Health

B.C. NDP Leader David Eby speaks during a provincial election campaign stop at the Victoria Curling Club, in Victoria, B.C., on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. NDP Leader Eby says not everybody shares his concerns about Trump

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press 2 minute read 3:00 AM CDT

VICTORIA - The NDP's election campaign in British Columbia has moved on from the threat of Donald Trump's tariffs to focus on affordability issues.

When NDP Leader David Eby called the snap election on Sept. 22, he said British Columbia needed a "firebreak" against Trump's economic attacks and Trump-style politics, which he said were threatening to infect the province.

But Eby says he accepts that not everyone shares his anxieties about the U.S. president, even as Trump's actions make B.C.'s challenges much worse.

He says the key matter for voters on Oct. 24 will be deciding which party can support families during these tough times.

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Justice Minister Sean Fraser speaks with the media before caucus in Ottawa, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Liberals to outline plans on assisted dying ahead of mental illness expansion

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Liberals to outline plans on assisted dying ahead of mental illness expansion

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: 6:24 AM CDT

OTTAWA - The Liberal government is expected Wednesday to publicly take a position on whether it believes Canada is ready to allow people with mental illness to access assisted dying.

Justice Minister Sean Fraser said he and Health Minister Marjorie Michel will outline the "path forward," before the House of Commons votes Wednesday on a private member's bill which would block expanding assisted dying for people suffering from mental illnesses.

As it stands, people who are suffering from a grievous and irremediable mental illness are set to become eligible to be assessed for medical assistance in dying in March.

A committee made up of members of Parliament and Senators studied whether the country is prepared for that to happen last spring.

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Updated: 6:24 AM CDT

Health

B.C. Conservative interim Leader Lorne Doerkson and Skeena Conservative candidate Claire Rattee, left, listen during a provincial election campaign announcement in an alley in downtown Vancouver, on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. campaign trail: Date for leaders’ debate is set

Canadian Press Staff, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

B.C. campaign trail: Date for leaders’ debate is set

Canadian Press Staff, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Yesterday at 4:40 PM CDT

Here's a look at the some of the latest developments on the British Columbia election campaign trail.

DEBATE DATE SET FOR NDP, CONSERVATIVE, GREEN LEADERS

A date has been set for the only live and televised leaders' debate in the British Columbia provincial election.

The broadcast consortium, including CBC, Global and CTV, says in a joint release that the debate will take place on Oct. 14, 10 days before the election, at a location yet to be announced.

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Yesterday at 4:40 PM CDT

Health

Beds in the old wing of the Verdun Hospital in Montreal is photographed on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

Manitoba government expands post-hospital care for homeless, mental health patients

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Manitoba government expands post-hospital care for homeless, mental health patients

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 2:48 PM CDT

WINNIPEG - The Manitoba government is opening up more than 100 new spaces for patients who require followup care after being discharged from hospital.

The province says, on average, there are approximately 600 patients in Manitoba hospitals who no longer require emergency care but are waiting for long-term treatment, housing or other community supports.

The new community spaces are expected to provide more appropriate support for when they are ready to leave a hospital.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara says health centres are seeing a growing number of patients who are better suited for alternative care options, which is placing pressure on emergency departments.

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Updated: Yesterday at 2:48 PM CDT

Health

Alberta doctors vote to ratify a proposed 3-year pay deal with provincial government

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Alberta doctors vote to ratify a proposed 3-year pay deal with provincial government

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Yesterday at 1:15 PM CDT

EDMONTON - A proposed three-year master pay deal with the provincial government has been ratified by members of the Alberta Medical Association.

Both the government and the association representing physicians said once it's finalized, they will share details of the agreement.

In a letter to members, association president Dr. Heidi Fell says 22 per cent of eligible members voted, and of those, 76 per cent voted in favour.

Fell says it's not the agreement they had originally sought, and came after mediation, in what she calls a "difficult and constrained bargaining environment."

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Yesterday at 1:15 PM CDT

Environment

A sign advising hikers of ticks is shown on a trail in the woods in the Eastern Townships west of Montreal, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

N.S. pharmacists reducing strain on emergency rooms by treating Lyme disease

Tori Fitzpatrick, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

N.S. pharmacists reducing strain on emergency rooms by treating Lyme disease

Tori Fitzpatrick, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 2:44 PM CDT

HALIFAX - Nova Scotia’s decision to allow pharmacists to provide preventative treatments for early signs of Lyme disease has led to a steep reduction in emergency room visits for tick bites, a new study says.

Researchers at Dalhousie University in Halifax compared the number of emergency room visits in three Nova Scotia hospitals before and after pharmacists began prescribing preventative treatment in 2021.

They found the rate of visits for tick bites dropped by about 50 per cent after the change.

“It frees up the emergency department to see patients who need their care,” Emily Black, the study's lead author, said in a recent interview.

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Updated: Yesterday at 2:44 PM CDT

Health

Fact File: HPV vaccine safe and effective despite RFK Jr. claims, experts say

Marissa Birnie, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Fact File: HPV vaccine safe and effective despite RFK Jr. claims, experts say

Marissa Birnie, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Yesterday at 12:32 PM CDT

A resurfaced video shows Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now U.S. health secretary, claiming children who receive the HPV vaccine Gardasil are more likely to die from the vaccine than from cervical cancer. He also says the vaccine's data is unreliable because it was not tested against a placebo. But experts say Kennedy's claims are false, and that the evidence supports Gardasil as safe and effective against the prevention of HPV infections that may lead to cancer.

THE CLAIM

A video of Kennedy talking about the human papillomavirus vaccine has resurfaced online.

In an interview clip posted multiple times on the X platform, Kennedy calls Gardasil the "single worst mass vaccine that we've ever seen." He then claims the death rate in Gardasil's clinic trials were 37 times higher than the death rate for cervical cancer, and that the vaccine's data is unreliable because it was not tested against a "true" placebo.

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Yesterday at 12:32 PM CDT

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Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Sean Fraser waits to appear at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in Ottawa, Monday, June 29, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Justice minister to announce next steps for MAID in Canada

Hannah Alberga and Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Justice minister to announce next steps for MAID in Canada

Hannah Alberga and Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 1:24 PM CDT

Justice Minister Sean Fraser says the government is nearly ready to reveal its long-awaited decision on the next steps for medical assistance in dying in Canada, which is expected to address whether the procedure will be available to people who solely suffer from mental illness.

A press release from the Justice Department said the announcement will be made with Health Minister Marjorie Michel in Ottawa on Wednesday at noon.

It will be the first time the federal government communicates the direction it plans to take on MAID in the wake of a parliamentary committee recommending in June that it should "indefinitely pause" an expansion of the end of life procedure to people with mental disorders.

Fraser said he will be putting the "final touches on the path forward" over the next 24 hours, and that his office solicited a variety of views in the wake of the report's release.

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Updated: Yesterday at 1:24 PM CDT

Health

A client draws up fentanyl at a consumption site in Toronto on Dec. 3, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Ontario’s medical regulator proposing sweeping changes to prescribing safer supply

Liam Casey, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Ontario’s medical regulator proposing sweeping changes to prescribing safer supply

Liam Casey, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Yesterday at 10:50 AM CDT

TORONTO - Ontario's medical regulator is proposing sweeping changes to prescribing safer supply drugs, The Canadian Press has learned.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario is looking to clamp down on the practice and is set to hold a board of directors meeting next week to decide on the proposed changes.

Safer supply refers to prescribing medications as an alternative to opioids obtained on the streets to those who are at high risk of overdose.

The most common form of safer supply is hydromorphone, a powerful opioid often prescribed for pain but significantly less potent than fentanyl and its derivatives that dominate the illicit drug supply chain. Fentanyl is often found laced with other drugs such as benzodiazepines, a depressant, and xylazine, often used to tranquilize animals.

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Yesterday at 10:50 AM CDT

Health

RFK Jr.’s embrace of AI confounds some MAHA allies and medical experts

Matthew Perrone, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview

RFK Jr.’s embrace of AI confounds some MAHA allies and medical experts

Matthew Perrone, The Associated Press 7 minute read Yesterday at 10:50 AM CDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has built a national following by channeling the energy of Americans who are worried about the influence of corporations, including makers of vaccines, drugs, processed foodsand pesticides.

But last week the leader of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement threw his support behind an unlikely industry: artificial intelligence.

At a MAHA summit featuring AI and Silicon Valley executives, Kennedy declared that the technology would free Americans from “medical tyranny” by allowing them to “fact check their own medical advice.”

“We’re never ever again going to be able to be dominated by public officials who tell us: ‘Trust the experts,’” Kennedy told the invite-only audience.

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Yesterday at 10:50 AM CDT

Health

This undated photo released by the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and Far East, shows the institute workers in a lab. (The Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and Far East via AP)

How Russia and the world are responding to a possible case of pneumonic plague after lab worker dies

Jamey Keaten, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

How Russia and the world are responding to a possible case of pneumonic plague after lab worker dies

Jamey Keaten, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: 4:59 AM CDT

GENEVA (AP) — The head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday that Russian authorities have reported no case of plague in a Siberian region where a woman employee of a laboratory that studies the disease died of pneumonia last week.

The comments from Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus come a day after WHO said a possible case of pneumonic plague in Russia presents a “very low” risk outside the country as investigators looked into what caused her death Friday.

The U.N. health agency says it has been in contact with Russian authorities following the death of the staffer at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East. They cited a “typical” acute respiratory viral infection.

The case and the investigation have revived memories of the COVID-19 pandemic and allegations the coronavirus may have emerged at a Chinese lab. WHO has not provided a definitive answer to how the pandemic began.

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Updated: 4:59 AM CDT

Health

Dr. Melvin Lee, left, performs a tooth extraction for patient Robert McFarlane, who is eligible for the Canadian Dental Care Plan, as team member Sofia Christow-Filleul assists at his dental clinic in Ottawa, on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Canadian Dental Association report finds dental care program limits coverage

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Canadian Dental Association report finds dental care program limits coverage

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 1:13 PM CDT

OTTAWA - The national dental care program has "transformed access to care for millions of patients" but claims are being denied without explanations and too many people are confused about what's covered, says a new report from the Canadian Dental Association.

The association commissioned the report to assess the dental care program's progress and make recommendations to the federal government on how it can be improved.

"We have a strong program, it's got a good foundation, but continuous improvement is essential if the program is ever going to reach its potential," said Dr. Kirk Preston, president of the Canadian Dental Association.

The program, which launched in 2022, was created as part of the supply-and-confidence agreement between the NDP and Justin Trudeau's minority Liberal government.

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Updated: Yesterday at 1:13 PM CDT

Health

Mulambo Hamakuni Haimbe, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Zambia, speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Zambia will sign $3.6 billion health plan with US that won’t require sharing of patient data

Jacob Zimba And Gerald Imray, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Zambia will sign $3.6 billion health plan with US that won’t require sharing of patient data

Jacob Zimba And Gerald Imray, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 7:52 PM CDT

LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) — Zambia will sign a revised health agreement with the United States that will not include contentious clauses committing the African nation to share patient health data and specimens with the U.S. government.

The five-year deal is worth $3.6 billion in total, combined funding from both countries for the African nation’s health services, Zambian Minister of Health Roma Chilengi told reporters Tuesday.

He didn't say how much the U.S. would commit. However, he told Zambian state broadcaster ZNBC on Monday the U.S. would provide $1.5 billion over five years.

The U.S. has signed new bilateral health agreements with around two dozen African nations since last year, but some have pushed back on requirements to provide patient data.

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Updated: Yesterday at 7:52 PM CDT

Health

FILE -An aerial view of the slum of Kibera with the Nairobi skyline in the background, Kenya, Jan. 4, 2008. (AP Photo/Riccardo Gangale, File)

Kenya confirms its first Ebola case and death in a man who traveled from Congo

Evelyne Musambi, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Kenya confirms its first Ebola case and death in a man who traveled from Congo

Evelyne Musambi, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 8:19 PM CDT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A Kenyan citizen who had been living in Congo before returning to Nairobi over the weekend became Kenya’s first confirmed case of Ebola and the country’s first death from the disease in the fast-moving outbreak, authorities said Tuesday, sparking urgent contact-tracing efforts to try to contain the spread of the virus.

The man had been residing in Congo for the past seven years and fell ill about a month ago. He was treated at various hospitals before traveling by road to Kampala, Uganda, where he boarded a flight to the Kenyan capital, arriving on Saturday afternoon, Health Minister Aden Duale said.

Health authorities in Kenya have placed the country’s border points on high alert and are monitoring for possible additional cases.

Duale said that the man had been isolated and treated at Nairobi Hospital, where he tested positive for the Ebola virus and died late Monday.

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Updated: Yesterday at 8:19 PM CDT

Health

A lawsuit accuses Starbucks of mislabeling 8 ‘sugar-free’ protein drinks

Dee-ann Durbin, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

A lawsuit accuses Starbucks of mislabeling 8 ‘sugar-free’ protein drinks

Dee-ann Durbin, The Associated Press 3 minute read Monday, Oct. 5, 2026

Starbucks is facing a consumer lawsuit over claims that the protein drinks labeled “sugar-free” on its cafe menus may actually contain more sugar than a Reese’s peanut butter cup.

The federal lawsuit filed late Friday in Seattle alleges that eight protein beverages Starbucks sells in the U.S. contain varying amounts of sugar even though the company lists them as sugarless.

On Monday, the menu on Starbucks' U.S. website listed a 16-ounce (0.5-liter) Sugar-Free Caramel Protein Matcha with 16 grams of sugar and a 20-ounce (0.6-liter) version of the same drink with 21 grams of sugar. By comparison, one Reese’s cup has 11 grams of sugar.

Hagens Berman, a law firm that specializes in class action cases, filed the suit on behalf of three individual consumers who bought Starbucks’ sugar-free protein drinks in California, New York and Washington.

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Monday, Oct. 5, 2026

Health

Doctors, insurers sue Newsom over health insurance premium increases

Kristen Hwang/calmatters, The Associated Press 3 minute read Monday, Oct. 5, 2026

Doctors and health insurers filed a lawsuit Friday alleging Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature violated the law when they approved a healthcare tax that could substantially increase insurance premiums for Californians.

The lawsuit claims the recently passed tax on health plans, known as the managed care organization tax or MCO tax, circumvents a 2024 initiative that limits healthcare taxes and directs revenue toward specific purposes. The California Medical Association and California Association of Health Plans filed the complaint with the California Supreme Court.

“California voters passed Proposition 35 and made it law. The state does not get to ignore that law simply because following the law is inconvenient,” medical association CEO Dustin Corcoran said in a statement.

Tara Gallegos, a spokesperson for Newsom, said the tax allows the state to make changes to fund healthcare. “The state disagrees with their claims, and we believe the courts will too,” Gallegos said in an email.

October 7, 2026

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