Health sector human resources crisis, Broncos memorial : In The News for April 6

Canadian Medical Association president Dr. Katharine Smart says the human resource crisis in the health sector is having a dramatic impact on staff’s ability to care for people.

The CMA and other health-worker groups have banded together to ask the federal government to create a human resources strategy to count, train and retain health professionals.

Smart says the initial cost to get the idea off the ground would be as little as $2 million.

The groups are hopeful the government will signal its intention to move forward with the plan in Thursday’s budget.

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Also this …

The manager for a Saskatchewan city that is planning a community facility to remember a deadly junior hockey bus crash four years ago today says plans are moving slowly.

The City of Humboldt announced plans a year ago to build a tribute centre, including a gallery to honour the victims of the April 6, 2018, crash that claimed the lives of 16 people and injured 13 others.

The 35-million-dollar project also includes an arena, a fitness and physiotherapy area, and a permanent memorial at the site of the crash north of Tisdale.

City manager Joe Day says the plan is bogged down with feasibility studies and what the final cost could be.

He says preliminary talks are underway with national companies, individuals and levels of government — all indicating an interest in donating.

But the official fundraising can’t begin until the feasibility studies are complete.

Day says the anniversary of the crash will be low-key today with video tributes this afternoon at the arena where the Broncos play.

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And this too …

Two Canadians with ties to the Maritimes have been teaming up to provide non-lethal supplies to Ukraine’s territorial forces.

Lex Brukovskiy, a lobster fisherman from Meteghan, N.S., and Don Bowser, who grew up in New Brunswick, joined forces on Monday, with Brukovskiy providing transport from Poland into Ukraine after Bowser gathered up the gear for a delivery.

Bowser, a law enforcement and security adviser, has been raising funds and buying supplies that include bulletproof vests, helmets and night vision equipment for Ukraine’s territorial defence units.

The 54-year-old consultant said he recently heard about Brukovskiy’s work driving humanitarian supplies to people in besieged areas of eastern Ukraine and contacted the Nova Scotian to ask for “a lift” from Poland to bring in gear he has bought.

Reached on the road during their trip together on Monday, Bowser said the shipment includes electronics, radio batteries and military clothing for Ukraine soldiers.

The two connected after Brukovskiy recently returned from a trip delivering generators and humanitarian aid to the outskirts of Pokrovsk in southeastern Ukraine.

Bowser said his crowdfunding donations are mostly coming from Atlantic Canada. Brukovskiy’s humanitarian supplies have also been largely funded by small fishing communities on Nova Scotia’s southwest coast.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ A wounded man arrested in connection with a Sacramento shooting that killed six people and injured a dozen more had been released from prison weeks earlier and was rejected for even earlier release after prosecutors argued he “clearly has little regard for human life,” documents show.

Smiley Martin, 27, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine-gun. Hours before Sunday’s attack, Martin had posted a live Facebook video of himself brandishing a handgun.

Police were trying to determine if a stolen handgun found at the crime scene was used in the massacre. It had been converted to a weapon capable of automatic gunfire. They also were trying to determine whether the gun Martin brandished in his video was used, the official told The Associated Press. He was briefed on the investigation but was not authorized to publicly discuss details and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Martin and his brother were among those wounded when gunfire erupted near the state Capitol at about 2 a.m. Sunday as bars were closing and patrons filled the streets. More than 100 shots were unleashed in rapid-fire succession as hundreds of people scrambled to find safety. Authorities were trying to determine if a street fight outside a nightclub may have sparked the shooting.

The Sacramento County coroner identified the women killed as Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; and Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21. The three men killed were Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; and De’vazia Turner, 29.

Martin remained hospitalized and will be booked on the charges when his condition improves enough for him to be jailed, a police statement said.

His brother, Dandrae Martin, 26, was arrested Monday as a “related suspect” on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and being a convict carrying a loaded gun. He was not seriously wounded and made a brief appearance on the gun possession charge Tuesday in Sacramento Superior Court wearing orange jail scrubs.

A 31-year-old man who was seen carrying a handgun immediately after the shooting was arrested Tuesday on a weapons charge, though police said his gun was not believed to be used in the crime.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

KYIV, Ukraine _ Western governments were preparing Wednesday to impose tougher sanctions against Russia, as Ukraine documents and investigates widespread killings of civilians and other alleged war crimes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy kept up demands for war-crimes trials for Russian troops and their leaders while warning they were regrouping for fresh assaults on Ukraine’s east and south. The Ukraine military said Russia was preparing for an offensive in Ukraine’s east, with the aim “to establish complete control over the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.”

Overnight, Russian forces attacked a fuel depot and a factory in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, the region’s governor Valentyn Reznichenko said on the messaging app Telegram early Wednesday. The number of casualties was unclear.

“The night was alarming and difficult. The enemy attacked our area from the air and hit the oil depot and one of the plants. The oil depot with fuel was destroyed. Rescuers are still putting out the flames at the plant,” Reznichenko wrote.

Police in the Romanian capital Bucharest said a car rammed the gate of the Russian Embassy early Wednesday, bursting into flames and killing the driver. There was no immediate information on a possible motive or other details.

In Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, shelling of Rubizhne city on Tuesday killed one person and injured five more, its governor Serhiy Haidai said on Telegram.

Parts of Donetsk and Luhansk have been under control of Russia-backed rebels since 2014 and are recognized by Moscow as independent states. So far, Ukrainian forces have been holding back Russian troops trying to push east but remain outnumbered in both troops and equipment, Zelenskyy said in a video address to his country late Tuesday.

Evidence of what appears to be intentional killings of civilians in Bucha and other towns before Russian forces withdrew from the outskirts of Kyiv has drawn a global outcry. Western nations have expelled scores of Moscow’s diplomats and are expected to roll out more sanctions Wednesday.

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On this day in 1966 …

Prime Minister Lester Pearson announced plans to promote bilingualism among federal public servants.

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In entertainment …

Alex Lifeson says he’s downsizing his belongings in hopes that it will help close a chapter on his past with Rush.

It’s been nearly five years since the rock band hung up their instruments as late drummer Neil Peart struggled with health issues and the Toronto guitarist says at times he’s found himself “stuck” beneath their incredible legacy. Peart died of brain cancer in January 2020.

So, the 68-year-old decided to make some big changes to eliminate some of that weight – including selling a country house and making plans to auction off 63 guitars he owns next month.

Lifeson says he’s confident becoming a “little leaner” on mementoes will help him look toward “things on the horizon” instead.

One of his new priorities is Envy of None, an alternative-rock act he recently helped create that’s miles away from Rush’s sound.

The four-piece band, fronted by female singer Maiah Wynne from Portland, Ore., releases their self-titled debut album on Friday.

“Envy of None has been so liberating for me personally because it is a move forward into another area, taking other chances,” Lifeson says.

“I don’t want to be (what) somebody expects. I’ve done what I’ve done. I’m just a guy … and I love doing this. That’s all that’s important to me.”

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Did you see this?

Canadian Press international affairs writer Mike Blanchfield and Carleton University professor Fen Hampson have been nominated for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing for their book on China’s detention of the Canadians known as “the two Michaels.”

“The Two Michaels: Innocent Canadian Captives and High Stakes Espionage in the US-China Cyber War,” published by Sutherland House, is among five titles on the short list for the $25,000 honour.

Also in the running is former MP Jody Wilson-Raybould for her memoir “‘Indian’ in the Cabinet: Speaking Truth to Power,” published by HarperCollins Canada, detailing her tumultuous tenure as Canada’s first Indigenous justice minister.

Other contenders include former Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz for “The Next Age of Uncertainty: How the World Can Adapt to a Riskier Future,” from Allen Lane Canada, and Toronto Star journalist Joanna Chiu’s “China Unbound: A New World Disorder,” published by House of Anansi Press.

Rounding out the finalists is “Flora!: A Woman in a Man’s World,” from McGill-Queen’s University Press, the posthumously released memoir of politician Flora MacDonald, co-authored by journalist Geoffrey Stevens.

The winner will be announced on May 17 at the annual Politics and the Pen gala in Ottawa. Each finalist receives $2,500.

The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize is handed out annually to a literary non-fiction title capturing a political subject of relevance to Canadian readers with the potential to shape or influence thinking on political life within the country.

The award is presented by the Writers’ Trust of Canada, and was established in 2000 in honour of the late Windsor, Ont., MP Shaughnessy Cohen.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2022.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Health sector human resources crisis, Broncos memorial : In The News for April 6

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