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Climate change is threatening these 10 species in Canada – CTV News

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TORONTO —
Although the global havoc wreaked by the coronavirus appeared to take precedence over all else in 2020, the issue of climate change didn’t just disappear, even if it did take a backseat.

Despite a dip in greenhouse gas emissions due to the pandemic, the Earth is still on course to warm up by more than 3 C by the end of the century, according to the United Nations Environment Programme’s recent annual assessment of emissions levels.  

While that may not seem like a lot, consider that the planet has already experienced more frequent draughts, wildfires, and extreme storms since warming a little more than 1 C since pre-industrial times.

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This volatile weather and warming temperatures put the habitats and lifestyles of many species, particularly those in Canada’s North, in a vulnerable position.

Emily Giles, a senior species specialist for World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF), explained that there are direct and indirect impacts of climate change on certain species.

“An example is, say, something like the southern resident killer whales, which are the orcas on the West Coast, they’re impacted because they only eat Chinook salmon and salmon are heavily impacted by climate change. So then, therefore, so are the killer whales,” she told CTVNews.ca during a telephone interview on Dec. 2.

In an effort to draw attention to some of the species in Canada that are already feeling the effects of climate change or that are expected to in the future, CTVNews.ca consulted the WWF and the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), which annually classifies wildlife species at risk of extinction.

Arne Mooers, a biodiversity professor at Simon Fraser University and COSEWIC member, explained why it’s important to pay attention to the species on this list and what happens to them.

“These guys are canaries in the coal mine,” he warned. “We should worry about them, but they’re telling us that we should be worried about us.”

VANCOUVER ISLAND MARMOT

Vancouver Island marmot

Vancouver Island marmots are endemic to the island. (Credit: John D. Reynolds)

As Canada’s most endangered mammal, the Vancouver Island marmot was an obvious candidate for the list, according to COSEWIC.

The Vancouver Island Marmot is a rodent endemic to Vancouver Island, meaning they’re found nowhere else on Earth.

According to estimates, there are only approximately 200 Vancouver Island Marmots left with many of them raised in captivity before being released into the wild. They live in colonies in the mountains on the island, but wolves, cougars and a loss of habitat have caused their numbers to dwindle over the years.

Climate change has resulted in the growth of coniferous trees up the slopes of the mountains the marmots live on, which has caused their habitats to shrink, because too many trees can restrict the rodent’s ability to see predators approaching and changes their food sources. They also require enough snow to burrow in when they hibernate over the winter months, which may be more difficult with warmer temperatures.

According to a 2019 COSEWIC assessment and status report, “under a ‘worst-case’ scenario, up to 97 per cent of the suitable marmot habitat on Vancouver Island may disappear by 2080” as a result of climate change. 

ARCTIC CARIBOU

Arctic caribou

Arctic caribou are seen in this undated photo. (Credit: Chris Johnson)

Two populations of Arctic caribou found in the Canadian Far North, the Peary caribou and the Dolphin and Union herd, are vulnerable to the warming effects of climate change due to their dependence on sea ice for migration.

Emily Giles from WWF said these caribou are known for their “epic” long-distance migrations. The Peary herd, found in the high Arctic Archipelago and Ellesmere Island, depend on the sea ice to travel in search of limited forage between the high Arctic islands.

The Dolphin and Union herd cross between Victoria Island, where they give birth and rear their young, and their wintering habitat on mainland Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.

“The absence of sea ice, we’re not there yet, but the absence of sea ice would be disastrous for those groups and completely disrupt their migration,” she explained.

Giles added that, more generally, the disappearance of sea ice has cleared the way for more industrial development, which has been detrimental to the Arctic species living there that are sensitive to this kind of disturbance.

“They’ve evolved over thousands of years to live with ice and so as it changes, they’re not able to adapt quickly enough to the changes that we’re seeing in the Arctic,” she said.

CHINOOK SALMON

Chinook salmon

Chinook salmon are photographed here. (Credit: Bruce Leaman)

While several species of Pacific salmon are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, Giles wanted to highlight the Chinook salmon in particular.

They live in the colder upper reaches of the Pacific Ocean and breed in freshwater rivers and streams in the Pacific Northwest. The Chinook salmon are vital because they enrich terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems with essential marine-based nutrients when they complete their lifecycle. They’re also an important food source for species such as the Steller sea lion and the southern resident killer whale.

“It’s the only kind of salmon that the southern resident killer whale will eat,” Giles said.

According to the WWF, warming water temperatures are greatly impacting the salmon’s ability to migrate to certain areas for spawning and for food.

“They’re right now considered to be living at the upper range of their heat tolerance so even just a shift of one or two degrees and water temperature can have a big impact for them,” she said. “The fish might not migrate from one area to another if the water’s too warm in a certain spot.”

COLLARED PIKA

Collared pikas

Collared pikas are rabbit-like herbivores that live in the mountains. (Credit: Syd Cannings) )

The collared pika, an adorable rabbit-like herbivore that is approximately the weight of a baseball, was mentioned by both the WWF and COSEWIC as a species of special concern due to climate change.

Residing in the rocky mountainous areas of northern British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Alaska, the collared pika is vulnerable because it’s not as adaptable as other species if its habitat changes or is lost.

“Already some populations of collared pika have been extirpated from parts of their historic range, after changes in moisture and weather caused by climate change made conditions inhabitable,” according to the WWF.

Warmer winters resulting in less mountain-top snow, which the pikas use as insulation for their nests, have also put them in danger because they’re left exposed to extreme temperatures.

SPINY SOFTSHELL TURTLE

Spiny softshell turtle

Spiny Softshell turtle hatchlings are seen in this undated photo. (Scott Gillingwater/WWF-Canada))

Giles wanted to include the Spiny Softshell turtle, which is the only type of turtle with a soft shell in Canada, to the list of species threatened by climate change because she suspects many Canadians aren’t aware of it.

“It’s a very unique, bizarre-looking turtle,” she said. “It’s got this pointy snout and this, it kind of looks like a pancake, this flat shell that’s soft.”

The turtle lives in rivers and lakes in Ontario and Quebec, but its habitat has been affected by higher temperatures, droughts, and flooding from extreme weather resulting from climate change.

“We’re just getting a lot of that extreme weather and that is thought to be impacting the turtles as they nest on the banks of rivers,” Giles said. “It’s quite in trouble. It’s considered endangered, which is the last level it can be before it goes extinct.”

NARWHAL

Narwhals

A pod of narwhals surfaces in northern Canada in this August 2005 file photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP Photo/Kristin Laidre, NOAA, files))

The narwhal, or as Giles called it “the unicorn of the sea” thanks to its distinct spiralled tusk, is particularly sensitive to the effects of melting ice in the Arctic. That’s because the whale uses the ice to feed and protect itself from potential predators.

“The shrinking Arctic ice is actually opening up new ways for orca whales to come north. Orcas are a new predator for narwhal, they’ve never come into contact with them before so the orcas are taking advantage of this, they’re very smart, and they’re actually able to hunt narwhal.”

According to the WWF, narwhals are moving closer to shorelines where food is scarce because of this new presence of killer whales.

What’s more, Giles said studies have shown that narwhals are the most vulnerable of all Arctic marine mammals to the threats posed by climate change.

PIPING PLOVER

Piping plover

In this May 30, 2019 photo, a piping plover walks on the sand in Glen Haven, Mich. (AP Photo/John Flesher))

The little shorebird known as the piping plover is an endangered species that has felt the effects of climate change on its favoured habitat – sunny, sandy beaches.

Found in the Prairies, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada, the small bird nests on wide sandy beaches with little vegetation.

“It’s a beautiful little bird, very, very cute, and it just happens to like the same kind of beaches that we love as humans,” Giles said.

According to COSEWIC, an increase in severe storms and rising sea levels from climate change have reduced the amount of available habitat for the birds’ coastal breeding and wintering grounds. In the Prairies, drier conditions and severe storms have threatened the piping plovers’ habitat.

Despite some recent successes in conservation efforts, Giles said the piping plover has a limited distribution in Canada and remains endangered.

ATLANTIC WALRUS

Walrus

Walruses are seen in Kangiqsujuaq, Quebec in this undated photo. (Putulik Jaaka / Pexels))

Warming temperatures and shrinking sea ice has put Atlantic walruses, which are found in the high Arctic and central-low Arctic, in danger.

When the large flippered marine mammal isn’t in the ocean, they live in small groups on sea ice, which are called haul-outs. If there is less sea ice for them to live on, the walruses are forced to haul out on land where the food availability is limited.

They’re also more likely to gather in larger groups on land where they’re at risk of stampedes, such as the heartbreaking one presented in Netflix’s docuseries “Our Planet.”  “With all of these walruses congregating in these haul-outs, when there’s a distant boat or aircraft passing by them, they can actually become disoriented and panic and cause stampedes,” Giles explained.

Giles added that the warming Arctic has also resulted in an increase in industrial development, such as shipping and oil and gas exploration, which disturbs the walruses’ habitat.

“With ice opening and new routes opening up for ships and oil tankers, resulting in noise pollution, and this encroachment is really expected to be to be detrimental for their breeding and feeding,” she said.

BERINGIAN PLANTS – HAIRY BRAYA MUSTARD

Hairy Braya

Hairy Braya is a rare perennial flowering plant in the mustard family and is only found on one peninsula in the Northwest Territories. (Credit: Bruce Bennett) )

According to COSEWIC, there are a couple of northern plant species that are part of the ancient Beringia ecosystem, which wasn’t covered by ice during the last ice age, that are currently threatened by climate change.

One of those plants, the hairy braya, which is a rare perennial flowering plant in the mustard family, is only found on one peninsula in the Northwest Territories and nowhere else in the world.

With rising temperatures, the permafrost the plant lives on is melting away beneath it, putting it at risk.

According to COSEWIC, the hairy braya is listed as endangered due to a loss of habitat from permafrost melting, rapid coastal erosion, and salt spray from storm surges.

“These events appear to be increasing in frequency and severity as a consequence of a significant reduction in sea ice cover on the Beaufort Sea and changes in weather patterns,” according to COSEWIC.

“These indirect impacts of climate change are expected to continue into the foreseeable future.” 

NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE

right whale calf

A mother North Atlantic right whale and her calf are seen in this undated handout photo in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, ACCOL/NEAQ and Canadian Whale Institute)

Giles wanted to include the North Atlantic right whale on the list of threatened species because it is critically endangered with only about 400 left in the world.

According to the WWF, the large whales spend summer and fall in Canadian waters along the eastern seaboard and migrate to southern waters off the United States during the winter. Until recently, the whales frequented the same areas, which allowed measures to be put in place to protect them from becoming entangled in fishing gear or struck by vessels.

However, warming ocean temperatures have resulted in the whales’ food source, a tiny invertebrate called a copepod, moving north to colder waters where the North Atlantic right whale has followed them and where there are no protections in place.

“It’s a sad story because the North Atlantic right whale shifted from an area where it was protected to an area where it wasn’t protected,” Giles said.

Similar to the Southern Resident killer whales in the Pacific, Giles said conservationists have been watching populations of the North Atlantic right whale decrease continuously.

“We’re celebrating every single birth as it occurs and tracking every death because when you get a population that’s in trouble like this one and that’s already so small, every single birth and death really matters,” she said.

   

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Just bought a used car? There’s a chance it’s stolen, as thieves exploit weakness in vehicle registrations

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The fight against Canada’s worst-ever auto theft epidemic has largely focused on ramping up inspections at shipping ports, where organized crime groups have exported the overwhelming majority of stolen vehicles.

But criminals are adapting, police say, by increasingly selling hot vehicles in Canada to unsuspecting buyers with little protection, exploiting a weakness in provincial registration systems that veteran investigators argue needs to be fixed.

“The market is so lucrative it’s easy cash,” said Det. Sgt. Greg O’Connor of Peel Regional Police, west of Toronto.

While it is impossible to know what criminals do with all stolen cars and difficult to track shifting trends, police now estimate nearly one-third of stolen vehicles are being resold in Canada, marking a significant increase from just six months ago when the vast majority of vehicles were believed to have been exported.

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And often, buyers have no idea.

Derek Crocker bought a used Ford F-150 pickup truck from a dealership in Toronto in 2022. Just a few months later, his own investigation revealed the truck’s vehicle identification number — or VIN — had been replaced, mirroring the VIN of a similar truck registered in Utah.

Two photos of VIN stickers highlight two identical VINs to show how the identification number can be faked.
VIN stickers from two different vehicles show the same vehicle identification numbers. The original and authentic sticker, top, is from a vehicle registered in Utah. The lower number, a fake, is from the used Ford F150 purchased by Crocker in Ontario. (CBC)

“The whole reason you buy it from a dealership is so you don’t have to worry about dealing with that sort of thing,” he said.

In retrospect, there were small tells.

After Crocker entered what should have been the truck’s unique VIN in Ford’s app, the function to remotely start the vehicle never worked. The app also listed the vehicle as being located in the United States and indicated a different amount of fuel than his own vehicle tank was holding.

But it wasn’t until his F-150 was in an accident and required body work that the problem with the VIN was revealed. The repair shop ordered parts based on the VIN it saw on the dash. But the parts did not match.

“So I Googled the VIN number that was on my truck, and I found a truck for sale in Utah,” said Crocker.

A Ford F-150 in an outdoor parking lot.
This Ford F-150 truck cost Crocker almost $60,000 at a dealership. His own investigation revealed it had been reported stolen and had a new VIN sticker mirroring one from a similar truck already registered in Utah. Because the truck had been reported stolen, his insurance policy was immediately voided, as police seized the vehicle. (Submitted by Derek Crocker)

It turns out that was the true VIN, which thieves had cloned, placing fake VIN stickers with the Utah truck’s VIN on top of the true number for the truck Crocker bought.

VINs are most prominently displayed on a vehicle’s dashboard, as well as on the ownership title. When a vehicle is stolen, the VIN is flagged across North America to prevent it being sold.

But criminals are replacing the VIN plate, often with one from a comparable vehicle that has been totalled, legally exported or one registered in another province or U.S. state. They may go through junkyards, export records or simply walk through a mall parking lot to find a VIN to clone.

In doing so, they re-VIN or “wash” the vehicle of its stolen status.

A police officer stands in front of a recovered stolen car.
Det. Sgt. Greg O’Connor of Peel Regional Police stands with stolen luxury vehicles recovered by the auto theft squad he leads. The vehicles included a Porsche, Maserati, Land Rover and other cars that had each been ‘re-VINed.’ (Mia Sheldon/CBC)

Crocker called police, who seized the vehicle and returned it to the insurance company of the original owner.

Crocker’s own insurance would not cover his loss because he’d — albeit unknowingly — purchased a stolen vehicle. After a long discussion with the dealership that sold him the stolen truck, his money was returned.

“They did nothing extra,” Crocker said. “They didn’t help me at all.”

How could 2 cars with the same VIN be registered?

Provincial centres that administer vehicle registration, such as ServiceOntario, do not have a system that checks if VINs already exist in other jurisdictions.

“You can have a vehicle registered in one province and the same VIN on a different vehicle registered in another and we need to stop that,” David Adams, president and CEO of Global Automakers of Canada, told a recent auto theft summit in the Greater Toronto Area.

Neither Canada nor the United States has a national vehicle registry. Multiple police agencies are urging federal and provincial governments to create one.

“The reality is this is a national issue. And that’s why a national registry that moves itself beyond any sort of provincial jurisdiction is important in all capacities,” Nick Milinovich, deputy chief of Peel Regional Police, said in an interview.

CBC News asked Ontario’s Ministry of the Solicitor General why the province’s database can’t detect whether the same VIN is actively being used in another province or state.

“If changes to the provincial registration process are required, we won’t hesitate to make them,” it responded in a statement.

How to spot a potentially stolen car for sale

While it is impossible to know precisely how many fraudulently registered stolen vehicles are back on the road, recoveries have surged.

“The number of re-VINS is just blowing through the roof right now,” said O’Connor. “It’s costing drivers, banks, insurance companies big money. It’s a massive problem.”

It is impossible to know the full extent of the illegal economy and the proportion of vehicle exported versus those kept in the country. But police forces across southern Ontario have reported a surge in recoveries of vehicles that have had their VINs altered.

Car buyers are being advised to look at the VIN on the dashboard and the pillar between the front and back driver’s side doors to see if the numbering is bubbling, a sign there may be a sticker on top of the real VIN.

A fake vehicle identification number on a blue Porsche.
A fake VIN sticker on a police-recovered stolen Porsche Cayenne. Investigators point to bubbling and a slight discolouration as suspicious. The sticker, on the driver’s side pillar between the front and back seats, is one of two locations where a VIN is most prominently displayed. The other, on the front dash, is visible from outside the vehicle. Both had been altered by criminals. (Mia Sheldon/CBC)

Running the VIN through a paid service like Carfax could also yield key warning signs. For example: a vehicle that records show has been declared salvage after a crash later reappearing undamaged. Or a VIN with a sales and registration history almost exclusively in one province or state suddenly being for sale in another.

If an insurance company discovers a vehicle has a fraudulent VIN, the policy is voided. When police seized Crocker’s truck, insurance would not pay to replace it. He was only able to recover his money when the dealership that sold the stolen truck paid him out.

But police and insurance investigators have begun to warn of a proliferation of re-VINed vehicles being sold exclusively through social media platforms like Instagram.

“If you’re paying cash for that vehicle [in a private sale] or you do a bank transfer,” said O’Connor, “there’s no recourse.”

WATCH | A stolen car is found in Ghana: 

CBC finds Toronto man’s stolen car in West Africa

8 months ago

Duration 2:00

CBC’s David Common informs Len Green that his stolen car has been found in Ghana, 8,500 kilometres from Toronto, where it first went missing a year ago.

Registry employees alleged to be in on the crime

Police also allege organized crime has recruited employees at ServiceOntario, the registration centres operated on behalf of the province that offer an array of services, including issuing licences and managing the database of registered vehicles.

At the end of 2023, Toronto police charged seven ServiceOntario employees with a collective 73 charges, including fraud over $5,000, tampering with a vehicle identification number, breach of trust by a public officer and trafficking in identity information.

They allegedly provided an auto theft ring with registered addresses for specific vehicle models. Once stolen, the same employees assisted the ring in “re-VINing” the vehicles.

Fraudulent VINs may never be detected, although Peel police alone have seized more than 50 such vehicles in 2024 alone.

At other times, employees at ServiceOntario have flagged suspicious activity, such as when the same person shows up dozens of times to register different vehicles. That was allegedly the case with Milton Hylton, who was charged with 168 counts of various Criminal Code offences in March.

He was released on bail, pending trial. No charges are yet proven.

WATCH | An alleged repeat re-VINer is arrested:

Police arrest man for alleged serial re-VINing

1 day ago

Duration 0:29

CBC News takes you inside a police surveillance operation, witnessing an auto theft takedown connected to a growing aspect of the billion-dollar crime. Criminal rings are increasingly selling stolen cars in Canada to car buyers who often have no idea.

According to the warrant used to search his home and requested by Peel Regional Police Const. Gurinder Athwal, the 24-year-old travelled to “multiple ServiceOntario locations throughout the province and fraudulently registered vehicles.” Police say more than 100 vehicles were involved, and describe stolen Dodge Rams, Dodge Durangos and BMWs among them.

CBC News was present at the moment of Hylton’s arrest in Mississauga as multiple undercover police vehicles conducting surveillance moved in.

As investigators searched and then towed his silver Mazda, they say they found documents to register even more vehicles inside.

Hylton had just a few weeks earlier been banned from entering ServiceOntario locations without an appointment, because of suspicions. He was in the company of a woman he identified as his girlfriend. His sister was also arrested days later and now faces 36 charges of uttering forged documents and trafficking of stolen goods.

3rd-party registration being exploited

In a news release, Peel police describe Hylton as using “loopholes in the ServiceOntario procedures that allow ‘authorized’ individuals to conduct third-party transactions.”

While third-party registration is intended for car dealers, provisions for it mean nearly any individual can transfer registration of a vehicle or register a vehicle in another person’s name.

This process is typical in other Canadian provinces, too.

“It’s a huge problem,” said O’Connor. “And that’s how a lot of these vehicles are getting through.”

For instance, the warrant in the Hylton case alleges he transferred vehicle ownerships to both a speciality tool shop in Etobicoke and an automotive exporter in St. Catharines. Neither business authorized the transfers, and both insist Hylton is neither an employee nor known to them.

Were the vehicles in question stolen, the new registration would have detached them from their previous owners. Anyone buying the vehicles would be none the wiser and would have no insurance or other protection if the vehicle’s stolen status was ever uncovered.

A screenshot of an Instagram page showing customers giving testimonials about their newly purchased vehicles.
Peel police allege this Instagram page shows customers of Hylton’s apparent brokerage ‘Royalty in the Building.’ Testimonial videos describe how Hylton set up car purchasers with vehicles. Police say at least some of the vehicles in the videos were likely stolen and given replacement vehicle identification numbers to make them appear legitimate. (Royalty in the Building/Instagram)

Peel police say Hylton sold dozens of vehicles over a year through social media under the Instagram handle “Royalty in the Building.”

That name is associated with Facebook and Instagram accounts where apparent car buyers offer testimonials.

“I called up Milton. I told him I got my money up, I need plates, I need a car. And he got it just like that,” a person said in a testimonial while standing in front of a Honda Civic.

“Got my new SUV, fully loaded. Tints, light, rims, inside’s clean. Everything’s legit,” another person said in a testimonial.

“You give him your cash. You’re on the road. You ain’t got to go to ServiceOntario. You don’t got to do no running around,” said another.

WATCH | Inside a weeks-long auto theft investigation:

How stolen cars end up back on Canadian streets

1 day ago

Duration 7:34

CBC’s David Common gets exclusive access inside an auto theft surveillance operation, targeting a suspect who allegedly re-vinned more than 100 stolen vehicles to be resold, sometimes to unsuspecting buyers in Canada.

CBC News spoke with several police and insurance officials from across the Greater Toronto Area about third-party registrations.

Each insisted the loophole needed to be closed to prevent illegal transfers. But none wanted to speak on the record, citing the provincial Ministry of Transportation as a good partner they did not want to publicly besmirch.

Meanwhile, the auto theft problem continues to grow.

In 2022, an unprecedented $1.2 billion worth of vehicles were stolen across the entire country. By 2023, more than $1 billion was lost in just Ontario alone, according to the Équité Association, the national organization charged with reducing insurance fraud.

“It’s one of the top three revenue generators for organized crime,” said Milinovich. “It’s high reward, low risk, and an easy crime.”

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Federal budget 2024 disliked by half of Canada: poll

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OTTAWA –

A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.

Just shy of half the respondents to Leger’s latest survey said they had a negative opinion of the federal budget, which was presented last Tuesday.

Only 21 per cent said they had a positive opinion, and one-third of respondents said they didn’t know or preferred not to answer.

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Still, 65 per cent of those surveyed said the plan to spend $8.5 billion on housing, aimed at building 3.9 million homes by 2031, is good for the country.

Leger’s poll of 1,522 Canadians last weekend can’t be assigned a margin of error because online surveys are not considered truly random samples.

People in Alberta were most likely to say they had a very negative impression of the budget, with 42 per cent selecting that option compared to 25 per cent across the entire country.

More than half of the people who took the poll said they are in favour of the government’s plans to spend more on energy efficiency, national defence and student-loan forgiveness for health care and education workers.

And 56 per cent said they think the increase to the capital gains tax inclusion rate — a move that’s estimated to raise another $19.4 billion in revenue over the next four years — is a good thing.

The Liberals are billing the change as critical to their plan to improve generational fairness by taxing the ultra-rich.

It has drawn criticism, including from the Canadian Medical Association, which warned on Tuesday that it could affect the country’s ability to recruit and keep physicians.

The budget proposes to make two-thirds of capital gains — the profit made on the sale of assets — taxable, rather than half. For individuals, this would apply to profits above $250,000, but there is no lower threshold for corporations.

The medical association said many doctors will face higher taxes because they have incorporated their practices and used those companies to save for retirement.

While the Liberals are aiming changes to the capital gains tax at younger Canadians including millennials and gen-Zers, Leger’s poll found it had the support of 60 per cent of respondents over the age of 55 — the highest among any age group.

People between 18 and 35 were least likely to support the Liberal plan to spend another $73 billion on defence in the next two decades. Just 45 per cent of respondents in that age group said ramping up defence spending is good for the country, compared with 70 per cent of people over the age of 55.

Leger also asked questions about the country’s fiscal future.

Almost half the respondents, 47 per cent, said they want to see the government cut back on spending and programs to get the budget balanced as quickly as possible.

Just 16 per cent said spending more and running large deficits is the best plan for the next five years, and 14 per cent want to see the government increase taxes to bring the deficit down.

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Provincial audit turns up more than 40 medical clinics advertising membership fees

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Alberta’s health ministry says an audit has determined that more than 40 medical clinics in the province are advertising membership fees for services, nearly a year after one such plan landed a Calgary clinic in hot water.

The audit was launched last December. In July, CBC News reported that a medical clinic in Calgary’s Marda Loop district was moving to a membership system and planned to charge $4,800 a year for a two-parent family membership, covering two adults and their dependent children.

The next day, Health Canada said the arrangement at the Marda Loop Medical Clinic equated to patients purchasing “preferential access” and warned Alberta that it could face cuts to federal health transfers if the situation wasn’t handled.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange directed Alberta Health to investigate, and the clinic halted its plan for membership fees shortly after.

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In December, LaGrange told CBC News that “appropriate action” would be taken if audits determined that violations were found, adding the province would do whatever it took to ensure clinics were in compliance.

A woman speaks at a podium.
Speaking at a news conference in July 2023, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the Marda Loop Medical Clinic would be fined, lose medicare funding or be shut down altogether if it proceeded with a plan to charge membership fees. (CBC)

The province promised the audits early in the new year. Now, the health ministry says it has conducted interviews to gather information on operations and business models of the clinics, adding this work is ongoing.

“Over 40 clinics in the province [advertise] a membership meant to pay for a defined set of uninsured services, while also providing insured services covered under the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan at no cost to Albertans,” wrote spokesperson Andrea Smith in a statement.

“Once this review is completed, its findings will be used to inform next steps. Alberta’s government will also determine if additional audits of more membership clinics is required.”

In July, Health Canada said executive and primary health clinics charging patients enrolment and annual membership fees exist in a number of provinces. Generally, investigations have indicated that clinics provide members with an variety of uninsured services, such as life coaching and nutritional services.

“However, in some cases … these fees are also a prerequisite to accessing insured services at the clinic (i.e., medically necessary physician services). Mandatory fees to access or receive preferential access to insured services are contrary to the Canada Health Act,” the government department wrote in a statement.

A spokesperson for LaGrange told CBC News in July the ministry wasn’t aware of any other clinics offering services for membership fees that didn’t align with legislation.

What comes next for those 40 clinics is a murky grey area, said Fiona Clement, a professor at the University of Calgary in the department of community health sciences. Much of it has to do with the exact language being used when services are outlined as parts of packages.

“We’re on the razor’s edge of exact wording there that runs them afoul. Really, I think it will come down to what the government is willing to fight with these clinics about,” she said.

CBC News asked the provincial government for a list of the clinics identified, but did not receive it by publication time. A spokesperson with the province said if any clinics are found to be non-compliant with legislation, appropriate action would be taken.

Report had identified 14 clinics

Clement said the big issue that got the Marda Loop Medical Clinic in hot water was the concept of guaranteed access.

“That’s the problem that Marda Loop got into, because there you are charging access to medical care, which is the part that contravenes the Canada Health Act,” Clement said.

At the time the Marda Loop clinic fell under scrutiny, it was clear there were other such clinics providing membership programs, in Calgary and Canada.

In 2022, researchers from Dalhousie University and Simon Fraser University released a paper tracking the number of clinics taking private payment across the country. Between November 2019 and June 2020, the period of the analysis, there were 14 private clinics in Alberta with a range of membership fees and private payment.

A woman smiles at the camera.
Fiona Clement, a professor at the University of Calgary in the department of community health sciences, says she hopes to see an ongoing review tied to Alberta clinics charging membership fees made publicly available. (Riley Brandt/University of Calgary)

“So, 40 is a larger number than I was expecting. And I think it speaks to growth in this area, the number of clinics that are charging fees for different parts of care,” Clement said.

“I think it underscores the lack of stability, and the need to really think about how we’re funding primary care, because more and more clinics are turning to this private charge as a revenue source to keep the doors open.”

Provinces that allow private health-care providers to charge patients for medically necessary services have dollars clawed back by the federal government under the Canada Health Act.

According to Health Canada, Alberta was subject to a $20,450,175 deduction to its Canada Health Transfer payment in March 2024 under the diagnostic services policy. That’s up from $13,781,152 last year.

But the province received $20,538,796 in partial reimbursements tied to its March 2023 and 2024 deductions, which represents actions that Alberta Health has taken to limit patient pay for publicly funded goods or services, according to Clement.

“I guess we’re making some progress. But it’s still a big number, which says there’s still a lot of patient billing going on,” she said.

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