Loblaw reports $13.58B in Q1 revenue, as Reddit group’s boycott kicks off

Loblaw Companies reported $13.58 billion in first-quarter revenue — a 4.5 per cent increase from a year earlier — on Wednesday morning, the same day that a group of frustrated shoppers said they would begin a month-long boycott of the grocery retailer. The company’s quarterly profit was $459 million, marking a 9.8 per cent increase. Earnings per share were $1.72 … Read more

Nearly 23% of the Canadian population reported food insecurity in 2022

Nearly nine million Canadians lived in food insecure households in 2022, with 22.9 per cent of the population reporting some form of food insecurity, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday. The data agency wrote in its annual Canadian Income Survey that 8.7 million people lived in households that reported some kind of food insecurity. … Read more

Nearly 30 cases of eclipse-related eye damage reported in Quebec so far

Quebec optometrists have confirmed 28 cases of eclipse-related eye damage since the solar event on April 8, and health officials say there could be far more. For the first time, the Quebec’s health surveillance directorate has set up a watch for eye injuries linked to a solar eclipse, according to Ministry of Health and Social … Read more

Now that bird flu is spreading among cows, scientists worry where H5N1 will jump next

On March 25, American officials published an urgent announcement: Dairy cows in Texas, Kansas, and New Mexico were falling sick. The cows had low appetites, and produced less milk than normal. Some farms also discovered wild bird carcasses on their grounds. Tests on a cow throat swab and raw milk samples all confirmed an unusual finding: … Read more

Can retraining the brain help silence tinnitus? Some scientists are trying to find out

The Current23:55Retraining the brain to silence tinnitus For nearly 40 years, Ken Jones has heard a very loud hissing in his ears.  “It sounds like [an] electrical power line,” he told The Current‘s Matt Galloway. “Mine is at about 92 dB on the decibel scale” — as loud as hairdryers and power tools. The sound … Read more

CRA pausing new ‘bare trust’ reporting requirement just days before filing deadline

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is hitting pause on a new “bare trust” reporting requirement with just a few days remaining before the deadline. New reporting requirements for such trust arrangements were introduced for the 2024 tax season. Anyone with a bare trust was required to file a T3 tax return form naming the trustees, … Read more

MPs to study controversial prison transfer of killer Luka Magnotta

A parliamentary committee voted Monday to look into why convicted first-degree murderer Luka Magnotta was quietly transferred from a maximum to a medium-security prison. The standing committee on public safety and national security passed an amended motion during an emergency debate to hold one meeting about Magnotta’s transfer. The committee is now calling for four witnesses to appear … Read more

New satellite will track elusive methane pollution from oil and gas industry globally

A privately funded satellite is set to push methane tracking into a new era, once it launches into space on Monday. A collaborative mission between Environmental Defense Fund, Google, the Government of New Zealand and several other partners, MethaneSAT will track methane emissions around the globe in attempts to identify and quantify sources spewing the climate-heating greenhouse gas.  For 20 … Read more

Massive new survey finds widespread frustration with access to primary health care

A Toronto-based research team met with and surveyed some 10,000 Canadians about the state of the health-care system — and what they found is deep dissatisfaction and frustration with primary care as the country grapples with a severe shortage of family doctors. The OurCare Initiative — led by Dr. Tara Kiran, a family doctor and scientist … Read more

Renting? You probably report lower quality of life than homeowners

Renters are more likely to report a lower quality of life than homeowners, especially in Vancouver and Toronto, according to survey results over the last few years from Statistics Canada. In 2021 and 2022, renters were over 15 percentage points more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs and over 11 percentage points less likely to report high overall life … Read more