Laura Eamon was a few months into her first semester at Carleton University in 2011 when she was taken from a residence party to hospital by paramedics.
Embarrassed by being carried out in front of her fellow students, her mindset changed when she was discharged and returned to campus in Ottawa.
“People are cheering and chanting, and like, ‘Oh, my God. You’re the girl that got taken by ambulance. You drink as much as I do,'” said Eamon. “It was almost like a badge of honour.”
It wasn’t the only time Eamon, originally from Hammonds Plains, N.S., went to hospital because of excessive drinking.
From 2008 to 2013, alcohol was a big part of Eamon’s life. Her struggles with alcohol eventually led her to drop out of university.
Prestigious scholarship
But Eamon is now back at university, this time at Saint Mary’s in Halifax. Sober for more than eight years, the 28-year-old just landed a prestigious Frank H. Sobey scholarship worth $35,000, one of nine given out annually to undergraduate business students in Atlantic Canada. She has a year left in her studies.
As part of her application for the scholarship, which included reference letters, written essays and an interview process, Eamon talked about her sobriety.
“I wanted to show that it is a possibility for people to change, for people to grow, for people to survive substance-use disorder,” she said.
Eamon started drinking when she went to C.P. Allen High School in Bedford, N.S., and liked the confidence it gave her. She believed alcohol was part of the package that included new friends, big parties and adventure.
‘The alcohol sort of took over’
Even though Eamon skipped a lot of classes, she kept her grades up. She graduated in 2011, and wanting to go somewhere bigger than Halifax, she decided on Ottawa.
“And when I got into university, the alcohol sort of took over,” said Eamon.
Eamon is shown in a photo from her time at Carleton University. Students in residence would wear these red sweaters and they could have their nicknames printed on the sleeve. ‘Naturally everyone agreed on my nickname, and I paid actual money to have that branded on my sweater,’ she says. (Submitted by Laura Eamon)
In her first year, she lived in residence. She failed a few classes and barely scraped by in the others, missing a lot of instruction time along the way.
Eamon headed home for the summer with a friend, Kassie Nadler. The two split a place in downtown Halifax, but Nadler left after about a month.
“She packed up all of her stuff and said, ‘I can’t do this anymore. It’s impossible to live with you and you’re ruining my time here. You are sick and this is too much. Something’s got to change. And I’ll see you in Ottawa in September,'” said Eamon. “And she left.”
The experience was a first for Eamon. No one had told her that her drinking was problematic.
Nadler told CBC News this was actually the second time she had a conversation like that with her best friend. The previous time was during their first year of university.
Then 18, the pair would often head to nearby Gatineau, Que., where the legal drinking age is 18, so they could go to clubs. Eamon would often black out from drinking.
“I can’t take care of you in those moments where you need me to,” Nadler told Eamon at the time. “And I’m not physically capable and I can’t make sure that you’re safe, and it puts me in an uncomfortable position.”
For their second year of university, the pair lived off-campus and had other roommates.
Eamon said she knew something was wrong when her roommates were able to balance their studies, work and maintain a social life, but she couldn’t.
“They were thriving, and I was sad and lonely and sick,” said Eamon.
Within a week, she dropped out. She got a job and worked to pay for her rent and alcohol.
Early the following year, Eamon moved home. She continued drinking, couch-surfed and worked a series of jobs in retail and reception when she wasn’t calling in sick for the day.
“I feel bad for all the customers who I dealt with … I was pretty haggard-looking and rough around the edges, probably cranky all the time,” said Eamon.
Eamon bikes on P.E.I.’s Confederation Trail in the summer of 2021. (Submitted by Laura Eamon)
One day that summer in 2013, she woke up in a hotel room and didn’t know where she was.
She went to her first AA meeting that night and cried the entire time. At the end of the meeting, she had a realization.
“How can you go to a bonfire or the beach or, you know, a cottage without drinking?” said Eamon. “I was, like, sobbing to this woman, just so concerned — not that I had woken up downtown in a place where I didn’t even know existed, but because I was worried about going to the beach without alcohol.”
Sober since Nov. 9, 2013
Eamon wasn’t ready to quit drinking, but on Nov. 9, 2013, she went to AA after she was sexually assaulted.
“I knew I didn’t want to ever be in a situation like that again if I could help it, and the only thing that I could control was my own actions,” said Eamon. “And that’s really where my sobriety started.”
Eamon has been sober ever since. She said being surrounded by people who had similar experiences helped her maintain her sobriety. Her father was also an important resource. He was also a recovering alcoholic who had been sober since before Eamon was born.
Growing up, Eamon attended meetings with her father on his sobriety birthdays.
Life without alcohol was different. She didn’t have mysterious bruises and pulled muscles and other injuries. Eamon also noticed she suddenly had extra money. It wasn’t just the money saved from not buying alcohol; it was things like not buying fast food while drinking or the morning after, and not missing work and wages.
Eamon also fell in love.
“All of a sudden, I was experiencing joy,” she said.
Eamon is now a stepmom. Her partner has two kids from a previous marriage.
She also got a diploma in medical office administration and started working in the health-care system, but she longed for a bigger challenge and applied to Saint Mary’s University in 2017 and started attending the school.
Eamon is shown with her partner and her stepdaughters. (Submitted by Laura Eamon)
She’s balanced working in different positions — she’s currently a project co-ordinator with the Sackville Business Association — and going to school while taking less than a full course load.
Since giving up drinking, it hasn’t been all joy for Eamon. Her father died due to cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, and her mother had a brain aneurysm, but has fully recovered.
Finding the money to pay for school has been another challenge. Needing a “Hail Mary,” she learned of the Sobeys scholarship. Looking at the past recipients, she felt intimidated by their success.
“And my partner was just saying, you know, ‘You’re pretty incredible, too. Why don’t you apply?'” said Eamon.
Part of the application process included talking about volunteer experience. Eamon’s volunteer work includes sitting on the board of the Sackville Rivers Association and acting as the communications chair for the organization, which is the community where she now lives. She’s the treasurer of the Saint Mary’s University Environmental Society.
Eamon is also involved with the Halifax Recovery Society, a non-profit focused on breaking down the stigma of mental health and substance-use disorders. For their 2021 Recovery Day event, Eamon told her story.
Breaking the stigma of addiction
Julie Melanson is the society’s founder. She said when people like Eamon tell their stories, it helps break down stigma.
Julie Melanson is the founder of the Halifax Recovery Society. She says success stories, like that of Eamon, help make it easier for people struggling with substance-use disorder to seek help. (Submitted by Julie Melanson)
“People are able to relate,” said Melanson. “They could hear themselves through that story and know that they’re not alone, so it’s incredibly important for stories to be shared, like Laura’s, in a place where it’s public, where it can be viewed, not behind closed doors, because we need to normalize conversations to really break that societal stigma.”
Melanson said the stories also offer hope.
“It really shows that we can recover, we do recover and we do succeed in great ways, so it’s absolutely phenomenal,” said Melanson.
‘Still just funny and outgoing,’ says friend
While on opposite ends of the country, Nadler and Eamon remain friends. They’ve also taken road trips together over the years. While Eamon’s confidence has grown, in other ways she hasn’t changed.
“She was still the same Laura that I met on the first day that I went to Carleton for the group tour, still just funny and outgoing and social and very interested in the world around her and in the people that she surrounds herself with,” said Nadler.
When Eamon learned she had won the scholarship, the celebration was simple: she and her partner got Chinese food.
“I think I’ve turned into a homebody and I’m comfortable with that,” she said. “And it’s the little things that make a difference now.”
There are resources in place for Nova Scotians needing help with addictions. The province’s mental health and addictions line can be reached by phone at 1-855-922-1122.
WINNIPEG – Some 250 coloured tacks pepper a large-scale world map among bookshelves at Whodunit Mystery Bookstore.
Estonia, Finland, Japan and even Fenwick, Ont., have pins representing places outside Winnipeg where someone has ordered a page-turner from the independent bookstore that specializes in mystery and crime fiction novels.
For 30 years, the store has been offering fans of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot or Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes a place to get lost in whodunits both old and new.
Jack and Wendy Bumsted bought the shop in the Crescentwood neighbourhood in 2007 from another pair of mystery lovers.
The married couple had been longtime customers of the store. Wendy Bumsted grew up reading Perry Mason novels while her husband was a historian with vast knowledge of the crime fiction genre.
At the time, Jack Bumsted was retiring from teaching at the University of Manitoba when he was looking for his next venture.
“The bookstore came up and we bought it, I think, within a week,” Wendy Bumsted said in an interview.
“It never didn’t seem like a good idea.”
In the years since the Bumsteds took ownership, the family has witnessed the decline in mail-order books, the introduction of online retailers, a relocation to a new space next to the original, a pandemic and the death of beloved co-owner Jack Bumsted in 2020.
But with all the changes that come with owning a small business, customers continue to trust their next mystery fix will come from one of the shelves at Whodunit.
Many still request to be called about books from specific authors, or want to be notified if a new book follows their favourite format. Some arrive at the shop like clockwork each week hoping to get suggestions from Wendy Bumsted or her son on the next big hit.
“She has really excellent instincts on what we should be getting and what we should be promoting,” Micheal Bumsted said of his mother.
Wendy Bumsted suggested the store stock “Thursday Murder Club,” the debut novel from British television host Richard Osman, before it became a bestseller. They ordered more copies than other bookstores in Canada knowing it had the potential to be a hit, said Michael Bumsted.
The store houses more than 18,000 new and used novels. That’s not including the boxes of books that sit in Wendy Bumsted’s tiny office, or the packages that take up space on some of the only available seating there, waiting to be added to the inventory.
Just as the genre has evolved, so has the Bumsteds’ willingness to welcome other subjects on their shelves — despite some pushback from loyal customers and initially the Bumsted patriarch.
For years, Jack Bumsted refused to sell anything outside the crime fiction genre, including his own published books. Instead, he would send potential buyers to another store, but would offer to sign the books if they came back with them.
Wendy Bumsted said that eventually changed in his later years.
Now, about 15 per cent of the store’s stock is of other genres, such as romance or children’s books.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced them to look at expanding their selection, as some customers turned to buying books through the store’s website, which is set up to allow purchasers to get anything from the publishers the Bumsteds have contracts with.
In 2019, the store sold fewer than 100 books online. That number jumped to more than 3,000 in 2020, as retailers had to deal with pandemic lockdowns.
After years of running a successful mail-order business, the store was able to quickly adapt when it had to temporarily shut its doors, said Michael Bumsted.
“We were not a store…that had to figure out how to get books to people when they weren’t here.”
He added being a community bookstore with a niche has helped the family stay in business when other retailers have struggled. Part of that has included building lasting relationships.
“Some people have put it in their wills that their books will come to us,” said Wendy Bumsted.
Some of those collections have included tips on traveling through Asia in the early 2000s or the history of Australian cricket.
Micheal Bumsted said they’ve had to learn to be patient with selling some of these more obscure titles, but eventually the time comes for them to find a new home.
“One of the great things about physical books is that they can be there for you when you are ready for them.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Sept. 15, 2024.
MONTREAL – Canada’s labour minister is praising both Air Canada and the union representing about 5,200 of its pilots for averting a work stoppage that would have disrupted travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers.
Steven MacKinnon’s comments came in a statement shared to social media shortly after Canada’s largest air carrier announced it had reached a tentative labour deal with the Air Line Pilots Association.
MacKinnon thanked both sides and federal mediators, saying the airline and its pilots approached negotiations with “seriousness and a resolve to get a deal.”
The tentative agreement averts a strike or lockout that could have begun as early as Wednesday for Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, with flight cancellations expected before then.
The airline now says flights will continue as normal while union members vote on the tentative four-year contract.
Air Canada had called on the federal government to intervene in the dispute, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that would only happen if it became clear no negotiated agreement was possible.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
When it comes to plant-based alternatives, Canadians have never had so many options — and nowhere is that choice more abundantly clear than in the milk section of the dairy aisle.
To meet growing demand, companies are investing in new products and technology to keep up with consumer tastes and differentiate themselves from all the other players on the shelf.
“The product mix has just expanded so fast,” said Liza Amlani, co-founder of the Retail Strategy Group.
She said younger generations in particular are driving growth in the plant-based market as they are consuming less dairy and meat.
Commercial sales of dairy milk have been weakening for years, according to research firm Mintel, likely in part because of the rise of plant-based alternatives — even though many Canadians still drink dairy.
The No. 1 reason people opt for plant-based milk is because they see it as healthier than dairy, said Joel Gregoire, Mintel’s associate director for food and drink.
“Plant-based milk, the one thing about it — it’s not new. It’s been around for quite some time. It’s pretty established,” said Gregoire.
Because of that, it serves as an “entry point” for many consumers interested in plant-based alternatives to animal products, he said.
Plant-based milk consumption is expected to continue growing in the coming years, according to Mintel research, with more options available than ever and more consumers opting for a diet that includes both dairy and non-dairy milk.
A 2023 report by Ernst & Young for Protein Industries Canada projected that the plant-based dairy market will reach US$51.3 billion in 2035, at a compound annual growth rate of 9.5 per cent.
Because of this growth opportunity, even well-established dairy or plant-based companies are stepping up their game.
It’s been more than three decades since Saint-Hyacinthe, Que.-based Natura first launched a line of soy beverages. Over the years, the company has rolled out new products to meet rising demand, and earlier this year launched a line of oat beverages that it says are the only ones with a stamp of approval from Celiac Canada.
Competition is tough, said owner and founder Nick Feldman — especially from large American brands, which have the money to ensure their products hit shelves across the country.
Natura has kept growing, though, with a focus on using organic ingredients and localized production from raw materials.
“We’re maybe not appealing to the mass market, but we’re appealing to the natural consumer, to the organic consumer,” Feldman said.
Amlani said brands are increasingly advertising the simplicity of their ingredient lists. She’s also noticing more companies offering different kinds of products, such as coffee creamers.
Companies are also looking to stand out through eye-catching packaging and marketing, added Amlani, and by competing on price.
Besides all the companies competing for shelf space, there are many different kinds of plant-based milk consumers can choose from, such as almond, soy, oat, rice, hazelnut, macadamia, pea, coconut and hemp.
However, one alternative in particular has enjoyed a recent, rapid ascendance in popularity.
“I would say oat is the big up-and-coming product,” said Feldman.
Mintel’s report found the share of Canadians who say they buy oat milk has quadrupled between 2019 and 2023 (though almond is still the most popular).
“There seems to be a very nice marriage of coffee and oat milk,” said Feldman. “The flavour combination is excellent, better than any other non-dairy alternative.”
The beverage’s surge in popularity in cafés is a big part of why it’s ascending so quickly, said Gregoire — its texture and ability to froth makes it a good alternative for lattes and cappuccinos.
It’s also a good example of companies making a strong “use case” for yet another new entrant in a competitive market, he said.
Amid the long-standing brands and new entrants, there’s another — perhaps unexpected — group of players that has been increasingly investing in plant-based milk alternatives: dairy companies.
For example, Danone has owned the Silk and So Delicious brands since an acquisition in 2014, and long-standing U.S. dairy company HP Hood LLC launched Planet Oat in 2018.
Lactalis Canada also recently converted its facility in Sudbury, Ont., to manufacture its new plant-based Enjoy! brand, with beverages made from oats, almonds and hazelnuts.
“As an organization, we obviously follow consumer trends, and have seen the amount of interest in plant-based products, particularly fluid beverages,” said Mark Taylor, president and CEO of Lactalis Canada, whose parent company Lactalis is the largest dairy products company in the world.
The facility was a milk processing plant for six decades, until Lactalis Canada began renovating it in 2022. It now manufactures not only the new brand, but also the company’s existing Sensational Soy brand, and is the company’s first dedicated plant-based facility.
“We’re predominantly a dairy company, and we’ll always predominantly be a dairy company, but we see these products as complementary,” said Taylor.
It makes sense that major dairy companies want to get in on plant-based milk, said Gregoire. The dairy business is large — a “cash cow,” if you will — but not really growing, while plant-based products are seeing a boom.
“If I’m looking for avenues of growth, I don’t want to be left behind,” he said.
Gregoire said there’s a potential for consumers to get confused with so many options, which is why it’s so important for brands to find a way to differentiate themselves, whether it’s with taste, health, or how well the drink froths for a latte.
Competition in a more crowded market is challenging, but Taylor believes it results in better products for consumers.
“It keeps you sharp, and it forces you to be really good at what you’re doing. It drives innovation,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
