Laura Eamon was a few months into her first semester at Carleton University in 2011 when she was taken from a residence party to hospital by paramedics.
Embarrassed by being carried out in front of her fellow students, her mindset changed when she was discharged and returned to campus in Ottawa.
“People are cheering and chanting, and like, ‘Oh, my God. You’re the girl that got taken by ambulance. You drink as much as I do,'” said Eamon. “It was almost like a badge of honour.”
It wasn’t the only time Eamon, originally from Hammonds Plains, N.S., went to hospital because of excessive drinking.
From 2008 to 2013, alcohol was a big part of Eamon’s life. Her struggles with alcohol eventually led her to drop out of university.
Prestigious scholarship
But Eamon is now back at university, this time at Saint Mary’s in Halifax. Sober for more than eight years, the 28-year-old just landed a prestigious Frank H. Sobey scholarship worth $35,000, one of nine given out annually to undergraduate business students in Atlantic Canada. She has a year left in her studies.
As part of her application for the scholarship, which included reference letters, written essays and an interview process, Eamon talked about her sobriety.
“I wanted to show that it is a possibility for people to change, for people to grow, for people to survive substance-use disorder,” she said.
Eamon started drinking when she went to C.P. Allen High School in Bedford, N.S., and liked the confidence it gave her. She believed alcohol was part of the package that included new friends, big parties and adventure.
‘The alcohol sort of took over’
Even though Eamon skipped a lot of classes, she kept her grades up. She graduated in 2011, and wanting to go somewhere bigger than Halifax, she decided on Ottawa.
“And when I got into university, the alcohol sort of took over,” said Eamon.
Eamon is shown in a photo from her time at Carleton University. Students in residence would wear these red sweaters and they could have their nicknames printed on the sleeve. ‘Naturally everyone agreed on my nickname, and I paid actual money to have that branded on my sweater,’ she says. (Submitted by Laura Eamon)
In her first year, she lived in residence. She failed a few classes and barely scraped by in the others, missing a lot of instruction time along the way.
Eamon headed home for the summer with a friend, Kassie Nadler. The two split a place in downtown Halifax, but Nadler left after about a month.
“She packed up all of her stuff and said, ‘I can’t do this anymore. It’s impossible to live with you and you’re ruining my time here. You are sick and this is too much. Something’s got to change. And I’ll see you in Ottawa in September,'” said Eamon. “And she left.”
The experience was a first for Eamon. No one had told her that her drinking was problematic.
Nadler told CBC News this was actually the second time she had a conversation like that with her best friend. The previous time was during their first year of university.
Then 18, the pair would often head to nearby Gatineau, Que., where the legal drinking age is 18, so they could go to clubs. Eamon would often black out from drinking.
“I can’t take care of you in those moments where you need me to,” Nadler told Eamon at the time. “And I’m not physically capable and I can’t make sure that you’re safe, and it puts me in an uncomfortable position.”
For their second year of university, the pair lived off-campus and had other roommates.
Eamon said she knew something was wrong when her roommates were able to balance their studies, work and maintain a social life, but she couldn’t.
“They were thriving, and I was sad and lonely and sick,” said Eamon.
Within a week, she dropped out. She got a job and worked to pay for her rent and alcohol.
Early the following year, Eamon moved home. She continued drinking, couch-surfed and worked a series of jobs in retail and reception when she wasn’t calling in sick for the day.
“I feel bad for all the customers who I dealt with … I was pretty haggard-looking and rough around the edges, probably cranky all the time,” said Eamon.
Eamon bikes on P.E.I.’s Confederation Trail in the summer of 2021. (Submitted by Laura Eamon)
One day that summer in 2013, she woke up in a hotel room and didn’t know where she was.
She went to her first AA meeting that night and cried the entire time. At the end of the meeting, she had a realization.
“How can you go to a bonfire or the beach or, you know, a cottage without drinking?” said Eamon. “I was, like, sobbing to this woman, just so concerned — not that I had woken up downtown in a place where I didn’t even know existed, but because I was worried about going to the beach without alcohol.”
Sober since Nov. 9, 2013
Eamon wasn’t ready to quit drinking, but on Nov. 9, 2013, she went to AA after she was sexually assaulted.
“I knew I didn’t want to ever be in a situation like that again if I could help it, and the only thing that I could control was my own actions,” said Eamon. “And that’s really where my sobriety started.”
Eamon has been sober ever since. She said being surrounded by people who had similar experiences helped her maintain her sobriety. Her father was also an important resource. He was also a recovering alcoholic who had been sober since before Eamon was born.
Growing up, Eamon attended meetings with her father on his sobriety birthdays.
Life without alcohol was different. She didn’t have mysterious bruises and pulled muscles and other injuries. Eamon also noticed she suddenly had extra money. It wasn’t just the money saved from not buying alcohol; it was things like not buying fast food while drinking or the morning after, and not missing work and wages.
Eamon also fell in love.
“All of a sudden, I was experiencing joy,” she said.
Eamon is now a stepmom. Her partner has two kids from a previous marriage.
She also got a diploma in medical office administration and started working in the health-care system, but she longed for a bigger challenge and applied to Saint Mary’s University in 2017 and started attending the school.
Eamon is shown with her partner and her stepdaughters. (Submitted by Laura Eamon)
She’s balanced working in different positions — she’s currently a project co-ordinator with the Sackville Business Association — and going to school while taking less than a full course load.
Since giving up drinking, it hasn’t been all joy for Eamon. Her father died due to cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, and her mother had a brain aneurysm, but has fully recovered.
Finding the money to pay for school has been another challenge. Needing a “Hail Mary,” she learned of the Sobeys scholarship. Looking at the past recipients, she felt intimidated by their success.
“And my partner was just saying, you know, ‘You’re pretty incredible, too. Why don’t you apply?'” said Eamon.
Part of the application process included talking about volunteer experience. Eamon’s volunteer work includes sitting on the board of the Sackville Rivers Association and acting as the communications chair for the organization, which is the community where she now lives. She’s the treasurer of the Saint Mary’s University Environmental Society.
Eamon is also involved with the Halifax Recovery Society, a non-profit focused on breaking down the stigma of mental health and substance-use disorders. For their 2021 Recovery Day event, Eamon told her story.
Breaking the stigma of addiction
Julie Melanson is the society’s founder. She said when people like Eamon tell their stories, it helps break down stigma.
Julie Melanson is the founder of the Halifax Recovery Society. She says success stories, like that of Eamon, help make it easier for people struggling with substance-use disorder to seek help. (Submitted by Julie Melanson)
“People are able to relate,” said Melanson. “They could hear themselves through that story and know that they’re not alone, so it’s incredibly important for stories to be shared, like Laura’s, in a place where it’s public, where it can be viewed, not behind closed doors, because we need to normalize conversations to really break that societal stigma.”
Melanson said the stories also offer hope.
“It really shows that we can recover, we do recover and we do succeed in great ways, so it’s absolutely phenomenal,” said Melanson.
‘Still just funny and outgoing,’ says friend
While on opposite ends of the country, Nadler and Eamon remain friends. They’ve also taken road trips together over the years. While Eamon’s confidence has grown, in other ways she hasn’t changed.
“She was still the same Laura that I met on the first day that I went to Carleton for the group tour, still just funny and outgoing and social and very interested in the world around her and in the people that she surrounds herself with,” said Nadler.
When Eamon learned she had won the scholarship, the celebration was simple: she and her partner got Chinese food.
“I think I’ve turned into a homebody and I’m comfortable with that,” she said. “And it’s the little things that make a difference now.”
There are resources in place for Nova Scotians needing help with addictions. The province’s mental health and addictions line can be reached by phone at 1-855-922-1122.
TORONTO – Will Taylor Swift bring chaos or do we all need to calm down?
It’s a question many Torontonians are asking this week as the city braces for the arrival of Swifties, the massive fan base of one of the world’s biggest pop stars.
Hundreds of thousands are expected to descend on the downtown core for the singer’s six concerts which kick off Thursday at the Rogers Centre and run until Nov. 23.
And while their arrival will be a boon to tourism dollars — the city estimates more than $282 million in economic impact — some worry it could worsen Toronto’s gridlock by clogging streets that already come to a standstill during rush hour.
Swift’s shows are set to collide with sports events at the nearby Scotiabank Arena, including a Raptors game on Friday and a Leafs game on Saturday.
Some residents and local businesses have already adjusted their plans to avoid the area and its planned road closures.
Aahil Dayani says he and some friends intended to throw a birthday bash for one of their pals until they realized it would overlap with the concerts.
“Something as simple as getting together and having dinner is now thrown out the window,” he said.
Dayani says the group rescheduled the gathering for after Swift leaves town. In the meantime, he plans to hunker down at his Toronto residence.
“Her coming into town has kind of changed up my social life,” he added.
“We’re pretty much just not doing anything.”
Max Sinclair, chief executive and founder of A.I. technology firm Ecomtent, suggested his employees avoid the company’s downtown offices on concert days, saying he doesn’t see the point in forcing people to endure potential traffic jams.
“It’s going to be less productive for us, and it’s going to be just a pain for everyone, so it’s easier to avoid it,” Sinclair said.
“We’re a hybrid company, so we can be flexible. It just makes sense.”
Swift’s concerts are the latest pop culture moment to draw attention to Toronto’s notoriously disastrous daily commute.
In June, One Direction singer Niall Horan uploaded a social media video of himself walking through traffic to reach the venue for his concert.
“Traffic’s too bad in Toronto, so we’re walking to the venue,” he wrote in the post.
Toronto Transit Commission spokesperson Stuart Green says the public agency has been working for more than a year on plans to ease the pressure of so many Swifties in one confined area.
“We are preparing for something that would be akin to maybe the Beatles coming in the ‘60s,” he said.
Dozens of buses and streetcars have been added to transit routes around the stadium, and the TTC has consulted the city on potential emergency scenarios.
Green will be part of a command centre operated by the City of Toronto and staffed by Toronto police leaders, emergency services and others who have handled massive gatherings including the Raptors’ NBA championship parade in 2019.
“There may be some who will say we’re over-preparing, and that’s fair,” Green said.
“But we know based on what’s happened in other places, better to be over-prepared than under-prepared.”
Metrolinx, the agency for Ontario’s GO Transit system, has also added extra trips and extended hours in some regions to accommodate fans looking to travel home.
A day before Swift’s first performance, the city began clearing out tents belonging to homeless people near the venue. The city said two people were offered space in a shelter.
“As the area around Rogers Centre is expected to receive a high volume of foot traffic in the coming days, this area has been prioritized for outreach work to ensure the safety of individuals in encampments, other residents, businesses and visitors — as is standard for large-scale events,” city spokesperson Russell Baker said in a statement.
Homeless advocate Diana Chan McNally questioned whether money and optics were behind the measure.
“People (in the area) are already in close proximity to concerts, sports games, and other events that generate massive amounts of traffic — that’s nothing new,” she said in a statement.
“If people were offered and willingly accepted a shelter space, free of coercion, I support that fully — that’s how it should happen.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Hundreds of Taylor Swift fans lined up outside the gates of Toronto’s Rogers Centre Wednesday, with hopes of snagging some of the pop star’s merchandise on the eve of the first of her six sold-out shows in the city.
Swift is slated to perform at the venue from Thursday to Saturday, and the following week from Nov. 21 to Nov. 23, with concert merchandise available for sale on some non-show days.
Swifties were all smiles as they left the merch shop, their arms full of sweaters and posters bearing pictures of the star and her Eras Tour logo.
Among them was Zoe Haronitis, 22, who said she waited in line for about two hours to get $300 worth of merchandise, including some apparel for her friends.
Haronitis endured the autumn cold and the hefty price tag even though she hasn’t secured a concert ticket. She said she’s hunting down a resale ticket and plans to spend up to $600.
“I haven’t really budgeted anything,” Haronitis said. “I don’t care how much money I spent. That was kind of my mindset.”
The megastar’s merchandise costs up to $115 for a sweater, and $30 for tote bags and other accessories.
Rachel Renwick, 28, also waited a couple of hours in line for merchandise, but only spent about $70 after learning that a coveted blue sweater and a crewneck had been snatched up by other eager fans before she got to the shop. She had been prepared to spend much more, she said.
“The two prized items sold out. I think a lot more damage would have been done,” Renwick said, adding she’s still determined to buy a sweater at a later date.
Renwick estimated she’s spent about $500 in total on “all-things Eras Tour,” including her concert outfit and merchandise.
The long queue for Swift merch is just a snapshot of what the city will see in the coming days. It’s estimated that up to 500,000 visitors from outside Toronto will be in town during the concert period.
Tens of thousands more are also expected to attend Taylgate’24, an unofficial Swiftie fan event scheduled to be held at the nearby Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Meanwhile, Destination Toronto has said it anticipates the economic impact of the Eras Tour could grow to $282 million as the money continues to circulate.
But for fans like Haronitis, the experience in Toronto comes down to the Swiftie community. Knowing that Swift is going to be in the city for six shows and seeing hundreds gather just for merchandise is “awesome,” she said.
Even though Haronitis hasn’t officially bought her ticket yet, she said she’s excited to see the megastar.
“It’s literally incredible.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Via Rail is asking for a judicial review on the reasons why Canadian National Railway Co. has imposed speed restrictions on its new passenger trains.
The Crown corporation says it is seeking the review from the Federal Court after many attempts at dialogue with the company did not yield valid reasoning for the change.
It says the restrictions imposed last month are causing daily delays on Via Rail’s Québec City-Windsor corridor, affecting thousands of passengers and damaging Via Rail’s reputation with travellers.
CN says in a statement that it imposed the restrictions at rail crossings given the industry’s experience and known risks associated with similar trains.
The company says Via has asked the courts to weigh in even though Via has agreed to buy the equipment needed to permanently fix the issues.
Via said in October that no incidents at level crossings have been reported in the two years since it put 16 Siemens Venture trains into operation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
