What began as a vacation to visit relatives in Israel has become a desperate bid to get home for a Canadian family now stuck there amid deadly fighting between Israel and Hamas.
Rus Benco, his wife and their two young children — aged 10 months and two years old — had been in the town of Tiberias for three weeks when Hamas militants launched a surprise incursion from Gaza into Israel on Saturday.
“It’s terrifying, and we’re thinking (about) how to get out,” Benco told CTVNews.ca in an interview over Zoom on Tuesday. “We didn’t even know how serious it would be at the beginning, but I think it’s becoming clearer and clearer that probably the best strategy is to leave the country now, because it doesn’t seem like it’s something that is going to quiet down in the very near future.”
The family is scheduled to return home to Pickering, Ont., on Oct. 30 but said they don’t feel safe staying until the end of the month. Although several hours by car from the fighting near Gaza, Benco said he worries they could be in danger if fighters from Lebanese militant group Hezbollah try to invade Israel from the north.
Despite his efforts, Benco has not been able to secure a flight out of Israel earlier than Oct. 16, and he’s worried that flight will be cancelled.
Air Canada joined other airlines on Sunday and temporarily cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv, ending the only direct commercial air links between Israel and Canada via Toronto and Montreal.
After days of pressure to arrange flights for Canadians who are stranded in the region, the federal government announced Tuesday evening that they will begin that process.
“We are planning to begin the assisted departure of Canadians from Tel Aviv in the coming days, with the help of an aircraft from the Canadian Armed Forces,” Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, which was captioned, “My message to Canadians in Israel, West Bank and Gaza.”
“These flights will be available to Canadian citizens, their spouses, and their children; as well as Canadian Permanent Residents, their spouses and their children. We are also working on additional options for those who cannot reach the airport in Tel Aviv.”
Joly said that more details would be available on Wednesday, but that affected Canadians can start registering now with Global Affairs Canada.
MONTREAL – Quebec’s ombudsperson is warning that public services are becoming “dehumanized” in the province amid a rise in demand for them.
Marc-André Dowd released his annual report today, which highlights several examples of people receiving inadequate care across the health network in the 12 months leading to March 31.
One dying man who lived alone was denied help cleaning his cat’s litter box by his local health clinic, a service Dowd says should have been given for “humanitarian reasons.”
Dowd also describes staff at a long-term care home feeding residents “mechanically” and talking among each other — despite health ministry guidelines directing staff to maintain eye contact with residents.
The ombudsperson says his office received a record number of problems to investigate across the province’s public services — 24,867 compared with 22,053 last year.
He says his office investigated 13,358 cases between April 2023 and March of this year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
OTTAWA – French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Canada next week after a planned trip in July was cancelled amid political turmoil in France.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in a statement today that Macron will be in Canada Wednesday and Thursday after the leaders attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.
Trudeau will welcome Macron in Ottawa on Wednesday, where they are expected to discuss collaboration on geopolitical issues including their ongoing support for Ukraine.
They are also expected to discuss ways to strengthen the response to emerging threats, such as disinformation.
In Montreal, Trudeau intends to show off the city’s artificial intelligence sector, while both countries reaffirm their commitment to work with counterparts on responsible use of AI.
The leaders will also discuss promoting the French language ahead of the Francophonie summit being held in France next month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Health Canada has authorized Novavax’s updated COVID-19 vaccine that protects against currently circulating variants of the virus.
The protein-based vaccine, called Nuvaxovid, has been reformulated to target the JN.1 subvariant of Omicron.
It will replace the previous version of the vaccine, which targeted the XBB.1.5 subvariant of Omicron.
Health Canada recently asked provinces and territories to get rid of their older COVID-19 vaccines to ensure the most current vaccine will be used during this fall’s respiratory virus season.
Earlier this week, Health Canada approved Moderna’s updated mRNA COVID vaccine.
It is still reviewing Pfizer’s updated mRNA vaccine, with a decision expected soon.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version erroneously described the Novavax vaccine as an mRNA shot.
