While newcomers to Canada report overall satisfaction with their quality of life, a new CBC survey found some are considering moving after struggling to find housing. Immigrants to the Prairies say it's even more difficult to find a place to live.

January is National Alzheimer's Awareness Month, where the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba aims to help Manitobans to better understand dementia and the resources available to those who have been diagnosed, and their families and friends, as they navigate through the disease.

Throughout the month of January, the Society will share personal stories and insights from individuals living with dementia and care partners through their 'Your Path Forward' campaign.  The campaign also highlights how the Alzheimer Society can be a family's first link to a community of support offering guidance and reassurance says Regional Coordinator for the Westman area, Brenda Smith. "And then we help them along the path to find the right resources to fit their unique needs," she adds.

More than 20,300 Manitobans currently live with dementia – a number expected to reach 39,100 by 2050.

'Dementia' is the umbrella term, and underneath all those spokes are all the different types of dementia, says Smith.  She adds there are actually over 100 different types of dementia, with Alzheimer's being the most common and accounting for the highest percentage of diagnosed cases of dementia.  

Smith notes the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba is a resource for all types of dementia, not just Alzheimer's.

The Society is a place for individuals and families to turn to for support whether you’re worried that you or someone you know has dementia, experiencing the first signs, adjusting to a diagnosis, facing later progression of the disease or caring for someone living with the disease.

Hearing the words, “you have dementia” can be overwhelming, but you don’t have to navigate your next steps alone. When you connect with the Alzheimer Society, their caring staff of experts will listen to your experience and welcome you into a community of support.

"It's sometimes hard to pick up that phone when you're struggling," shares Brenda Smith, "but if you do, we're here to help.  Living with dementia can be really scary for the person living with it and the people caring for them. And I think all the supports and education that is out there, we want people to know that they're not alone, that that there is support. So, please feel free to call us."

Throughout the month, the Society will share personal stories and insights from individuals living with dementia and care partners, like Gary Elbers, who felt lost after his wife Brenda was diagnosed.  “I was so overwhelmed – I didn't know anything about dementia,” says Elbers. “Connecting with the Alzheimer Society was our lifesaver. I felt like I was drowning in a sea of uncertainty, and they threw me a lifeline, giving me hope when I felt utterly lost.”

Gary learned and grew his skills as a care partner with the help of the Society and Brenda continues to live at home with his support. Click here to watch Gary’s story.

Read more stories from Manitobans living with dementia alzheimer.mb.ca. 

Fall 2024 Minds in Motion session:

BRANDON
Seniors for Seniors - 311 Park Ave East
Thursdays, 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Feb 6 - Apr 3
Call to register: 1-204-571-2050 OR email: [email protected]

Contact the Westman Alzheimer Society office in Brandon to learn more or get connected to support, or to register for upcoming seminars at 204-729-8320 or [email protected]

Founded over 40 years ago, the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba exists so all Manitobans affected by dementia receive the help they need today and have hope for the future. As a province-wide organization, the Society seeks to achieve its mission through community awareness, individual, family and professional education, support programs and research funding.

The Island Waste Management Corporation has applied to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission for permission to increase rates.  The application, filed within the past week, indicates year-round residential rates would increase from $236 to $261 per year.  Seasonal residents would see their rates increase from $116 to $130 annually.  Commercial rates would remain the same at $122 per tonne.  If the application is approved, the new rates would be reflected on residents’  2025 property tax bills this spring.

Several cabinet ministers are saying we shouldn’t overreact to U-S president-elect Donald Trump’s comments about annexing Canada.  Foreign Affairs minister Melanie Joly says Canada should not take Trump’s “bait” but should not back down in efforts to counter the threats he is making.  On her way to a Liberal caucus meeting on Parliament Hill Joly said the government needs to listen to Trump and “take him very seriously.”  Trump amped up comments about making Canada the 51st state on Tuesday and said he will follow through with his plan to impose 25 per cent tariffs when sworn into office.

After he pre-emptively stepped out of the leadership race, Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc is being pressured by his fellow M-Ps to get back in.

At least a dozen party members are encouraging LeBlanc to reconsider his earlier decision.

LeBlanc has been at the front of recent tariff talks with Canada’s U-S counterparts.  Several cabinet ministers are mulling whether they want to run to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal party leader.  Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says she’s receiving a lot of support from across the country but has to also factor in her family.  Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon, a Charlottetown native, is considering a run and says it’s essential the next party leader is fluent in both official languages.  

Roads are partly snow-covered along portions of the west coast, the Bay D’Espoir Highway, and portions of the Avalon Peninsula.

Travel is not recommended from Churchills Falls to Wabush due to icy and slushy patches, drifting snow, and poor visibility. Elsewhere in Labrador, roads are snow-covered with fair to good visibility.

Marine Atlantic anticipates possible impacts to crossings scheduled for tonight and tomorrow. The first crossing on the MV Sound of Islay is cancelled and will resume service departing Man O’ War Cove at 10:45 a.m. The Kumatic W will be doing a crossing departing Man O’ War Cove at 7:00 a.m.

At the St. John’s International Airport, WestJet flights 264 and 265 are delayed. In Deer Lake Provincial Airlines Flight 902 is cancelled. Flights are on time in Gander.

It appears that the backhoe bandits are back at it.

The Scotiabank in Carbonear has been extensively damaged by what appears to be a piece of heavy equipment.

Photos on social media show a massive hole in the side of the bank where the drive thru ATM is located, with a backhoe parked right beside the building.

VOCM News will have more details as they become available.

Mark O'Brien and Shaun Majumder are on high alert as they watch the massive wildfires that have been destroying neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Los Angeles.

A major blow to the Canadian retail landscape with word that two well-known store brands are closing their stores while seeking creditor protection.

Comark Holdings Inc. owns the retail clothing chains Ricki’s, Cleo and Bootlegger. Comark has decided to close all Ricki’s and Cleo locations across the country including here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The company was hit hard by the COVID pandemic and a ransomware attack in 2021 as well as online competition.

The move could affect more than 2,000 employees across the country.

Fuel prices are up across the board today. Gasoline increased by up to 3.0 cents per litre. Diesel increased 3.6 cents on the Island and 3.5 cents in Zones 13 and 13a.

Furnace oil is up 3.08 cents per litre. Stove oil heating fuel on the Island increased by 3.25 cents and stove oil heating fuel in Zones 13 and 13a increased by 3.02 cents.

Propane increased by half a cent.

The Board’s next regularly scheduled price adjustment is on Thursday, January 16.

A bill that would provide a framework, rights and timelines for tenants whose apartments are being converted into condos is being reviewed by a provincial standing committee.

An P.E.I. couple has been handed a $345,000 cleanup bill from the provincial government, more than a year after a full tank of home heating oil leaked into their clay basement and down into the soil on their property.

Canadian manufacturers are left worrying as the inauguration of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump looms in less than two weeks.

The rush of people moving to New Brunswick from other provinces has slowed down to a trickle, with international immigration continuing to lead as a source of population growth.

The Thames Valley District School Boards spent more than $52,000 for bus and billboard advertising featuring its new logo last year — a rebrand that was pitched as costing close to nothing.

After snow squalls, some Londoners without permanent housing are getting rest in store doorways and stairwells, while others are walking the streets to keep their blood pumping and bodies warm.

Cape Breton's Cabot Trail is a destination for tens of thousands of visitors every year, but major weather events exacerbated by climate change have significantly damaged popular vacation spots, driving up the cost of doing business and requiring tourism operators to plan ahead for worst-case scenarios.

The vast majority of Halifax residents who spoke about this year's municipal police and RCMP budgets want the city's police board to reject any increases, saying they have lost trust in the forces and the money is better spent elsewhere.

The flow of people moving to Nova Scotia from other Canadian provinces has slowed down over the last two years, meaning the province’s population growth is now primarily made up by international migration.

MAPUTO, Mozambique (AP) — Mozambique’s main opposition leader returned from self-imposed exile on Thursday clutching a bible and saying he still rejects the results of a disputed election last year that has sparked more than two months of protests and a violent crackdown by security forces.

While Venancio Mondlane stepped off a plane, security forces fired tear gas at hundreds of his supporters who gathered near the main international airport to welcome him home. Mondlane arrived at Mavalane International Airport in the capital, Maputo, to applause from some airport workers and then kneeled in the arrivals hall with a bible in his left hand.

“I want to fight within this country and I will, until the very end, keep fighting for this country,” Mondlane said. “I’m not willing to accept election results if they are the same as those announced up until now.”

He had left the country in October following an election clouded by allegations of rigging against the long-ruling Frelimo party, which has been in power since Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in 1975.

More than 100 people have been killed by security forces, according to international rights groups, since Mozambique erupted in protests after Frelimo was declared the winner of the Oct. 9 election. Some local groups put the death toll at more than 200. Mondlane had called for people to protest the results.

Mondlane has said he left Mozambique fearing for his life after two senior members of his opposition party were killed in their car by unknown gunmen in a late-night shooting on a street in Maputo in the aftermath of the election. Mondlane’s party called the killings political assassinations.

Police on Thursday also blocked roads leading to the airport after Mondlane said on social media earlier this week he would return to the southern African country. Tear gas drifted over the airport and surrounding roads and a helicopter hovered overhead. After arriving, Mondlane traveled by car to a public square in central Maputo, with large crowds following him.

Thousands of Mondlane’s supporters were expected to gather in Maputo for his return, prompting the clampdown by security forces, which rights groups have accused of using excessive force against post-election protesters. Authorities have said the protests were violent and needed to be subdued, but rights groups say security forces have fired live bullets at peaceful protesters, and children were among those who were killed.

Mondlane accused authorities of kidnapping and killing some anti-government protesters. But he also said he was willing to enter into negotiations with Frelimo to end months of unrest, which has disrupted the country of 33 million. Mozambique has also been battling a violent insurgency by jihadists in the north.

“I’m here in flesh and blood to say that if you want to negotiate, if you want to talk to me, if you want to come to the conversation table, I’m here,” Mondlane said.

Mondlane and other opposition candidates accused Frelimo of rigging the election and international observers reported irregularities in the vote and the alteration of some results. Mozambique’s Constitutional Council upheld Frelimo’s victory last month, making its candidate, Daniel Chapo, the president-elect. He is due to be inaugurated next week to succeed President Filipe Nyusi, who has served the maximum two terms.

Mondlane was second in the official results.

The post-election unrest has spilled over to neighboring countries, with reports of thousands of Mozambicans fleeing to Malawi. South Africa closed its border with Mozambique for several days last year after vehicles were set on fire near the crossing.

The Southern African Development Community, a regional body, has said it will send a delegation to Mozambique in an attempt to find a solution to end the turmoil.

Frelimo has often been accused of rigging elections since Mozambique held its first democratic vote in 1994 following a bloody 15-year civil war Frelimo fought against rebel group Renamo, which is now an opposition party that Mondlane once belonged to before breaking away.

The street protests in several major cities since October have been the biggest threat to Frelimo’s rule since the 1977-1992 civil war.

___

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

Charles Mangwiro, The Associated Press

RCMP in Carbonear need the public’s help in tracking down a stolen truck involved in a crime early this morning.

Police say the red GMC Duramax diesel truck was used in an incident around 1:30 this morning. No further details on the nature of the crime have been provided.

The truck has the logo for Clay Oates Landscaping on the door panels and an amber light on top.

Anyone who has spotted the vehicle is asked to contact the authorities.

The RCMP in Harbour Grace is looking for a stolen red GMC Duramax diesel truck, with the “Clay Oates Landscaping” logo displayed on the door panels.

The vehicle was used in a crime in Carbonear around 1:30 a.m. this morning.

The vehicle has an amber light on top. Anyone with information is asked to contact the RCMP in Harbour Grace at (709) 596-5014.

BANGKOK (AP) — Nearly all of the world’s 35,000 online pharmacies are being run illegally and consumers who use them risk getting ineffective or dangerous drugs, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s annual report on “ notorious markets.” The report also singled out 19 countries over concerns about counterfeit or pirated products.

The report also named about three dozen online retailers, many of them in China or elsewhere in Asia that it said are allegedly engaged in selling counterfeit products or other illegal activities.

The report says 96% of online pharmacies were found to be violating the law, many operating without a license and selling medicines without prescriptions and safety warnings.

Their websites often look like legitimate e-commerce platforms, often with false claims that they are approved by the Food and Drug Administration, said the report, released Wednesday. The FDA and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration have both issued warnings about risks of buying prescription medicines from such sources.

It cited a survey by the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies’ Global Foundation that found nearly one in four Americans who have used online pharmacies reported having encountered substandard, fake or harmful medicines.

Last year, Federal prosecutors reported that a network of illegal drug sellers based in the U.S., the Dominican Republic and India had packaged potentially deadly synthetic opioids into pills disguised as common prescription drugs and sold millions of them through fake online drugstores, federal prosecutors said Monday. At least nine people died of narcotics poisoning between August 2023 and June 2024 after consuming the counterfeit pills, the indictment said.

Apart from the risks of using drugs that may contain inert ingredients or those that could cause allergies, the medicines are sometimes made in unsanitary conditions, said the report, which did not give annual statistics for those who may have died or otherwise been harmed.

The USTR’s annual report cited examples from inside the United States, but and also mentioned risks of imported ingredients including fentanyl from China. Many of the illicit online pharmacies are based outside the U.S.

The “Notorious Markets List” did laud progress in fighting counterfeit and pirated goods.

In one case, U.S. authorities, industry groups and the police collaborated in shutting down a Hanoi, Vietnam-based piracy ring, Fmovies, and other related piracy sites, in July and August.

The report said the world’s then-largest pirated movies site had drawn more than 6.7 billion visits from January 2023 to June 2024.

In another Vietnam-linked case, two people operating pirate television platform BestBuyIPTV were convicted and ordered to pay fines and forfeit property.

The report also cited crackdowns on online piracy in Brazil and the United Kingdom and busts of sellers of counterfeit purses, clothing and shoes in Kuwait.

But problems remain with cyberlockers that thwart efforts to restrict piracy of movies and other content and of so-called “bulletproof” internet service providers, or ISPs, that promise people using them leeway for using pirate sites, it said.

One such ISP is Avito, a Russian-based ad platform that allegedly lets sellers advertise counterfeit products.

Baidu Wangpan, a cloud storage service of China’s largest search engine provider, Baidu, was named for allegedly failing to enforce or being slow to act on copyright protection.

The report also pointed to social-commerce site Pinduoduo and to Douyin Mall, a Chinese online platform owned by Tiktok owner ByteDance. It said the shopping platforms have sought to build up protections but that they still host many counterfeit goods.

It also named Shopee, a Singapore-based online and mobile e-commerce site, saying some country-focused platforms serving Southeast Asia and South American had better track records in fighting piracy than others.

IndiaMART, an big business-to-business marketplace in India, still offers a slew of counterfeit products, it said.

While a large share of theft of intellectual property has moved online, the report also highlighted real world locations notorious for selling counterfeit products, including markets in Turkey, bazaars in the United Arab Emirates and Saigon Square Shopping Mall in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City.

The report said Bangkok’s MBK Center, a huge mall of about 2,000 stores, had actively cracked down on counterfeiting, though such products still can be found there.

Elaine Kurtenbach, The Associated Press

It costs more to fill up the tank this morning.

The price of gas is up by 3 cents. Diesel jumps by 3 and a half cents on the island and in Lab West.

Furnace and stove oil also increases by just over 3 cents per litre in all areas.

Propane is up by half a cent.