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Skunk in downtown Vancouver that bit people tests positive for rabies
B.C. skunk that bit people positive for rabies
A skunk that bit a number of people in downtown Vancouver has tested positive for rabies.
Vancouver Coastal Health issued a news release notifying the public of the confirmed case on Wednesday.
The health authority said interactions with skunks are rare, but "a small number of people bitten by the skunk have been assessed and received rabies vaccinations and immunoglobulin to prevent rabies."
Rabies virus is a fatal viral infection that affects the brain and nervous system. It is found in the saliva of infected animals and can be transmitted through a bite or a scratch from an infected animal, Vancouver Coastal Health said.
"Rabies virus is not transmitted through exposure to the spray, urine or feces of infected skunks," it added.
Though bats are the only known "reservoirs" for rabies in British Columbia, the authority said "occasional spillovers to other animal species in specific geographical areas, including skunks, have occurred in B.C."
The seriousness of the infection was highlighted in an issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal earlier this year, where infectious disease physicians described the case of an 11-year-old Ontario child who died of rabies in 2024.
Dr. Brian Hummel, the case report's senior author and a pediatric infectious disease physician at McMaster Children's Hospital in Hamilton, told The Canadian Press in June that it's "an extraordinarily rare infection" for humans in Canada, with only 28 cases reported since 1924.
The most recent rabies case before the 11-year-old boy was a man who died after exposure to a bat in B.C. in 2019.
Hummel said once symptoms of rabies start, there is no treatment or cure, but noted the virus has a relatively long incubation period — usually weeks — before symptoms of illness start to show.
Anyone who may have been bitten or scratched by a sick or abnormally behaving skunk in Vancouver's West End neighbourhood between Sept. 22 and Oct. 17 is being asked to contact Vancouver Coastal Health for assessment.
The release said anyone who lives outside the region should contact their local health authority for assessment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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National security screening system can be strengthened, senior adviser to Carney says
Security screening can be improved: PM's adviser
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
A senior federal adviser says a government-wide registry of security clearance information would improve efficiency, reduce duplication and help departments identify where relevant personnel security data may already exist.
David Morrison, senior diplomatic and international affairs adviser to the prime minister, told MPs on a House of Commons committee Wednesday such a registry would be one way to strengthen Canada's national security screening process.
The Commons public safety and national security committee is holding hearings on the screening process following the arrest of a Canadian NATO intern on espionage allegations.
A federal source not authorized to speak publicly about the issue has said that officials in Canada were proceeding on the basis the suspect is Biwei Zhang — also known as Claire Zhang — who was previously employed by Canadian government agencies.
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree previously told the Commons committee the woman arrested in Belgium had received a security clearance from Global Affairs Canada.
The clearance was granted even though court records said the federal Public Service Commission found in 2023 that Zhang committed fraud in an appointment process for a position with the Canada Border Services Agency.
The Federal Court dismissed her application for judicial review of the decision the following year. She submitted a letter of apology during the investigation into her actions.
Morrison, a former deputy minister of foreign affairs, pointed out that individual federal departments are accountable for deciding to issue security clearances, informed by centralized expertise.
The Treasury Board Secretariat establishes the policy framework, the Public Safety portfolio — through RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service — contributes criminality checks and national security assessments, and individual departments collect relevant information, assess risks and make security clearance decisions, he said.
Morrison declined to discuss specific cases, but he said a person screened to work at NATO would likely have a secret-level clearance.
He indicated that open source checks, such as internet searches of a person's history, are now being done for secret-level security screening — a tightening of the system following the arrest in Belgium.
Morrison told the MPs that open source verification should be used more consistently across government for a wider range of security levels. "Its use would also benefit from common tools, training standards and methodologies across departments," he said.
Morrison also suggested human resources-related information relevant to an assessment of an individual's reliability or loyalty should be available to personnel security decision makers without compromising privacy protections or procedural fairness.
Finally, he said a robust personnel security effort should extend throughout a person's employment in the form of insider risk programs, recurring screening, reporting obligations and security awareness. He said these measures would help identify emerging risks, ensure clearance holders remain reliable and loyal, and confirm that clearances reflect current information.
Security expert Wesley Wark said CSIS "shoulders the main burden" of security screening for the federal government, essentially through assessing loyalty to Canada and reliability as it relates to that loyalty. CSIS provides advice related to immigration files as well as on security clearance checks.
Wark, a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, said the current system for security screening in Canada "is simply unsustainable," noting CSIS handles hundreds of thousands of screening requests annually.
"The dual burdens of immigration and security clearance screening on CSIS are simply too great and threaten, in my view, to erode the operational effectiveness of CSIS as it addresses its core missions," Wark said.
"An intelligence service should not be a security screening shop."
He suggested Canada follow the United Kingdom's lead and set up a separate, centralized organization for security clearances.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2026.
By Jim Bronskill | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Police service officially replaces RCMP in northern Alberta city
New police service in Alberta city replaces RCMP
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan
A new police service has officially taken the reins from the Mounties in a northwestern Alberta city.
The Grande Prairie Police Service said the RCMP is no longer responding to calls coming from within city limits starting Wednesday.
The service said it has completed its transition into becoming the city's official police force two years ahead of schedule.
It said the city's roughly 71,000 residents should still call 911 for emergencies.
Grande Prairie councillors voted not to renew a contract with the RCMP in 2023 after a cost analysis found that having a municipal police service wouldn't be as expensive.
Mayor Jackie Clayton said the transition is a significant milestone.
"This transition reflects years of planning, collaboration, and commitment from many people and organizations," she said in a statement Wednesday.
"We are proud to welcome the Grande Prairie Police Service as our police service, marking a new chapter in public safety built on local oversight, strong community partnerships, and a shared commitment to keeping Grande Prairie safe."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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La blonde de Seb Plante à Big Brother répond aux commentaires qui circulent sur elle
« Il y a une autre partie à ça, le revers de la médaille. »
La saison de Big Brother Célébrités vient tout juste de commencer et le chanteur du groupe Les Respectables, Sébastien Plante, fait déjà jaser alors qu'il parle beaucoup de sa vie à l'extérieur ainsi que de son amoureuse Jessyka Lapierre. C'est dans une vidéo partagée sur YouTube le 12 janvier que Jessyka a répondu aux commentaires qui circulent à son sujet.
Sébastien est en couple avec sa copine depuis environ deux ans et iels ont un duo musical ensemble ainsi qu'une chaîne YouTube sur laquelle Seb et Jess ont partagé une vidéo le 9 janvier. Elle a été filmée avant son entrée dans l'aventure afin d'expliquer les raisons de sa participation :
« Je le fais pour nous. Je le fais pour qu'on puisse mettre au monde notre duo. Tous nos projets, nos beaux projets sur lesquels tu travailles et je travaille depuis quand même longtemps. Les temps sont durs et il n'y a pas beaucoup d'opportunités [...] dans le domaine du spectacle, donc il faut vraiment y aller pour mettre la lumière... »
« ... Sur Seb and Jess », ajoute Jessyka.
À peine trois jours après le début de la saison, Jessyka a partagé une deuxième vidéo où elle donne ses impressions sur les candidat.es ainsi que les premiers événements de l'émission.
Elle a également soulevé les commentaires d'internautes sur le fait qu'elle semblait jalouse après que Sébastien ait préféré être dans une chambre avec des garçons pour éviter d'inquiéter sa blonde. La réalisatrice et chanteuse a donc expliqué ce qui aurait réellement poussé Sébastien à choisir cette chambre :
« Il a quand même mis ça beaucoup sur mon dos là, bien en tout cas la production a montré ça. [...] Lui à la base, il se disait "écoute, si toi t'allais là puis que tu dormais à un bras de distance d'un autre gars, je serais pas bien".
« Puis là, je me suis mise à penser à comment je vais me sentir quand il [va dormir], puis qu'il aille des conversations d'oreiller à un bras de distance avec une autre fille. C'est beau le jeu, mais c'est parce que quand tu sors de là, t'as quand même une autre vie », ajoute-t-elle.
Jessyka explique ensuite que les amoureux.ses ont rapidement déménagé ensemble lorsqu'iels se sont rencontré.es afin de faire fonctionner leur histoire d'amour et les deux ne se sont pas séparé.es depuis. Cependant, ce n'est pas la seule raison qui se cache derrière son choix de chambre :
« Il y a une autre partie à ça, le revers de la médaille. C'est aussi que Sébastien, s'il ne dort pas ses huit heures, il est non fonctionnel, ce n'est pas des blagues.
« Donc c'est sûr que de se retrouver dans une chambre avec sept autres personnes, ça y faisait peur, très, très peur parce qu'il sait que, s'il n'est pas en forme [...], il n'aura pas le goût de parler à personne. Déjà que ça lui demande un effort d'aller là, s'il commence à ne pas dormir, ça va être une catastrophe », poursuit l'amoureuse du candidat.
Elle finit en confiant que Sébastien ne voulait pas mettre l'emphase sur son besoin de sommeil pour éviter que la production puisse lui mettre des bâtons dans les roues. Il ne reste plus qu'à voir s'il sera capable d'être plus stratégique afin de se tailler une place jusqu'à la fin.
Tu peux suivre l'évolution des alliances et des différentes stratégies du dimanche au jeudi à 18 h 30, sur les ondes de Noovo.