Experts: World Mental Health Day | October 10
World Mental Health Day, on October 10th, comes at a time when our daily lives have changed considerably as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The past months have brought challenges to many, particularly for people with mental health conditions, many experiencing even greater social isolation than before. (World Health Organization)
Experts: Joyce Echaquan鈥檚 death: Racism in the healthcare system
Quebec鈥檚 coroner鈥檚 office will be looking into the death of Joyce Echaquan, an Indigenous woman from the Atikamekw Nation of Manawan and a mother of seven children, who passed away amid troubling circumstances in a Joliette hospital on Monday, September 28. Before her death, Echaquan took a cellphone video from her hospital bed and livestreamed it on Facebook. Near the end of the video, which lasts around seven minutes, hospital personnel enter the room.
Experts: International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste | September 29
This year represents the first ever observance of the International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste. The COVID-19 pandemic continues generating significant challenges to food security in many countries. These challenges include disruptions in supply chains, quarantine measures, and the closure of much of the hospitality industry and schools. All these measures have resulted in a loss of markets for producers and distributors, making the situation even more challenging.
Experts: The return of 鈥楩ridays for Future鈥�
While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to overshadow most other topics in 2020, Canadian activists are joining demonstrators around the world to bring climate change back into the conversation. Protests, walkouts, and sit-ins are expected to take place in several Canadian cities, including Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, and Halifax, on Friday and Saturday to mark the return of the global Fridays for Future movement led by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
Experts: Trudeau鈥檚 Throne Speech
As Canada's parliament returns and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seeks to put an ethics scandal behind him, his government will unveil its plans this week for the country's pandemic response and recovery. The Liberal government is expected to announce plans to tackle both the immediate crisis 鈥� a new surge in COVID-19 cases as the country enters the colder months - and to a roadmap for a longer-term recovery. (BBC News)
Expert: MEC to be acquired by private U.S. investment firm
Tens of thousands of people have signed on to a petition hoping to stop the sale of Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) to a private U.S. firm. The sale was announced Monday September 14 and will see Los Angeles-based private investment firm Kingswood Capital Management acquire the business and its assets. As a result, the retailer will no longer operate as a member-owned co-operative.
Experts: International Equal Pay Day | September 18
International Equal Pay Day, celebrated for the first time this 18 September, represents the longstanding efforts towards the achievement of equal pay for work of equal value. Across all regions, women are paid less than men, with the gender pay gap estimated at 23 per cent globally.
Expert: Tariffs on Canadian aluminium
The Canadian government will impose retaliatory measures valued at $3.6-billion on the United States in response to new American tariffs on Canadian aluminum announced by President Donald Trump this week. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the retaliatory tariffs will take effect in 30 days, after Ottawa consults Canadians on precisely which American products to target.
Experts: Beirut explosion
Beirut has forged a grim connection with Halifax 鈥� two port cities linked together in tragedy by catastrophic explosions a century apart. Lebanon said the Beirut explosion was caused by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate 鈥� which was stored unsafely in a warehouse after being confiscated from a cargo ship in 2014 鈥� being ignited. (CBC News)
Experts: Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden nears decision on running mate
As Joe Biden nears the announcement of his vice-presidential choice, the top contenders and their advocates are making final appeals. The leading contenders include California Sen. Kamala Harris, California Rep. Karen Bass and Obama national security adviser Susan Rice. The selection amounts to the most significant choice Biden has confronted in his nearly five-decade political career.
Experts: Wildfires in Quebec
Quebec has gone from 13 forest fires on Saturday June 20 to 20 fires on Sunday, including one which is still out of control in Lac-Saint-Jean, and which is heading towards the Saguenay, already ravaging more than 62,396 hectares of forest since last Tuesday. (CTV Montreal)
Experts: Summer in the time of COVID-19
The arrival of warmer weather in the Northern Hemisphere raises the question of whether summer could slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. While warmer weather typically ends the annual flu season in temperate zones, climate alone has not stopped the COVID-19 pandemic from sweeping any part of the globe. (National Post)
Expert: International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict | June 19
The International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict on June 19 raises awareness of the need to put an end to conflict-related sexual violence, to honour the victims and survivors of sexual violence around the world. It also pays tribute to all those who have courageously devoted their lives to and lost their lives in standing up for the eradication of these crimes.
Experts: World Elder Abuse Awareness Day | June 15
The World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is an official United Nations International Day acknowledging the significance of elder abuse as a public health and human rights issue. Since 2006, communities throughout the country and around the world have honoured this day to raise the visibility of elder abuse by organizing events to share information and promote resources and services that can help increase seniors鈥� safety and well-being.
Experts: George Floyd鈥檚 death: Racism and police brutality
Demonstrators gathered to denounce racist violence and police impunity both in the U.S. and in Montreal. The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis has sparked nightly protests in major U.S. cities. The Montreal rally was a solidarity gathering with American anti-racism activists, but organizers say it is also an opportunity to express their own anger at the treatment of marginalized people in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada.
