Canada column for Sunday, March 28/21
THE CANADIAN REPORT
By Jim Fox
Police are investigating a “number of suspicious deaths” after a doctor at a Hawkesbury, Ontario hospital was arrested for first-degree murder.
Ontario Provincial Police said Dr. Brian Nadler, 35, who lives in the Montreal suburb of Dollard-Des-Ormeaux, was arrested after they were called about a death at the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital.
The investigation “led police to look at more than one death,” said OPP spokesman Bill Dickson.
The hospital is “reaching out to patients and their families and offering trauma counseling to staff,” he added.
Further details were not given but police indicated the deaths “all occurred in a fairly recent time period.”
The hospital said there is no risk to public or patient safety and the routine activity at the hospital will not be affected by the investigation.
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The Ontario government is again moving the city of Hamilton, Ontario and district into a lock-down after a concerning increase in COVID-19 cases.
The area, with a population approaching 600,000 west of Toronto, faces the action on Monday.
“Over the last week, we have continued to see some concerning trends in key health indicators in regions across the province," said Health Minister Christine Elliott.
This would move the area to the lockdown zone from “red-control,” she said.
The decision was made in consultation with the local medical officer of health and was “based on public health data.”
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News in brief:
- Travel restrictions and pandemic periods of quarantine have resulted in the number of air passengers into Canada dropping by almost 97 percent this month. The Canada Border Services Agency said for the first week of March last year, there were 565,323 Canadian citizens or permanent residents entering the country by air. That compares with just 11,529 this year. There was also a significant drop in the number of U.S. citizens entering Canada (1,099) as well as foreign nationals (11,363) over that same period.
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Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar returns 79.3 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar is worth $1.26 Canadian before exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada key interest rate is steady at 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.
Canadian stock markets are lower, with the Toronto index at 18,752 points and the TSX Venture index at 943 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is lower at $1.23 a liter (Canadian) or $4.67 for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto Max: (March 23) 5, 6, 12, 28, 29, 36 and 46; bonus 40. (March 19) 2, 7, 8, 26, 30, 43 and 48; bonus 25.
Lotto 6/49: (March 24) 3, 4, 27, 43, 45 and 48; bonus 44. (March 20) 9, 16, 25, 36, 39 and 43; bonus 49.
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Regional briefs:
- WestJet Airlines plans to resume flights to five airports starting in June after the pandemic led to a suspension of service last fall. The Calgary-based airline will again fly to Charlottetown, Fredericton, Moncton, Sydney and Quebec City. There will also be a return on May 6 of its St. John’s- Halifax routes six times a week. Service to the Maritimes is being done “in a timely manner with consideration for the current travel recommendations and isolation guidelines of individual provinces,” said the airline’s Andrew Gibbons.
- Bald eagles are making a comeback in Canada and now an effort is being made to send some to the U.S. from Atlantic Canada to try to help along the recovery of the birds there. They’re making a comeback in southern Ontario over the last decade after dying out because of the pesticide DDT. Biologists suggest there are about 100 nesting pairs. They have been seen across British Columbia, Alberta and in Ontario from Ottawa to Kingston and the Bruce Peninsula and along the shores of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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