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Ontario hospital in deficit cutting over 100 nursing roles, adding other positions
Ontario hospital cutting more than 100 RN roles
THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
A hospital in London, Ont., is cutting more than 100 registered nurse positions in its mental health programs as it tries to balance its budget.
St. Joseph's Health Care London says in a statement that it is removing 83 full-time and 31 part-time RN roles, and adding close to the same number of registered practical nurse, personal support worker, occupational therapist, physiotherapy assistant, social worker and therapeutic recreation assistant roles.
The hospital says it did a model of care review and is updating the service delivery model in its mental health inpatient, regional outpatient and outreach program at Parkwood Institute.
It comes as the hospital recorded its first-ever deficit last year, of $4.7 million, and has a planned operating deficit this year.
The hospital says its goal is to find ways to maintain the quality of core services while it reaches a balanced budget within three years.
Health Minister Sylvia Jones has told all hospitals in the province to eliminate deficits within that timeframe, and she says today in a statement that the government has given hospitals record amounts of funding and will work with them to ensure people have access to high-quality care.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2026.
By Allison Jones | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Fact File: Elections Alberta has measures to prevent voter fraud in referendum
Fact File: Alberta rules guard against voter fraud
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
An online user claimed on social media that Alberta residents who are not Canadian citizens can falsely declare their citizenship at polling stations and vote in the Oct. 19 referendum. The user questioned Elections Alberta's verification process and raised the spectre of a surge of ineligible voters changing the outcome of an election. Elections Alberta said it checks applicants' information against the province's voter list, adding that lying about citizenship is an offence. One expert noted the voter list contains citizenship status pulled from a national database.
THE CLAIM
In an Oct 6 post on X, which had received about 19,000 views as of Oct. 15, the user claims the province's election rules allow non-Canadian Alberta residents who have an accepted ID with their name and address to make a false citizenship declaration and vote.
"Officials do not require a passport, birth certificate, citizenship card, or other proof of citizenship at the polling station," the user said. "Yes, it's illegal for a non-citizen to vote. But, it's possible."
The user questioned how Elections Alberta checks an applicant's citizenship status, adding that the office simply takes their declarations at "face value" and puts them into the provincial voter registry system. The user questioned whether the province's current system could allow "a significant number" of ineligible voters to change the outcome of an election.
THE FACTS
Albertans will vote Oct. 19 in a referendum that asks a total of 10 questions covering immigration and Canada's Constitution. The central question facing voters is whether the province should remain in Canada or begin the process to hold a binding referendum on separation.
Eligible voters must be Canadian citizens, residents of Alberta and at least 18 years old. An Elections Alberta spokesperson said the office has a series of measures in place to protect against voter fraud.
She said by email that anybody who arrives at a polling station without first registering to vote needs to provide accepted ID, such as a driver's licence, and sign a declaration confirming their Canadian citizenship. The declaration is a legal document not an "honour system," she said, and lying on it is an offence under the provincial Election Act.
According to Elections Alberta website, anybody found trying to vote illegally face possible fines of up to $50,000 and possible jail terms of up to two years.
The spokesperson said that the office records the applicant's information to guard against the same person voting twice, and any potential breaches are provided to the province's election commissioner. She added that scrutineers are also presence to monitor voting.
Lori Williams, an associate professor of political science at Mount Royal University in Calgary, said Alberta's voter registry system tends to contain the voters' citizenship status, derived from their tax return forms filed to the federal government.
"The voters list emerges from things like our tax returns, and of course, Canada Revenue Agency knows that we're citizens, so some verification can be done within the Elections Alberta system," she said.
According to a Government of Canada website, Canadians can consent to the revenue agency sharing their personal information used on their filed tax return forms with Elections Canada to update their status in the government's National Register of Electors.
In the tax return form, applicants are asked if they are a Canadian citizen and if they consent to their personal information, including their citizenship status, being shared with Elections Canada to update its National Register of Electors. Provincial or territorial electoral offices can pull their residents' personal information from the national register to update their own voter registries.
Elections Alberta says there is no evidence that ineligible voters are a growing problem. It has issued a total seven letters of reprimand for voter fraud since 2015, four to people found to be ineligible and three to people found to have voted more than once.
Williams said it is theoretically possible that a non-citizen could try to vote, but Elections Alberta has an effective system and laws in place to deter anybody from trying to do so.
"If you do test it and disclose it that you've tested it, you're liable to fine and/or imprisonment," she said. "This is a significant deterrent to anybody tempted to test whether the system works."
One of the 10 questions being asked in the referendum is whether the province should require individuals "to provide proof of citizenship, such as a passport, birth certificate or citizenship card, to vote in an Alberta provincial election."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2026.
By Timon Johnson | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Air Canada and United look to renew joint venture deal for Canada-U.S. flights
Air Canada and United look to renew joint venture
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Air Canada says it has signed a deal to renew and expand its joint venture agreement with United Airlines for flights between Canada and the United States.
The Montreal-based airline says the partnership continues to deliver meaningful results for its customers and communities.
The airline has submitted the amended and restated agreement to Transport Canada for approval.
Transport Canada says the two airlines have operated under the arrangement, which allows them to work together on certain routes, since 2022.
Air Canada made the announcement as it released several new routes for flights to the U.S. that will begin next summer.
The airline says it will launch new service between Toronto and Louisville, Montreal and Indianapolis, and Edmonton and Newark. It will also increase capacity between Edmonton and San Francisco.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2026.
Companies in this story: (TSX:AC)
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Les nouvelles fonctions que tu attendais arrivent sur Instagram
Avec 700 millions d'utilisateurs, Instagram est présentement le 3e média social le plus populaire au monde, après Facebook et YouTube. Étant à la base une plateforme de partage de photos, le Gram est devenu beaucoup plus que ça: c'est maintenant un lieu où vedettes, influenceurs et population partagent beaucoup de contenu, que ce soit en stories, en direct ou sur leur profil.
Il y a une chose qui était, jusqu'aujourd'hui, assez mal gérée pour un aussi gros média: les commentaires. Ceux-ci seront maintenant revus de deux manières.
1. Les conversations
Devoir ''tag'' la personne à chaque fois qu'on lui répond, ou même lui répondre en privé par moments sans trop comprendre pourquoi: trop de gestion pour rien.
Je crois qu'Instagram a compris notre misère, puisqu'une nouvelle fonction arrive pour régler le problème: les ''thread'' sous les commentaires. Ça va permettre aux personnes de répondre sous un commentaire, et avoir une conversation sans perdre le fil, tout comme sur Facebook. Quelque chose d'assez pratique pour les posts populaires avec des milliers de commentaires. Heureusement, une seule chaîne de réponse pourra être créée pour ne pas avoir quelque chose de chaotique comme sur Reddit.
En voici un aperçu:
Cette fonction sera disponible à compter des prochaines semaines.
2. Une nouvelle mission pour Instagram
La compagnie travaille fort pour améliorer la section commentaires. Cet été Kevin Systrom, le CEO d'Instagram, s'est donné la mission de faire le ménage de la plateforme sociale en éliminant les commentaires méchants. Il travaille très fort sur un système qui identifie les nuances entre un commentaire déplacé ou non. Par exemple, « belle paire » peut être un commentaire pervers envers une femme, mais aussi un commentaire normal sous une paire de nouvelles chaussures.
Son plus gros objectif est de nettoyer sa plateforme, mais il veut aussi montrer que la toxicité en ligne n'est pas inévitable. Montrer que ça doit être une priorité pour tous de créer un espace sécuritaire et sain.
Source: Instagram