigation into an ostrich death at the farm this year, with RCMP already investigating after one of the birds was shot on March 21.The latest investigation was first confirmed by the Canadian Press.RCMP did not provide an update on that earlier investigation, nor did they confirm the circumstances of the most recent death, which farm spokesperson Katie Pasitne...

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he has talked to Canadian health officials about sparing a flock of ostriches in British Columbia that have been ordered killed due to avian flu fears.In a statement posted to X, Kennedy says that he spoke with Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) president Paul MacKinnon on Thursday to discuss the fate of the roughly 400 ostriches at Universal Ostrich in Edgewood, B.C. where avian flu was detected in two dead birds in December 2024.In a letter to MacKinnon and posted to X, Kennedy reiterates that he is "respectfully requesting" the CFIA "consider not culling the entire flock of ostriches," arguing "we believe there is significant value in studying this population."WATCH | Supporters gather at ostrich farm slated for cull: Protesters join ...

"Do you want to go faster?" Jayne Imeson already knew the answer she was going to get from her six-year-old son, Casey, sitting astride his new steed in a park in Central Saanich, B.C.He nodded with a smile."Always faster — this kid loves his speed," Imeson said.Casey's usual ride is a Fjord horse named Valla, but on Thursday, he became the first official user of the MiraColt horse-riding motion simulator developed for the Victoria Therapeutic Riding Association (VTRA). The first-of-its-kind device combines a commercially available riding simulator with an app-based software application designed by CanAssist, an organization part of the University of Victoria, dedicated to helping people with disabilities.The system allows riders to control the speed of their simulated ride through a varie...

Two former employees have filed an application for a class action lawsuit against Interior Health in the B.C. Supreme Court.The lawsuit, filed May 22, alleges the employer was reckless and tried to conceal the full extent of the data breach that resulted in the personal information of thousands of employees being stolen and then sold on the dark web.As a result, it says, those affected didn't have the opportunity to fully protect themselves — and they are still living with the consequences."The effects of this data breach have been life-altering," said Justin Giovanetti, the lawyer representing the two former employees. "Identities have been stolen, used to commit fraud."The lawsuit has yet to be certified, and none of the allegations have been proven in court.CBC News contacted Interior H...

On The Island7:32Texas nurse wants to move to NanaimoBC is streamlining the process for US nurses to come work in BC. We hear from Rachael Smith-Taylor, who works as a registered nurse in Belton, Texas, but wants to move to Nanaimo.  A Texas-based nurse is hoping to relocate permanently to Canada after taking part in a festival that invited Americans to visit Nanaimo, B.C., amid turmoil between the neighbouring countries.Rachael Smith-Taylor attended the event last month and used it as an opportunity to scope out the possibility of starting a new life in Canada."I'm a wife in a same-sex marriage needing to get out of a red state," she said in an interview with CBC News.She and her wife, Lisa, also a nurse, live in Texas with their three children. Smith-Taylor says the re-election of Donald...

The jury in a British Columbia coroner's inquest into the overdose death of a University of Victoria student has recommended a raft of measures for government, schools and B.C.'s emergency dispatch system.Key among the five-person jury's recommendations released late Thursday morning were boosting education around safe drug use, making sure campus buildings were clearly addressed and stocked with emergency equipment, and updated protocols for campus security and 911 calls.Sidney McIntyre-Starko, 18, died in January 2024 after snorting fentanyl in her UVic student residence with two dorm-mates.Sidney McIntyre-Sturko suffered a fatal fentanyl overdose on the third floor of the Sir Arthur Currie student residence on the University of Victoria campus. (UVic website)The coroner's inquest into h...

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says the cull of a flock of ostriches in southwest B.C. will move forward in order to fight the threat of avian flu, but it won't be providing details of the operation in advance.The notice comes as supporters of the farm are gathering in Edgewood, B.C., to try to stop it.The CFIA says it is moving ahead with the cull following a court ruling issued May 13 that found the agency had followed the proper procedures for making the decision to order the procedure, and that it has a broad mandate to make the decisions on behalf of the Canadian government.Though the judge in the case said he sympathized with the farm for the economic and emotional toll the loss of its birds would have, he also wrote in his decision that must be balanced against the great...