News/Canada/Ottawa

A class-action lawsuit that hopes to help pregnant mothers who were red-flagged and had their newborns taken away by child welfare agencies has been certified to proceed against the Ontario government — but it's only a partial win for the plaintiffs.Part of the lawsuit — to hold 49 children's aid societies (CAS) across the province accountable for those "birth alerts" — failed to get the green light from an Ontario Superior Court judge.It's taken three years for the proposed class action to reach this certification ruling — a step necessary before a group lawsuit can proceed to trial. Now, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs says appealing the court's decision could delay justice for parents a bit longer.Birth alerts are notifications that child welfare agencies issued to hospitals about ...

More than a year after Belleville, Ont., declared a state of emergency triggered by a spate of overdoses linked to the opioid epidemic, people at the heart of the crisis say the situation has gone from bad to worse. Brian Orford lives on Belleville's streets. He's among those who survived last year's batch of tainted drugs — fentanyl, often laced with benzodiazepines or animal tranquilizers. "I'm kind of bummed out because I'm here, I'm on the streets trying to push harder than ever to get a place and get work and everything again," said Orford. Orford said his girlfriend is pregnant and is staying in one of the very few shelter beds in town, while he sleeps behind the Salvation Army building. They are desperate for housing. "She's got a place to lay her head at night, but I'm still over h...

Amid growing concern from Ontarians with disabilities and their advocates, the province has announced it will not claw back the incoming Canada Disability Benefit (CDB). The CDB was passed in 2023, and the government committed $6.1 billion to it in the 2024 federal budget. Beginning in July, eligible recipients can receive up to $2,400 per year, or a maximum of $200 per month.In a news release on Tuesday, the province announced it will be exempting the federal benefit as income. That means recipients won't have money deducted from their provincial social assistance payments or entitlements such as the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).Since the CDB's passage, advocates have feared the provinces and territories may claw back the benefit. As of this March, at least seven have promise...

You've likely let your handwashing habit slide as the pandemic moved out of the spotlight.Jason Tetro doesn't like it, but he understands. The Canadian microbiologist and handwashing evangelist said the COVID-19 health crisis helped focus people's minds on proper hand hygiene, but even as early March 2020 he was predicting a backslide once the immediate threat of a new virus faded.  Surveys on handwashing trends suggest Tetro was right."I feel vindicated, but at the same time it's really depressing," he said.Tetro, who wrote The Germ Code and The Germ Files, said high-touch surfaces like door handles, shared office equipment and cellphones still carry the risk of microbes, so people should wash their hands or at least use sanitizer after touching them."Unfortunately, a lot of people simply...

A 24-year-old Kingston, Ont., woman has been sentenced to house arrest for what a judge called a series of lies that included forging nursing credentials that allowed her to treat roughly 200 patients before being found out.Madeline Stenhouse appeared in the Ontario Court of Justice on Tuesday wearing a black suit and glasses. She nodded as Justice Alison Wheeler described her "youthfulness" as a reason to show restraint in sentencing."Ms. Stenhouses's offending was the product of immaturity in not knowing how to accept or deal with the fact that she failed nursing school," the judge read from her decision.The fake nurse was sentenced to two years less a day to be served in the community, including 18 months of house arrest.She was also ordered to complete 240 hours of community service wi...

This First Person column is written by Jessica Sunter, a nurse living with auditory processing disorder in Ottawa. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ."We're having cheese 'n' kabobs."That's what I heard my spouse say. I knew I didn't hear it right but I couldn't figure out why. So I told her what I heard, and I asked her to repeat herself."Chicken kebabs," she repeated. Ah yes, that made more sense. What didn't make sense was why I misunderstood the first time when I was literally sitting one foot away from her.As I would soon confirm with testing, it's not because my ears were struggling to hear. Instead, my brain was struggling to process the sounds.WATCH | What it feels like to live with auditory processing disorder: Like dyslexia, but for the ears...

A doctor running a network of addiction clinics across Ontario, including an Ottawa location that offers safer opioid supply, is billing public insurance about $2.5 million per year.Dr. Suman Koka is the sole officer and director of Northwood Recovery, which has locations in North York, Hamilton and Manitoulin Island. It operates under the name Recovery North in Sudbury, Timmins and Sault Ste. Marie.Northwood Recovery opened its first Ottawa location in Hintonburg last year, but quietly moved it to Chinatown this March.Neighbours in both Hintonburg and Chinatown have criticized Koka for prescribing opioid medications to fentanyl users. They say his patients are trading the prescription drugs on the street to get harder substances, attracting dealers and crime to the area.City councillors r...

A group of Black psychologists is fearful of a rollback to equity, diversity and inclusion as well as truth and reconciliation initiatives within the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) following proposed changes to the organization's strategic plan, while the association's leadership insists those goals remain foundational.The CPA is Canada's largest association for psychology, with over 7,000 voluntary members and 35 specialized sections, including for Black, Asian, and Indigenous psychology.The organization recently sent a draft proposal for its new strategic plan to members for discussion. In its new plan, the board proposed removing two specific goals relating to equity, diversity and inclusion as well as truth and reconciliation initiatives and making them "foundational elements...

Renowned Ottawa heart surgeon Marc Ruel was planning a move to the United States last year, with the University of California, San Francisco "thrilled to announce" that he would be leading a heart division in their surgery department.But Donald Trump's threats toward Canada were such that Ruel has now decided to remain in Canada. "Canada is under duress right now," he told CBC. "I felt my role and duty at this point was to directly serve my country from within."Ruel is not the only medical professional now reluctant to work in the United States.That means Canada's health-care system could stand to benefit from the political upheaval unleashed by the U.S. president, as American physicians look to move north and Canadians forgo opportunities south of the border.'I don't want to do politics'F...

Ontario's system to support people with developmental disabilities is "on the verge of collapse" because of low funding, according to several agencies that have formed a coalition to call on the provincial government to act. According to the coalition, 52,000 Ontarians are on waitlists for developmental supports and services, including about 5,000 in eastern Ontario and Ottawa.Melanie Groulx is among those waitlisted. She's an Ottawa resident who has autism and high support needs, and she's been on the emergency waitlist for supportive housing for four years.Her mother, Carrie Groulx, said one question haunts her: "What's going to happen to my child after I'm gone?"Groulx blamed underfunding for her daughter's long wait and the lack of programs, and the coalition agrees."We are starting to...