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More than 6 drinks a week leads to higher health risks, new report suggests — especially for women – CBC News

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Having more than six drinks per week leads to an increased risk of a host of health issues, including cancer, according to new proposed guidelines published Monday. 

Any level of alcohol consumption had a net negative impact on health for almost every disease reviewed by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), a national advisory organization, according to their new report. This includes heart disease, several types of cancer and liver cirrhosis.

The health risks become “increasingly high” when someone has six or more drinks per week. And for women who have three or more drinks per week, the risk of health issues increases more steeply compared to men, research shows. 

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“The key message out of this project is that when it comes to alcohol, less is better. Everyone should try to reduce their alcohol use,” said Catherine Paradis, senior research and policy analyst at CCSA and co-chair of Canada’s Low Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines.

WATCH | New alcohol guidelines suggest no amount is safe: 

New report suggests no more than 2 alcoholic drinks a week to limit health risks

3 hours ago

Duration 2:55

A new report from a scientific body that advises the federal government on alcohol consumption has dramatically revised the recommendations for low-risk drinking. Evidence suggests there is no safe amount of alcohol because it is associated with heart disease and stroke, and the risk of cancer rises with every drink.

It’s no secret that alcohol is not good for you, experts say. It’s been classified as a Group 1 carcinogen (carcinogenic to humans) for decades by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

But not everyone is aware that alcohol use has been associated with numerous health risks, including at least seven types of cancer, Paradis said. 

That’s why the guidelines — which the public can weigh in on— speak to the health risks and how that increases with the number of drinks. 

Dr. Fawaad Iqbal, a radiation oncologist at Durham Regional Cancer Centre in Oshawa, Ont., who was not involved with the report, said he strongly supports its overall messaging.

“These updated, evidence-based guidelines will save lives. I commend the work of the team that put this all together,” said Iqbal in an email interview after the report was released.

WATCH | Why don’t most Canadians know about alcohol‘s cancer risks?

Alcohol can cause cancer, so why don’t most Canadians know that?

8 months ago

Duration 7:52

Alcohol is one of the top three causes of preventable cancer, so why aren’t Canadians being informed about the risks? Health experts say it’s time to put warning labels on alcohol — something the industry has pushed back against.

‘People in Canada have a right to know’

But experts say the risks associated with alcohol consumption need to be made more clear beyond these recommendations. Iqbal and those who worked on CCSA’s guidelines want to see cancer warnings and the number of standard drinks listed on alcohol bottles or cans.

“Whether consumers choose to use that information or not, it’s up to them. But there’s plenty of evidence out there that says if you say front and centre, ‘this is damaging your health and you could get cancer because of this,’ people will change their decision-making about just how much they’re drinking,” Iqbal said. 

Since the last alcohol drinking guidelines were released in 2011, the evidence around health issues and alcohol consumption has changed a lot, Paradis says. That’s why four committees —including three scientific expert panels— were formed to review the evidence for updating the guidelines.

Those involved looked at several dozen studies on alcohol and health issues as part of the new guidelines. Several data sources —including death and disability data for 2017 to 2019 from Statistics Canada —were used to form the risk calculations.  They also used mathematical modelling, according to the report.

Although all levels of alcohol consumption come with some risks, their report shows a range of risks depending on how many glasses of wine or bottles of beer a healthy person has each week. 

They found that health risks are negligible or low with two or fewer glasses of wine per week. If the number of drinks goes up to somewhere between three and six standard drinks a week, the risk of health issues is moderate.

But having more than six glasses of wine or ciders per week makes the risk of health issues “increasingly high.”

For example, men who consume about five grams of alcohol per day on average have almost a 16 per cent increased risk of liver cirrhosis. That risk balloons to more than 306 per cent if the man has 50 grams of alcohol per day, according to the report. 

“We know that’s going to be surprising and some people might even be upset about that. But we did not embark on this project to win a popularity contest. We’re scientists,” said Paradis.

“Our whole perspective throughout this project is that people in Canada have a right to know.”

Drinking increases breast cancer risk

The new findings are significantly different from the 2011 guidelines created by CCSA. Those suggested no more than 10 standard drinks a week for women and 15 standard drinks a week for men.   

Paradis says one of the reasons the 2011 recommendations were higher was because of a belief that alcohol had some good health benefits for cardiovascular disease. But now, new research shows that is probably not the case anymore, she said.

“Actually, in our own study, we found that alcohol was neither good or bad at low levels for protection against some cardiovascular diseases. At higher levels, it really has a detrimental impact,” she said.

Alcohol use in Canada causes nearly 7,000 cases of cancer deaths each year in Canada, according to the report. 

Beer is pictured on the shelves of a liquor store in Vancouver in a July 12, 2019, file photo. New guidelines say that having more than six glasses of wine or ciders per week makes the risk of health issues ‘increasingly high.’ (Ben Nelms/CBC)

And specifically for women, having three or more drinks a week comes with a greater risk of health issues when compared to men, according to the report’s data. They include several reasons why, including differences in metabolism. 

The risk of breast cancer increased with more alcohol, Paradis said, adding that one in 35 women will die because of breast cancer in Canada. 

“If you take six drinks per week, you increase by 10 per cent your chances of being that woman,” she said, adding that the risk starts at one or two standard drinks per week. 

Allison Garber, a communications business owner in Halifax and sobriety advocate, said she wishes she knew more about the increased cancer risk sooner. Both her mother and grandmother had breast cancer, and she lost her mother to cancer. 

“I think that this report is going to save a lot of lives,” she said, adding it’s good to see an increased focus on education.

“I do believe that it’s an individual choice whether people drink alcohol or not, but I I do think that it’s fundamentally important that that is an informed choice.”

Label the health risks

Some Canadians have reported increased binge drinking over the last few years. 

A Statistics Canada survey released in 2021 shows many Canadians are not just pouring themselves a single glass. Almost one in five who responded to the survey said they consumed five or more drinks — the equivalent of a bottle of wine — on the days they reported drinking alcohol in the previous month.

The agency says this is higher than before COVID-19 hit.

Specifically for women, having three or more drinks a week comes with a greater risk of health issues when compared to men, according to the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction report’s data. (Justine Bouln/CBC)

The CCSA report was started before the pandemic, but Paradis says adults need to know more about the alcohol they purchase and how it can affect their health. 

Paradis and the other authors of the report, along with Iqbal, say bottles of wine and other alcohol should clearly outline the health warnings and nutrition information. She adds that people need to be able to count their drinks to know how much alcohol they’re consuming, but can’t do that if it’s not explicitly outlined on a label.

“The main message that we want to put out with this is that overall, alcohol is not good for your health and that when it comes to alcohol, drinking less is better,” Paradis said.

The guidelines will likely become official guidance sometime this fall.

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1 dead, 2 critically injured after car crash in Montreal

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Montreal

Three people are in hospital with critical injuries after their vehicle crashed into a tree. Police believe they might be connected to two drive-by shootings that took place early Thursday morning.

2 drive-by shootings also took place overnight

an SPVM car near a taped-off crime scene
Montreal police are investigating a car crash possibly linked to two drive-by shootings. (Mathieu Wagner/Radio-Canada)

Urgences-santé say one person died and two others were critically injured after their vehicle hit a tree in the Rosemont neighbourhood.

Montreal police believe the crash may be linked to two drive-by shootings early Thursday morning.

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The first happened around 5 a.m. on Pie-IX Boulevard. Police say a car was shot at repeatedly and the driver, a 41-year-old man, was injured in the upper body. He was transported to hospital, but his life is not in danger, say police.

Shortly afterward, shots were reported in the Plateau Mont-Royal borough, near the intersection of Saint-Joseph Boulevard and Henri-Julien Avenue. No one was injured.

Police say they are investigating to determine if there is a connection between the collision and the shootings. Montreal police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant says it’s possible those in the vehicle were involved in the shootings.

The province’s independent police watchdog is now involved.

with files from Chloë Ranaldi

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Pakistan airline crew sought asylum in Canada: spokesperson – CTV News

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Typically, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight attendants who arrive in Toronto stay at a hotel overnight, meet back up with their crew the next day and then fly to their next destination.

But increasingly often, PIA attendants aren’t showing up, the airline says. According to PIA, at least eight flight attendants disappeared over the last year and a half.

They have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.

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Increased occurrences

Abdullah Hafeez Khan said at least eight flight attendants “have gone missing” after flying to Pearson International Airport in Toronto. He said these incidents have been happening over the last 10 years, but are now occurring more frequently.

“Since probably October of 2022, the number of the people that have opted asylum has increased tremendously,” Khan said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca from Karachi, Pakistan, where the airline is based.

“None of those crew members that disappeared in the last one-and-a-half years have come back. So they were granted asylum for one way or the other, and that probably has encouraged others to do so.”

The missing employees were fired immediately and lost their company benefits, Khan said.

Why did they flee?

Khan said he could only speculate as to why the flight attendants would flee.

The Canadian government underscored the volatile situation in Pakistan, warning in a travel advisory of a “high threat of terrorism,” along with threats of civil unrest, sectarian violence and kidnapping.

“The security situation is fragile and unpredictable,” the Canadian travel advisory reads. “Incidents are typically attributed to extremism, ethnic divisions, sectarian strife, regional political disputes and the situation in neighbouring Afghanistan.”

It added that many deaths and injuries have occurred from bombings, shootings and other terrorist attacks at a wide range of targets.

Since Khan isn’t in contact with any of the missing employees, he says, he assumes they decided to seek asylum in Canada for economic and social reasons.

“So I naturally assumed that all of them have been given asylum because I don’t think they would be living there illegally,” he said, adding they may already have family connections in Canada who can support them.

In this June 8, 2013, photo, a Pakistan International Airlines plane moments before take off from the Benazir Bhutto airport in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

‘PR crisis’

Khan called the flight attendants’ disappearances a “PR crisis” for PIA that is “bad” for business amid a crew shortage.

The airline is in talks with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Pakistani law enforcement agencies to potentially create a “legal safeguard” to curtail flight crew from seeking asylum, he said.

When asked about the PIA flight attendants’ disappearances, Erin Kerbel, spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, said the department couldn’t comment on specific cases due to privacy legislation.

In response to questions about PIA’s claim that discussions are underway about the issue, a spokesperson for the CBSA said it could not confirm any information.

“The Canada Border Services Agency does not provide comment or details on specific individuals, including any discussions that would take place with airline companies, as an individual’s border and immigration information is considered private and protected by the Privacy Act,” Maria Ladouceur said in an email to CTVNews.ca.

Since the crew members’ disappearances, Khan said, the airline has “done numerous things to curtail that.”

For instance, the airline is only staffing Toronto-bound flights with crew members who have “established linkages” in Pakistan, such as children, spouses or parents, as well as those who have worked in the organization for more than 15 years.

The airline avoids sending to Toronto those who are single or don’t have established family ties in Pakistan, he said.

Khan said he and the airline are no longer in contact with the flight attendants because, they discovered, they usually change their phone numbers soon after disappearing in Toronto.

Who disappeared?

The PIA flight attendants who vanished in Canada are seasoned pros in their late 30s or 40s, some of whom have worked for the airline for as long as two decades, Khan said.

“There was never any sign from them that they would seek something like that,” he said. “So that is something that is bothering us in the matter because working with people who have been working with you for a long time and then something happens like this is pretty unexpected.”

In one of the latest cases in February, the crew members were waiting to take the bus back to the airport from the hotel in Toronto and one of the flight attendants didn’t show up, Khan said.

The airline was unable to reach the flight attendant on her cellphone or hotel landline so, Khan says, they asked hotel management to check if she was OK.

“When the crew went there, she left her uniform there with a note saying, ‘Thank you PIA,'” Khan said, which he interpreted as a genuine sentiment of gratitude for her more than 15 years of service with PIA rather than a taunt.

Khan said the crew members who disappeared were “family values people” who had good careers in Pakistan.

Asylum policies

Individuals can make a refugee claim in Canada at a port of entry upon arrival or online if they are already in Canada, according to the Canadian government’s website.

Canadian immigration or border officials will determine if the person is eligible for a hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board. All claimants must undergo health and security screenings, the government says.

If eligible to make a claim in Canada, refugee claimants can access social assistance, education, health services, emergency housing and legal aid pending a decision on their claim. Most can apply for a work permit after a medical examination.

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Alberta's population surges by record-setting 202,000 people: Here's where they all came from – CBC.ca

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Alberta smashed population-growth records in the past year, mainly due to people moving to the province from across Canada and around the world.

The province’s population surged to just over 4.8 million as of Jan. 1, according to new estimates released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

That’s an increase of 202,324 residents compared with a year earlier, which marks — by far — the largest annual increase on record.

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Alberta also broke a national record in 2023 for interprovincial migration, with a net gain of 55,107 people.

“This was the largest gain in interprovincial migration nationally since comparable data became available in 1972,” Statistics Canada said in a release.


Most of the interprovincial migrants came from Ontario and British Columbia.

Statistics Canada estimates that 38,236 Ontarians moved to Alberta last year, versus 14,860 Albertans who moved to Ontario, for a net gain of 23,376 people.

Similarly, an estimated 37,650 British Columbians moved to Alberta, compared to 22,400 Albertans who moved to B.C., for a net gain of 15,250.


All told, interprovincial migration accounted for 27 per cent of Alberta’s population growth over the past year.

That put it just ahead of permanent immigration, which accounted for 26 per cent, and well ahead of natural population increase (more births than deaths), which accounted for eight per cent.

The largest component, however, was temporary international migration.

Non-permanent residents from other countries accounted for 39 per cent of the province’s population growth in the past year, reflecting a national trend.


Canada’s population reached 40,769,890 on Jan. 1, according to Statistics Canada estimates, which is up 3.2 per cent from a year ago.

“Most of Canada’s 3.2-per-cent population growth rate stemmed from temporary immigration in 2023,” Statistics Canada noted.

“Without temporary immigration, that is, relying solely on permanent immigration and natural increase (births minus deaths), Canada’s population growth would have been almost three times less (1.2 per cent).”

Alberta’s population, meanwhile, grew by 4.4 per cent year-over-year.

Alberta now represents 11.8 per cent of the country’s population, its largest proportion on record. 

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