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Lawyers representing people hoping to bring family members in the Gaza Strip to safety in Canada under special immigration measures that went into effect yesterday say a decision by Ottawa to cap the program at 1,000 applicants has created panic and uncertainty. The government confirmed the details of the cap on the day of the program’s launch.
The measures will allow people with Canadian citizenship or permanent residency to bring extended family members from Gaza to Canada, where the new arrivals will be able to live as temporary residents for up to three years. The program is intended to allow Palestinians to escape the war between Hamas and Israel, which has been raging in the densely populated strip for three months.
A spokesperson for the Immigration Minister said the government is not “going to be closing the door” on Palestinians in Gaza once the 1,000-person cap has been reached and that the situation will be reassessed to see whether the program needs an extension. But Yameena Ansari, a lawyer working with the Gaza Family Reunification Project, a group that is advising Palestinians with family in Gaza on how to apply, said the cap is “instilling sheer panic in people to make sure they submit their applications early on.”
A Palestinian boy displaced by Israeli bombardment plays with an umbrella outside a makeshift tent in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2023.Hatem Ali/The Associated Press
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Alberta drugs bought from Turkey posed serious risks to newborns, documents show
The Turkish acetaminophen purchased by the Alberta government last winter to address a shortage increased the risk of a life-threatening illness in neonatal patients, according to government documents detailing some of the issues that plagued Premier Danielle Smith’s $75-million deal.
The documents obtained by The Globe and Mail explain that the Turkish acetaminophen, thicker than products typically used by Alberta Health Services, could clog feeding tubes used to deliver medicine to fragile young patients. Tubes then had to be flushed with water, which officials determined increased the risk of an illness, called necrotizing enterocolitis, which inflames the intestines of infants.
In December, 2022, Smith announced that the province had procured five million bottles of children’s acetaminophen and ibuprofen from Istanbul-based Atabay Pharmaceuticals amid a surge in pediatric respiratory illnesses. The deal was marred with delays and, only after the crisis had subsided, 1½ million bottles touched down on Alberta soil. Just 13,700 bottles were distributed to hospitals or pharmacies, and the province is unlikely to receive the outstanding 3½ million units.
With 2023 hottest year on record, the world is now on track to eclipse 1.5 C above preindustrial levels
Sunbathers cool off at Macumba beach, in the west zone of Rio de Janeiro, on September 24, 2023, during a heatwave which registered 39.9 degrees.TERCIO TEIXEIRA/Getty Images
Last year was the warmest year on record, and the global temperature increase is on track to exceed a 1.5 degree Celsius threshold meant to limit the most severe impacts of climate change. To limit global warming to the 1.5 C threshold, greenhouse gas emissions must hit their peak before 2025 at the latest and then go down by 43 per cent by 2030, according to a United Nations summary of the Paris Agreement, which was signed by almost 200 countries, including Canada.
- Is Canada keeping its promises on climate change? The Globe tracks its progress
- A hot, parched South America gets ready for more tragedy in El Niño’s next act
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop
Also on our radar
Nuclear waste site approved: The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has greenlit construction of a landfill site for nuclear waste at Chalk River Laboratories in Deep River, Ont. The project has previously faced significant pushback from municipalities, First Nations and activist groups.
Money Money Money: Ontario recently gave funding to two mining exploration companies called Griftco Corp. and Money Money Money. In an interview, one of the principals behind Griftco said the name has a perfectly innocent explanation, has nothing to do with ripping people off, and was inspired by a funny acquaintance.
Citizenship granted: A Russian woman who was initially barred from Canadian citizenship for her antiwar stand in Moscow acquired citizenship yesterday. A Russian court had previously convicted her in absentia for opposing the invasion of Ukraine.
Violence in Ecuador: Armed men stormed a TV studio in Ecuador during a live broadcast yesterday, as attacks in the country escalated. The President declared that the country had entered an “internal armed conflict.”
Cervical cancer screening: B.C. is phasing out Pap tests as its primary screening method for cervical cancer and replacing it with a more reliable test that can be done at home, making it one of the first provinces in Canada to screen for cervical cancer in this way.
Bodycams for teenage soccer referees: A minor soccer association in Quebec plans to place body cameras on its referees, most of whom are teens, next season, in an effort to prevent abuse by parents and some coaches.
Morning markets
Global markets steady, Japan stocks jump: Japanese stocks hit a 34-year high on Wednesday while global equities, the U.S. dollar and bonds held steady before U.S. inflation data on Thursday. Around 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 slid 0.20 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 added 0.15 per cent and 0.10 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei finished up 2.01 per cent, breaking above 34,000 for the first time since 1990. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.57 per cent. New York futures were mostly steady. The Canadian dollar was higher at 74.80 US cents.
What everyone’s talking about
ER overcrowding won’t be solved by telling sick people to stay home
“The patient declares their own emergency. Not a health ministry bureaucrat, or a health minister. Of course, Canadians have to take some personal responsibility and not go to the hospital for the sniffles. But who is actually doing so?” - André Picard
Today’s editorial cartoon
Illustration by David Parkins
Living better
What is gentle parenting, and is it effective? What to know about the controversial parenting style
Gentle parenting generally refers to a style of parenting that practises staying calm, showing physical affection and treating children’s emotions with importance. It’s become all the rage, particularly since its tenets aren’t carved in stone. Dr. Alice Davidson is one of the few academics to have actually studied gentle parenting, and she shares her research in the latest episode of The Decibel podcast. Read more here.
Moment in time: Jan. 10, 1989
Wayne Gretzky becomes NHL’s all-time leading scorer
Wayne Gretzky on January 10, 1989, at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, Calif.Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images
The combined number of goals and assists a National Hockey League player gets in both the regular season and the playoffs is a statistic that rarely gets mentioned. Regular-season totals are considered the more important number. But on this day in 1989, an exception yet again had to be made for Wayne Gretzky, who had by then done such unthinkable things as record four seasons with more than 200 regular-season points, and hit the 1,000-point mark in just 424 regular-season games. That night, playing for the Los Angeles Kings, he tallied four assists in a 5-4 win against his former team, the Edmonton Oilers. That gave him a combined total of 2,011 regular-season/playoff points, surpassing Gordie Howe for the record. The feat merited mention for a simple reason: It had taken Mr. Gretzky just 9½ seasons to do what Mr. Howe had done in 26. The very next season, on Oct. 15, 1989, Mr. Gretzky surpassed Mr. Howe’s regular-season points total with a third-period assist in yet another Kings-Oilers game that the Kings won 5-4. Mr. Gretzky finished his career with 2,857 regular-season points. And in case anyone is wondering, his combined regular-season and playoffs total is 3,239 points – 1,057 more than Mark Messier, the next player on the list. Peter Scowen
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