Former B.C. premier John Horgan, Canada's ambassador to Germany, has cancer again | Canada News Media
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Former B.C. premier John Horgan, Canada’s ambassador to Germany, has cancer again

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LANGFORD, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA – Former British Columbia premier and Canada’s ambassador to Germany John Horgan is staying positive about his health and sends healing thoughts to people battling cancer as he faces his third bout with the disease, says his New Democrat colleague Ravi Parmar.

Parmar, elected last year in a byelection in Horgan’s former Victoria-area riding of Langford-Juan de Fuca, said Tuesday he heard from Horgan and was told he has thyroid cancer.

Horgan has taken an indefinite leave from his duties as ambassador to undergo treatment in Berlin, said Parmar.

“He’ll be on leave for as long as he needs to be, but I know that he’s certainly thinking of those that, like him, are facing cancer,” Parmar said in an interview. “I’ve been texting with him today and in the past number of weeks and months. We’ve been chatting frequently and I know that he’s been again getting the best care possible and fighting really hard to beat this cancer.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Horgan Canada’s ambassador to Germany in November 2023.

Horgan, 64, was B.C.’s premier from 2017 to 2022 and the New Democrat Party leader for eight years. He served five terms in the provincial legislature.

While premier, Horgan was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2021 and went through more than 30 radiation treatment sessions, having previously recovered from bladder cancer in 2008.

B.C. Premier David Eby offered Horgan best wishes for a swift recovery and support to his wife, Ellie, and their two adult sons.

“I know these two things, John is a fighter and all British Columbians are pulling for him to make a speedy recovery,” said Eby on social media.

Health Minister Adrian Dix said Horgan has defeated cancer twice and will do the same again.

“John, of course, is a good friend of ours and a truly great British Columbian who has served this province so well,” said Dix at a health care news conference in Surrey. “We know the battles he’s gone through with cancer and we know that he is going to do that again.”

B.C. United Opposition Party Leader Kevin Falcon wished Horgan well with his health challenge.

“My thoughts are with former premier John Horgan and his wife Ellie in this difficult time,” Falcon said on social media. “On behalf of our entire BC United caucus, I want to wish him a speedy and complete recovery in this fight against cancer.”

The Conservative Party of B.C. said “we send our best wishes to John Horgan as he battles cancer. We hope to see him return to good health soon.”

Green Party MLA Adam Olsen said “my thoughts and prayers are with him and I’ll keep him and his family in our hearts.”

Horgan resigned his suburban Victoria seat in Langford in March 2023, citing health reasons.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Canada’s Denis Shapovalov wins Belgrade Open for his second ATP Tour title

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BELGRADE, Serbia – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov is back in the winner’s circle.

The 25-year-old Shapovalov beat Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4 in the Belgrade Open final on Saturday.

It’s Shapovalov’s second ATP Tour title after winning the Stockholm Open in 2019. He is the first Canadian to win an ATP Tour-level title this season.

His last appearance in a tournament final was in Vienna in 2022.

Shapovalov missed the second half of last season due to injury and spent most of this year regaining his best level of play.

He came through qualifying in Belgrade and dropped just one set on his way to winning the trophy.

Shapovalov’s best results this season were at ATP 500 events in Washington and Basel, where he reached the quarterfinals.

Medjedovic was playing in his first-ever ATP Tour final.

The 21-year-old, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF title last year, ends 2024 holding a 9-8 tour-level record on the season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Talks to resume in B.C. port dispute in bid to end multi-day lockout

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VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.

The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.

The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.

The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.

The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.

MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.

In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.

“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.

“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”

In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.

“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.

The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.

“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”

The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.

The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.

A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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The Royal Canadian Legion turns to Amazon for annual poppy campaign boost

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The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.

Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.

Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.

Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.

“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.

“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”

Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.

“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.

Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.

“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”

But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.

Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.

“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.

Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.

The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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