Category: Canada

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Alberta Canada Health

Cannabis Prescription for Epileptic Girl Requires Alberta Mom to Travel to Ontario

Alberta, cannabis prescription

Sarah Wilkinson is an Alberta mom who loves her epileptic daughter very much, and the only thing that has helped her daughter get some relief from the almost constant seizures that she experienced in the past is a cannabis prescription. In 2013 Wilkinson started t use extraction to get cannabis oil to treat her daughter, and the oil is extracted from dried marijuana. Until recently Sarah purchased the plant material from a grower who was licensed and the use of a prescription provided by an Alberta Children’s Hospital neurologist. When Wilkinson went to have the prescription renewed in July the physician declined to renew it because the Alberta Health Services position that does not support using marijuana on pediatric patients who have epilepsy, and the hospital policy is now based on the AHS position.

No one would argue that a cannabis proscription for a child should ever be provided without careful evaluation and medical need. The case of Sarah Wilkinson’s daughter Mia in Alberta is not typical though, the 8 year old girl suffers from seizures that can threaten her very life. In spite of trying a wide variety of anti convulsive drugs Mia would suffer 100 or more seizures in a single day before the cannabis prescription was provided. Since Mia started the cannabis oil treatment the child has not had a single seizure, yet the AHS refuses to even consider that her case may require special consideration instead of a blanket policy. Mia was seen at the St. Catharines, Ontario Canadian Cannabis Clinic after the Alberta physician would not renew the cannabis prescription, and Sarah now has the new prescription she needs to get the dried marijuana that has been so effective at stopping Mia’s seizures. What do you think about the position of AHS?

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Alberta Canada Ft Mac Politics

Premier Rachel Notley Receiving Online Threats, Brian Jean Condemns Those Responsible

online threats, Premier Rachel Notley

Premier Rachel Notley has been receiving online threats over the last several weeks, and Wildrose Leader Brian Jean has stepped up to condemn these threats and those responsible for making them. On his Facebook page Jean released a statement about the situation and said that in the past he has “seen far too many hateful and even violent social media posts” against the party’s “political opponents.” Jean went on to state “This needs to stop. These kinds of comments cross all bounds of respect and decency and have absolutely no place in our political discourse. This is not how Albertans behave.” Jean continued by saying on his page “I understand we have just come through a particularly controversial legislative session that dealt with a number of contentious and emotional issues. I want us to keep talking about these issues, but in a safe, respectful and productive way.” Jean also commented that any criminal threats should be forwarded to the appropriate police agency for investigation.

Many of the posts concerning Premier Rachel Notley were aggressive but did not cross the line into criminal online threats. Some referred to Notley as a dictator, compared her to Hitler or Stalin, and even called her a communist. Other online threats crossed a line though. One man commented “Looks like a jfk day is coming,”, a reference to the shooting of President John F Kennedy in the USA. Another man posted a comment that read “I think a tall tree and a short rope with a noose tied into would suffice.” Do you think these comments crossed the line? Why or why not?

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Alberta Canada Economic Ft Mac

Is Suncor Energy Playing on Fear to Succeed in Takeover Bid? Canadian Oil Sands Says Yes!

Suncor Energy, fear

Canadian Oil Sands is accusing Suncor Energy of playing on fear in an attempt to succeed in their hostile takeover bid. The accusations started flying after Suncor sent a letter to shareholders of COS urging these individuals to accept the bid in spite of the fact that the COS board of directors firmly rejected the bid. The bid will expire in a few weeks and the letter may have been designed to speed things up and resolve the bid before it ends. A statement released by COS CEO Ryan Kubik stated “If Suncor had confidence in the merits of its bid, it wouldn’t be trying to ram it through by challenging our Shareholder Rights Plan. It would not need to try to steal time for a decision from our shareholders. Suncor is clearly not listening when our shareholders tell them the same thing they are saying to us — this bid won’t fly. Shareholders don’t need to do anything to reject this unwelcome and underwhelming bid. In fact, save yourself the time and hang up when Suncor or one of its paid brokers call.”

The statement continued by saying “As recently demonstrated in COS’ third quarter results, Syncrude is entering a new era of lower cost operations, COS can remain resilient through this period of low oil prices. Suncor wants to take value out of your pocket and put it into theirs.” Only time will tell whether the bid by Suncor Energy is successful, and whether the fear tactics that COS is accusing the company of work. What do you think of the hostile takeover bid?

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Alberta Canada Economic Ft Mac Politics U.S.

President Obama Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline, Mayor Blake Expresses Disappointment

Keystone XL pipeline, President Obama

President Obama recently announced his decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline project application, a decision that has been in the works for 7 long years. Just hours after the decision was announced Fort McMurray Mayor Melissa Blake expressed her disappointment with the decision. Blake explained that Obama’s decision was not a big surprise but that it was a setback and a disappointment for the region. “It sort of had lead indicators all along that it probably wouldn’t find success. I think it’s unfortunate, because it doesn’t really round out (with) the evidence.” Many in Wood Buffalo and the United States believe that the decision by President Obama was motivated by politics instead of evidence and sound science.

The announcement about the Keystone XL pipeline by President Obama stated “Today we’re continuing to lead by example. Ultimately, if we’re going to prevent large parts of this earth from becoming not only inhospitable but uninhabitable in our lifetimes, we’re going to have to keep some fossil fuels in the ground rather than burn them.” Obama also called the oil product “dirtier crude oil.”. According to John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, the pipeline would “facilitate transportation into our country of a particularly dirty source of fuel.” The decision comes as no surprise. Many have accused the Obama administration of playing fast and loose with the true facts involved in climate change and the role that oil and natural gas play in this change. Mayor Blake stated “Fundamentally, I would expect that people become a lot more informed than what they have been. It (shouldn’t) be a simple point-the-finger at the oilsands and blame them, it should be looking at the holistic approach and saying how do we as a nation make improvements in our (environmental) performance.”

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Canada

Government Announces Progress with Chantier Davie and Project Resolve

August 1, 2015 – Ottawa, ON – Government of Canada

The Government of Canada has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Chantier Davie Canada Incorporated and Project Resolve Incorporated to continue discussions on pursuing an at-sea support services contract, Defence Minister Jason Kenney announced today.

The LOI provides Chantier Davie and Project Resolve with the ability to start limited activities to advance the schedule. It will also provide some financial protection to the shipyard for these expenses, should a contract not be awarded. Any proposed costs would be pre-approved by the government, which will require Davie to provide a rationale in every instance.

The first Joint Support Ship (JSS) is anticipated to be operational in late 2020. The JSS will provide a robust warfighting capability with all military crewing and contain the capacity to be continuously upgraded over the next 30 to 40 years to meet the Navy’s evolving operational requirements. An interim supply ship will provide a more modest capability and will not conduct full-spectrum military operations in high-threat environments.

Quick Facts

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) relies on the capability provided by Auxiliary Oil Replenishment ships (AORs) to supply fuel, ammunition, water, spare parts and food to individual ships or naval task groups, as well as to support task group helicopters.

In order to assist the RCN to meet their missions over the next several years, the Government of Canada has decided to take the next step with a Letter of Intent with Chantier Davie Canada Inc. and Project Resolve Inc. to pursue discussions regarding interim supply ship services.

The objective is to provide an at-sea replenishment service to RCN. This is directly linked to the Canadian Armed Forces operational readiness in support of national security and the fulfillment of Canada’s national and international obligations. It could also add significant additional capabilities, such as medical and aviation support and enhanced command and control.

Interim supply ship services will help sailors acquire and retain key skill sets needed to operate Queenston-class JSS once they are delivered.

Quotes

“We are making progress in pursuit of an interim supply ship capability for the Royal Canadian Navy. Our priority is to allow our sailors to operate more freely around the world while keeping crews’ skills up to date in anticipation of the arrival of the more robust Queenston-class ships.”

The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of National Defence

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Related Product

Background – Auxiliary Oil Replenishment

Contacts

Lauren Armstrong
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of National Defence
(613) 996-3100
lauren.armstrong2@forces.gc.ca

Media Relations
Department of National Defence
Phone: (613) 996-2353
Toll-Free: 1 866 377-0811

Source:: http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=1014609&tp=1

      

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Alberta Canada Economic Ft Mac

CNRL Announces Across the Board Salary Cuts to Offset Low Oil Prices

salary cuts, CNRL

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., better known as CNRL, has announced salary cuts that will be applied across the board in a move to recover from low oil prices on the market right now. According to a company spokesperson every salaried employe at the energy company will be expected to take a pay cut that could be a maximum of 10%, and no employee will be exempt from this reduction. CNRL is struggling right now, trying to stay profitable and competitive without laying off employees or cutting positions. According to an email from company spokesperson Julie Woo “The salary reductions of up to 10% apply to all salaried employees across our operations, including at our Horizon Oil Sands operation.” The company currently employs around 7,500 employees.

CNRL spokesperson Woo did not give a complete break down of the CNRL salary cuts or offer an estimate on the amount of savings that this move could mean for the company. The idea is that even senior management officials like Steve Laut, the president and CEO of CNRL, will take the same percentage of salary cuts as lower placed salaried workers. Higher pay means that higher ranked management will see steeper reductions even though the same percentage of their pay will be deducted because these executives make more. According to Julie Woo “The challenges facing our industry are significant. These measures were taken in order to help the company address the current challenges without reducing our workforce.” Just last month the company was blaming the provincial government for corporate tax increases that also ate into the company profits.