Municipal

In operation for several months, the new wastewater treatment system of L’Anse-Saint-Jean was the subject of an announcement on Monday during which the government of Quebec confirmed having provided aid of 22 million dollars.

The sum made it possible to carry out major work in the municipality of Bas-Saguenay. Since 2022, various projects have been successfully completed.

The roadway on rue Saint-Jean-Baptiste was resurfaced thanks to this amount.

Rain and wastewater management has also been improved.

Until a few months ago, screeners filtered pieces of dirty water. These were thrown without biological treatment into the Saguenay River.

A long-awaited project

Wastewater management has been discussed and awaited for nearly 25 years in L’Anse-Saint-Jean.

The scale of the work, if we look at the aerated ponds, is still very important. I don’t know how many truck trips were made, but it was phenomenal to see and the work also in the heart of the village and on the main street, from the church to the corner of the roads. It was still impressive. So, it was a very, very important challenge which was met brilliantly, said the mayor of Anjeanne, Richard Perron, on Monday morning.

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Aerated ponds have an impressive size.

Photo : Radio-Canada / Annie-Claude Brisson

The work was made possible thanks to the financial participation of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility.

The project was 95% subsidized by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. For the remaining 5%, we were able to apply part of the technology, i.e. $700 to $800,000 that we were able to put into this project, so there remained $300,000 to $400,000 which was at the responsibility of the Municipality, continued the mayor.

A program in place

Anse-Saint-Jean now has a compliant wastewater treatment system, but this is not the case everywhere in Quebec. The provincial government ensures that programs exist.

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The mayor of L’Anse-Saint-Jean, Richard Perron, the Minister of Municipal Affairs, Andrée Laforest, and the MP for Dubuc, François Tremblay, took part in the press conference.

Photo : Radio-Canada / Annie-Claude Brisson

We still have 2.4 billion that we have just invested in the PRIMEAU program, for all municipalities in Quebec. Then, we say, it is essential to work and improve our municipal water infrastructure and wastewater treatment plants too. I am very lucky because I see that municipalities now understand the priority of climate change, said Minister Andrée Laforest, also MP for Chicoutimi-Nord.

According to the latest data, 77 municipalities in Quebec were still dumping their wastewater into the environment last June.

The entire board of directors of the financially troubled London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) hospital system is resigning after the province appointed an overseer to help turn around the health-care facility.

The supervisor in question, David Musyj, was until his appointment the interim president and CEO of the LHSC, which is projecting a budget deficit of $150 million this year.

Most recently, Mr. Musyj announced the dismissal of a third of LHSC’s directors in order to save $14 million.

In its statement, the province said Musyj will work closely with senior management and LHSC employees to address concerns about the hospital’s operations, governance and management practices, including troubling financial performance, that were raised in a third-party assessment.

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David Musyj, who has been acting president and CEO of the London Health Sciences Centre since last May, has just been appointed supervisor of the hospital network by the province.

Photo : CBC / Alex Brockman

In a statement released shortly after the province’s announcement, Musyj said he sincerely thanked the entire board of directors who decided to voluntarily resign in recognition of the need for a new path forward. [l’hôpital] under new leadership.

The Board of Directors [démissionnaire] fully supports the appointment of Supervisor and LHSC’s journey towards sustainable transformation.

A quote from David Musyj, Supervisor of London Health Sciences Centre

The province said in its statement that Musyj will provide the Ministry of Health and Ontario Health with regular updates on his work, as well as a final report that will help restore effective governance structures and practices, improve finances and stabilize the hospital’s operations.

Under Ontario’s Public Hospitals Act, the province has the authority to appoint a supervisor to head a hospital when there are management concerns.

Victoria Hospital in Renfrew, in eastern Ontario, is also managed by a supervisor appointed last June.

Prior to his appointment as interim CEO of LHSC, David Musyj was President and CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital, where he is being temporarily replaced by Karen Riddell.

More information to follow

You will soon no longer need your hospital card to receive care at a CHU de Québec hospital center, Radio-Canada has learned.

This is already the case, in particular, for emergencies and hospitalizations, reports in writing François Cattapan, external communications advisor at the CHU de Québec – Université Laval, which includes the Centre hospitalier de l’Université Laval (CHUL), the Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus, the Hôpital du Saint-Sacrement, the Hôpital Saint-François d’Assise, and the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec.

Mr. Cattapan adds that the CHU is in transitional mode in terms of identifying its clientele, urging them not to get rid of them too quickly since they are still required for appointments in external clinics. […] and outpatient sectors.

Patients should therefore keep them until the new identification process is fully rolled out, he insists.

And what will this new process consist of?

[Il] will rely on dual identification (two official identity cards) via our systems, Mr. Cattapan says. When the user is identified, we can print either an identification label, affixed to the patient file, or a bracelet, for hospitalization.

The timetable has not yet been specified, however.

We still have various tasks to do in order to coordinate the deployment of the required equipment in the five hospitals of the CHU, indicates the spokesperson.

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Almost all health establishments in Quebec use addressographs. (Archive photo)

Photo : Radio-Canada

Last February, Radio-Canada reported that addressographs, the machines used for 40 years to print information from patients’ hospital cards on medical forms, were causing headaches for health care personnel, particularly due to a shortage of ink rollers.

Forms, prescriptions… With addressographs, staff must print the raised characters of a hospital card on each page of medical records.

With the collaboration of Marc-André Boivin

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith wants to amend the Alberta Bill of Rights, including allowing Albertans to own a firearm and choose whether to receive medical treatments, including vaccinations.

In a video of just over 3 minutes posted on social media, the leader of the United Conservative Party said that the Alberta Bill of Rights reflects the province’s shared values.

The Bill of Rights has served its purpose well over the years, but as our society evolves, so too must our laws to ensure that our rights and freedoms remain adequately protected in an ever-changing world.

A quote from Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta

Danielle Smith wants to enshrine in law the right of Albertans to decide whether or not to receive medical treatment.

Three points Danielle Smith wants to enshrine in Alberta’s Bill of Rights

Every person in our province who has the mental capacity to do so will have the right to decide whether or not to be vaccinated, she said, adding that the same would be possible for any medical procedure.

She spoke about how recent years have been a challenge for the right to bodily autonomy, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic.

I firmly believe that no Albertan should ever be pressured to accept medical treatment without their full consent.

The right to own a weapon

The Premier also wants to include in the province’s Bill of Rights the right to legally acquire, keep and use firearms safely.

Many Albertans believe firearms are essential to their livelihood and way of life.

A quote from Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta

I personally believe that law-abiding gun owners have been unfairly targeted by our federal government for decades and I hope these amendments will better protect the rights of our farmers, ranchers, hunters and sports enthusiasts in the future, she continued.

Not to be deprived of one’s property

Danielle Smith ultimately wants to amend the Alberta Bill of Rights to strengthen property rights, another cornerstone of life in a free and democratic society, and to ensure that no Albertan can be deprived of their property without due process and fair compensation.

It is a reaffirmation of your right to own and enjoy the property you have worked so hard for.

What is the Alberta Bill of Rights?

This legislative document is equivalent to a “quasi-constitutional” law, explains Louis-Philippe Lampron, a professor specializing in human rights and freedoms at the Faculty of Law at Laval University. Each Canadian province has a law of this type.

He points out, however, that the particularity of the Alberta Declaration of Rights is that, unlike the majority of similar laws in other provinces, it protects several fundamental rights, including fundamental freedoms.

While most of the laws found in Canada are limited to prohibiting discrimination, he specifies.

In Alberta, the Bill of Rights is a law that takes precedence over other Alberta laws. However, this does not prevent the government from amending it: They can be amended as simple laws in the current state of the law.

It’s a smokescreen because the current state of Canadian law already protects the right to refuse medical treatment and to refuse a vaccine to a certain extent.

A quote from Louis-Philippe Lampron, professor, Faculty of Law, Laval University

Louis-Philippe Lampron points out that, in the event of a pandemic, the state could justify restrictions on these fundamental rights. It is a form of codification of what is already recognized in Canadian law, he concludes.

The British Columbia New Democratic Party (NDP) has shared on social media an old video in which provincial Conservative Party leader John Rustad suggests his controversial positions on COVID-19 vaccines.

The video (New window)posted on X by the NDP, was originally posted by BC Public Service Employees for Freedom (BCPS), a group of public sector employees concerned about COVID-19 guidelines and vaccination requirements, to which John Rustad was speaking.

In the excerpt, dated this summer, the Conservative leader notably states that he regrets having received three doses of what he calls the so-called COVID-19 vaccine.

John Rustad also said he believes vaccine requirements have served to control the population.

I realized, while talking to Dr. Bonnie Henry, [la médecin hygiéniste en chef]that the vaccination plan was not to guarantee herd immunity or prevent the spread of the virus, but rather to control opinion and the population, he said.

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In July 2024, British Columbia announced that remaining pandemic restrictions, including the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for health care workers in the province’s care settings, were now being lifted.

Photo : Associated Press / Christophe Gateau

Following the NDP’s release of the clip, the Conservative leader dodged questions about it during his media appearance on Monday.

Still, he said the inability of unvaccinated doctors and nurses to get their jobs back in B.C. was a terrible problem.

NDP Leader David Eby believes voters should fear this type of position from the Conservative leader, known for his shock statements.

In 2022, John Rustad was notably expelled from the BC Liberal Party caucus after questioning the science associated with climate change.

According to NDP leader and outgoing Premier David Eby, the chief medical officer of health was trying to preserve the health of the population during the pandemic, rather than trying to control it.

As the weather begins to cool in the National Capital Region and the school year is well underway, public health officials are expecting an increase in cases of respiratory illnesses during this time.

COVID-19, influenza, whooping cough and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are among the infections being watched particularly closely this fall. Ottawa Public Health also suspects a higher-than-expected number of cases of legionellosis, a rare form of pneumonia.

While recommendations from public health authorities have changed over the years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the main message from Ottawa Public Health (OPH) remains the same: stay home if you are sick.

Before symptoms appear

It is important for everyone to make sure their family’s vaccinations are up to date, SPO says.

Flu shots and an updated COVID-19 vaccine are expected to roll out in Ontario in October, while a new provincial RSV vaccination program for infants and children is also expected to roll out this fall.

Public health officials also reminded everyone to make sure they have received their adult dose of the whooping cough vaccine, due to a recent increase in cases.

While we wait for the new COVID-19 vaccine, wearing a mask, maintaining physical distance and washing our hands is recommended. These measures are effective not only for COVID-19, but also for other respiratory viruses, according to OPH.

With symptoms or a positive COVID-19 test

COVID-19 can cause flu-like symptoms, including fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, runny nose and more. OPH has a full list of symptoms (New window).

The Ontario Ministry of Education advises students, staff and visitors to check for symptoms each day before coming to school. The Ministry’s self-assessment tool is available online (New window).

Adults and children should self-isolate if they have symptoms of COVID-19. They should stay at home until their symptoms improve and they have been fever-free for 24 hours.

If symptoms include vomiting or diarrhea, patients should stay home for at least 48 hours after these symptoms disappear.

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COVID-19 can cause flu-like symptoms, including fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, runny nose and more. (File photo)

Photo: Radio-Canada / David Horemans

If a person tests positive for COVID-19 but does not have symptoms, they do not need to self-isolate unless symptoms eventually develop.

However, SPO says people with symptoms or a positive test must mask for 10 days from the date symptoms began or the date of the positive test, whichever is earlier.

SPO also recommends maintaining physical distance from others, taking unmasked breaks away from co-workers and avoiding spending time with people at highest risk of serious infection during this 10-day period.

Less case monitoring this fall

Current wastewater testing in Ottawa shows that the amount of COVID-19 in the region is high and increasing. Last year, cases spiked in the fall and winter when people began spending more time indoors.

Funding for COVID-19 wastewater testing by the University of Ottawa ends at the end of the month, after the province cut funding this summer to avoid duplication with testing by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). Federal testing has not been confirmed for the region, however.

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University of Ottawa professor Robert Delatolla (right) and student Chandler Wong examine wastewater analysis data. (File photo)

Photo : Radio-Canada / Justin Tang

Robert Delatollla, a wastewater professor and researcher who was counting on the funding to operate his lab, says he is in talks with SPO and CHEO about continued funding.

SPO has other ways to monitor COVID-19 cases and other viral infections, such as hospitalizations, outbreaks and the percentage of positive tests. However, Delatolla said a lack of wastewater testing could be detrimental to hospitals looking to prepare for outbreaks.

Wastewater is considered the most important indicator among other indicators, he explained, noting that Ottawa hospitals use the data to plan staffing in the event of outbreaks.

With information fromIsabel Harderof CBC News