Pope Francis apologizes to Indigenous delegates for residential schools
Pope Francis has apologized for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in residential schools. Francis also said he will come to Canada during a final meeting with First Nations, Inuit and Métis delegates at the Vatican. Each of the groups had told the Pope in meetings earlier this week that they hoped he would apologize for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the institutions during an upcoming trip. An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools and more than 60 per cent of the schools were run by the Catholic Church. Around 190 people, including delegates, family and supporters, gathered to share spiritual practices and hear the Pope’s words during the final address. Elder Fred Kelly prayed for the children who went to residential schools and healing in the future. (The Canadian Press)
Gas down, diesel unchanged in N.S.
The price of gas has dropped in Nova Scotia. Gas is down 5.4 cents today to 168.5 cents per litre locally. Diesel remained unchanged at a record high of 206.7 cents per litre in the local area.
The national price on pollution will go up another $10 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions as scheduled today in most provinces. Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is withstanding political pressure to delay or cancel the increase as fuel prices surge due mainly to the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Guilbeault says the government is not going to stall or move backward on its climate action plan, of which the carbon price is seen as a “cornerstone” policy. Today’s increase brings the total price to $50 per tonne, adding another 2.2 cents to the cost of a litre of gasoline, or 11 cents total. The federal levy applies directly in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. Nova Scotia and Quebec use cap-and-trade systems. (The Canadian Press)
COVID-19 hospitalizations rise in N.S., but officials says risk of severe illness low
Health officials in Nova Scotia say cases of COVID-19 and hospitalizations due to the disease are on the rise in the province. Nearly 4,200 new cases were reported for the week that ended on March 30th. There were 53 new hospital admissions and 10 new COVID-19 related deaths in the last week, as well. Officials say despite the increase, the risk of severe illness still remains low during this wave. The weekly COVID-19 epidemiologic summary prepared for Dr. Strang and his team to inform the province’s response to the pandemic is now available to the public. The report tracks weekly trends and is focused on monitoring for severe outcomes in key populations. It will be posted weekly on the government’s coronavirus website. This week’s report can be found here.
Vaccinated travellers will no longer need a COVID-19 test to enter Canada as of today. The struggling tourism industry describes it as a major boon. Travel agents say they’ve seen an increase in demand for flights since the change was announced two weeks ago.
RCMP officer hesitated after speeding by N.S. mass shooter on second day of killings
The public inquiry into Nova Scotia’s mass shooting has been hearing of how an officer briefly pursued the perpetrator on the second day. Documents released yesterday say RCMP Constable Rodney Peterson saw the killer minutes after his 17th killing as he fled the Wentworth area. However, he took about a kilometre to turn around, and by then the killer had turned up the driveway of a couple he knew, eluding the Mountie now pursuing him. A few minutes later, the killer then headed towards Debert, where he killed two women on Plains Road.
Nurse practitioners to be allowed to admit patients to hospital
The Nova Scotia government is taking steps to allow nurse practitioners to admit patients to hospital. Health Minister Michelle Thompson says the amendment to the Hospitals Act will boost efficiency and provide patients with timely access to care. Under current rules, nurse practitioners can assess, treat and discharge patients, but only doctors, midwives and dentists are allowed to admit them.
The Nova Scotia government says legislation introduced Thursday is aimed at enhancing the protection of patients ordered to undergo care under the Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act. It will give greater discretion to the Act’s review board, including the ability to replace a substitute decision-maker who is not acting in the best interest of the patient and to order that a patient be treated in the community rather than in a facility. The provincial government says the changes will ensure that patients continue to receive appropriate treatment while also getting improved access to legal representation and review hearings.
Nova Scotia families will see their fees for accessing licensed, funded child care reduced by 25 per cent, on average, starting today (Friday). Through the Nova Scotia Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, parents will save anywhere between $3 and $10.50 per day, per child, based on the child’s age. Parents will see the savings applied directly to their bills. Licensed centres that accept the 2022-23 annual funding agreement will be provided with full funding to offset the fee reduction. Reduced fees are applied retroactively to January 1, 2022, meaning parents will receive a cheque or credit from their child-care centre for amounts paid above the new rates from January to March.
Down to the last 2 days to vote for local hockey team competing in Good Deeds Cup
It’s down to the wire now to get your vote in for the U13AA Pictou County Crushers in the Chevrolet Good Deeds Cup. The local team is representing N.S. in the online contest and if they win, they’ll receive $100,000 for our community. You can vote once per day until April 2nd. The winning team will be announced on Hockey Night in Canada on April 16th.
The 39th Annual Donald Keddy Hockey Tournament will take place at the Westville Miners Sport Center today through Sunday. There will be 26 teams participating with all proceeds from the tournament going to the Pictou County Prostate Cancer Support Association.
Registration is now open for Pictou County FC’s 2022 summer soccer season. The season will run from May 19th until August 27th, and is open for players with birth years 2011-2019. Check pictoucountysoccer.com for program details.
