In 2020, New Brunswick police fatally shot two Indigenous people, prompting protests

CALGARY – Gabby Wood says her curling team is ready for anything this season after facing the No. 1 women’s team in the world.

The Canadian women’s college champions took on Rachel Homan in the opening draw of the single-knockout PointsBet Invitational on Wednesday.

Wood’s Edmonton foursome took their lumps in an 11-2 loss, and will also take the experience of playing on arena ice and on television against the reigning Canadian and world champions.

“It’s a crazy first game of the season, so honestly, none of our opponents after this are going to seem that scary,” said the 20-year-old Wood.

The PointsBet Invitational that unofficially kicks off the Canadian curling season offers a purse of over $350,000, including $50,000 each to the men’s and women’s victors, to an eclectic 32-team field.

There’s a soccer FA Cup element as underdog junior, college, university, under-25 and club champions attempt to upset, and send home early, the likes of Homan and reigning Canadian men’s champion Brad Gushue.

And 13th seed Jordan McDonald provided those fireworks Wednesday by eliminating fourth-seeded Matt Dunstone 8-5 in an all-Winnipeg matchup.

“It means the world,” McDonald said. “It was an unbelievable experience out there today.”

Kaitlyn Lawes, who ranked fourth in Canada at the end of last season, beat recently crowned national women’s under-25 champion Taylor Reese-Hansen 5-2.

“Every time we get to play on arena ice, we’re really excited, and playing against a top team, that’s what we want to do. That’s where we want to be,” said Reese-Hansen. “These are the teams that we want to play against and see how we stack up, so it’s super valuable.”

National No. 8 Corryn Brown doubled university women’s champion Serena Gray-Withers 8-4 in the opening draw.

“It just makes us hungrier for more, to be honest, because we’re just super blessed with great ice, great rocks and great conditions here, so we just want to be back for more,” said Gray-Withers.

Selena Sturmay edged Ashley Thevenot 8-7 in the other women’s game to kick off the five-day cashspiel at Calgary’s WinSport Arena.

In the men’s draw Wednesday evening, Gushue defeated Canadian men’s club champion Dan Sherrard 12-4.

Kevin Koe, who played a three-man team after firing second Jacques Gauthier the previous day, downed university men’s champion Josh Bryden 8-4. Rylan Kleiter defeated Sam Mooibroek 5-2.

McDonald, who won last month’s national under-25 championship, kept the pressure on Dunstone with pressure draws and timely runbacks.

Dunstone attempted a tough angle raise to score one and force the PointsBet’s tiebreaking draw to the button, but missed to give up a steal of two.

“Playing a team like at all for us is a really big experience,” said McDonald, who said his team drew confidence from playing Reid Carruthers and Mike McEwen in the last year.

“We feel like we can hang with these teams a little more.”

Among Thursday’s games, defending men’s champion Reid Carruthers faces Felix Asselin, national women’s under-21 champion Allyson MacNutt squares off against four-time Canadian champ Kerri Einarson, and men’s under-21 champion Kenan Wipf faces 2024 Brier runner-up McEwen.

“We are just so grateful that they include the college champions, the university champions,” Wood said. “We don’t get a ton of opportunities to play on arena ice, and so that makes a huge difference developmentally.

“Having a chance, other than our nationals, to play on arena ice, on this big stage, to get to experience just a little bit of what the pros experience is just really exciting and really inspiring.”

Seven months after claiming the Scotties Tournament of Hearts title on the same WinSport ice, Ottawa’s Homan opened defence of her PointsBet crown by scoring four in the second end en route to victory.

“It’s great to get them on this kind of stage, on a national platform and getting some arena ice experience is really key for next gen to get as much experience as possible,” Homan said.

“There’s lots they can take out of it for sure. Lots of great throws and I thought they communicated well.”

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

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps have won their third straight Canadian Championship title, defeating Toronto FC 0-0 (4-2 on penalties) in the final at BC Place on Wednesday.

Defender Bjorn Utvik scored the decisive penalty for Vancouver, firing a shot into the left side of the net in the fifth round of kicks.

Goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer stopped seven on-target shots for the ‘Caps and Sean Johnson made two saves for TFC.

Toronto was the dominant side for much of the game, but Boehmer made a series of critical saves, including a penalty-kick stop on Toronto star Federico Bernardeschi in the 38th minute.

Vancouver earned its way into the final after edging Canadian Premier League side Pacific FC 2-0 in the tournament’s two-legged semifinal.

Vancouver, which hoisted the Voyagers Cup for the fourth time in its history, is now assured a place in next year’s CONCACAF Champions League tournament.

Bernardeschi proved tough for the ‘Caps to handle from the opening minute.

Thirty seconds into the match, the Italian launched a left-footed rocket that Boehmer tipped out of harm’s way.

Toronto controlled much of the play across the first half while Vancouver struggled to connect on passes early.

Boehmer kept the game scoreless in the 21st minute after Bernardeschi dished off to Richie Laryea. The Canadian defender fired a quick shot on net, only to see Boehmer knock it down.

Vancouver settled into the game and, in the 34th minute, got a prime opportunity when Brian White and Fafa Picault broke away from the Toronto defence. The duo raced into the penalty area, where White was taken down without a call.

Minutes later, TFC was awarded a penalty kick after Whitecaps defender Mathias Laborda hauled Laryea down near the goal line.

Loud boos emanated from the announced crowd of 12,516 as Bernardeschi lined up his shot. He took a few steps, then blasted a left-footed kick on net as Boehmer dove and punched the ball away to ecstatic cheers.

The score remained level at 0-0 as both sides headed to their locker rooms after the first 45 minutes. The first half saw Toronto control 71 per cent of the possession and outchance Vancouver 3-1 in shots on target, though the ‘Caps held a 6-5 edge in total shots.

The visitors came into the second half with renewed vigour.

TFC appeared poised to open the scoring in the 53rd minute when an unmanned Laryea collected the ball inside the penalty area. Boehmer came well off his line to challenge and when Laryea sent a rolling ball toward the net, the ‘keeper got a hand in its path for another save.

With neither side able to find the back of the net in regulation, the game went to penalties — and Vancouver pulled it out for a three-peat.

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

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TORONTO – The Canadian Institute for Health Information says more than 7,000 people with diabetes undergo a leg, foot or toe amputation every year — and the majority of those procedures could have been prevented.

The report issued today says people with diabetes living in the lowest-income neighbourhoods are three times more likely to have an amputation than those living in the highest-income communities.

It also says people with diabetes living in remote communities are at higher risk of leg amputations than those living in urban centres.

Erin Pichora, CIHI’s program lead for population health, says lack of access to a primary-care provider to help people manage diabetes is one likely factor behind the inequalities.

She says disparities are also likely in access to specialists who can treat diabetic wounds on people’s feet — including podiatrists and chiropodists — before they worsen.

Diabetes Canada says the report shows the importance of ensuring people with diabetes have equitable access to the care and resources they need.

“People living with diabetes who undergo amputations face significant emotional and financial distress,” Laura O’Driscoll, senior manager of policy at Diabetes Canada, said in an emailed statement to The Canadian Press.

“We need to ensure that everyone with diabetes has affordable, timely access to the medications, devices, education, and care needed to manage their condition and prevent complications like amputation.”

The CIHI researchers reviewed hospital records from across Canada for fiscal years 2020-2021 and 2022-2023 and found about 7,720 “lower limb” amputations associated with diabetes per year among people 18 and older.

Each year there were about 3,080 hospitalizations for “above-ankle” leg amputations and 4,640 hospitalizations for “ankle-and-below” amputations, including feet and toes.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.