Competition Bureau seeking input on property controls in grocery industry

A new international study co-authored by a Canadian researcher says climate change is contributing to thousands more wildfire smoke-related deaths than in previous decades.

The modelling study estimates that about 12,566 annual wildfire smoke-related deaths in the 2010s were linked to climate change, up from about 669 in the 1960s.

Sian Kou-Giesbrecht, an assistant professor at Dalhousie University who contributed to the study, says the results attest to the importance of reducing planet-warming greenhouse gases.

She says the study did not find significant changes in smoke-related deaths from Canada’s boreal wildfires, suggesting that’s likely due to the country’s relatively small population size and how tricky it is to model forest fires in the region, given its unique mix of shrubs and peat.

The study indicates the biggest influence was found in South America, Australia and Europe.

The results, published Monday in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Climate Change, build on another study by the same research group that suggested climate change had increased the global area burned by wildfire by about 16 per cent from 2003 to 2019.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

HALIFAX – Police say they are investigating the sudden death of a 19-year-old female employee at a Halifax Walmart on Saturday night.

The city’s regional police force says officers were called to the store on Mumford Road at around 9:30 p.m., where they found the woman dead.

A news release today says occupational health and safety officials are investigating what happened, alongside police and the provincial medical examiner’s service.

In an email, Walmart spokesperson Amanda Moss said the store is temporarily closed and the company is providing grief counselling to its workers.

Moss would not say if the woman was on shift when she died.

An email from the provincial Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration says police have control of the scene and it cannot offer any more information about what happened.

“We extend sympathies to the employee’s family at this incredibly difficult time,” spokesperson Sarah MacNeil wrote.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government has released a code of conduct for municipal politicians across the province.

The code includes 40 guidelines under 14 categories, covering topics from gifts and benefits, to how officials should handle confidential information.

Municipal Affairs Minister John Lohr says a code ensuring elected municipal officials have clear guidance on conduct and behaviour is long overdue.

The code was originally requested by the provinces’ municipalities and villages, and it was developed based on recommendations of a working group established in January 2022.

The working group recommended a code that applied across the province, with processes for investigating complaints and imposing sanctions.

The provincial government says councils and village commissions must adopt the code of conduct by Dec. 19.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.