HALIFAX – A Halifax chiropractor is under investigation by a provincial regulator for social media and online posts questioning vaccination.John Sutherland, executive director of the Nova Scotia College of Chiropractors, confirmed Friday the college’s registrar filed a complaint against Dr. Dena Churchill on May 17.“These statements cannot be out there on behalf of a professional,” Sutherland said in an interview.He said Churchill has used various social media platforms to air her views on vaccination, something he says is “outside the scope of chiropractic practice.”The college’s website contains a statement to that effect, and also says, “The Nova Scotia College of Chiropractors recognizes that vaccination and immunization are established public health practices in the prevention of infectious diseases.”In an email, Churchill declined an interview regarding her situation with the college.“Thank you for the opportunity but at this time I must gratefully decline,” she said.“It is a great public service to explore and report on the current research. There is so much we think we know that just isn’t so.”Under the college’s procedures, Sutherland said the registrar had to counsel Churchill to comply with the college’s requirement to remove the public information. He said since then there has only been “partial compliance.”“The college was very clear to its members,” Sutherland said. “Whether your site or your platform is clinical or personal it doesn’t matter, if you are attached to it, it has to come down.”Sutherland said Churchill has 10 business days to respond to the complaint before it is reviewed by a committee that can fine, suspend a licence, or refer the matter to a hearing that would have the same status as a court.“Normally a suspension of a licence is done if there is a concern that the public may be in immediate risk or danger,” he said.Churchill has until June 1 to respond, while the committee will review the complaint sometime during the first week of June, Sutherland said.Churchill, who also promotes herself as an author, public speaker and health innovator, writes about health issues including vaccination in a blog entitled Dr. Sexy Mom.A CBC report which first revealed the regulator’s investigation said Churchill had posted online videos including one which alleges the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has a financial bias related to vaccines. It also pointed out that in the video Churchill says that she’s not representing chiropractors.Information that is still accessible includes the blog where in one post Churchill talks about studies that link health effects to increased numbers of vaccines.Her Twitter feed also directs people to studies and articles against vaccination.
TORONTO ONTARIO, – No winning ticket was sold for the $5 million jackpot in Saturday night’s Lotto 649 draw.However, the guaranteed $1 million prize was claimed by a ticket purchased in Ontario.The jackpot for the next Lotto 649 draw on May 17 will be approximately $7 million.
HALIFAX – (NSElxn)Nova Scotia’s New Democrats say they would run a series of deficits totalling $966 million over the next four years if elected May 30.The platform released today also projects a 2017-18 deficit of $256 million from an injection of spending on health, education and social services.The projected deficit makes most of the same assumptions as the recent Liberal government budget.The Liberals had forecast a $26-million surplus, but that money will be spent on various programs under the New Democrats.(The Canadian Press)—(Liberal-Agriculture)The Liberals say they will invest more than $17 million in Nova Scotia’s agriculture and aquaculture industries if re-elected on May 30.Premier Stephen McNeil says a Liberal government will create jobs by spending $9 million over three years on a new fund for the agriculture and seafood industry.The fund will be similar to the Honeycrisp Orchard Renewal Program and will help expand markets.McNeil also says a Liberal government would spend more than $8 million developing the province’s aquaculture industry over three years.(The Canadian Press)—(Tories-Health)Nova Scotia’s Progressive Conservatives are promising to improve the administration of health care in the province.Party Leader Jamie Baillie says he would usher in site-based management in regional hospitals.He says this will ensure decisions about health care are made closer to home with local input taken into account.Baillie says the single provincial health board created by the Liberal government is not responding to the needs of Nova Scotians outside of Halifax.(The Canadian Press)—(NDP-Socialist)Nova Scotia’s Liberals are taking aim at the N-D-P’s self-described “socialist” leader.The Liberals say Gary Burrill is an “anti-capitalist” who supported the Leap Manifesto, which they say would be dangerous and harmful to the economy.Burrill laughed off the Liberal release, saying he comes from a background of Christian socialism in the tradition of Tommy Douglas and other founders of the New Democratic Party.He says he believes in a society that is egalitarian and helps the poor, but declined to refer to himself as “anti capitalist,” as the news release claims he has in the past.(The Canadian Press)—(N.S. Election Roundup by The Canadian Press)
OTTAWA – The bipartisan common front to defend Canadian interests in crucial NAFTA negotiations is being tested by a cross-border Conservative campaign savaging Justin Trudeau for making a generous federal payout to Omar Khadr.Some senior Liberals, including the prime minister’s principal secretary, have taken to social media to accuse the Conservatives of fanning anti-Trudeau sentiment in the United States just as Canada is preparing for the Aug. 16 launch of talks to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement.However, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer was unrepentant Thursday, arguing that if there’s any American backlash over the Khadr payment, Trudeau has only himself to blame. He dismissed any linkage to the NAFTA talks as a desperate Liberal tactic.“It’s no surprise that they’re desperately trying to latch onto another angle of the story to deflect attention from the core of the matter which is that this (Khadr payment) was a personal decision by Justin Trudeau to go above and beyond what any court order ever indicated was the responsibility of the government,” Scheer told a news conference.Fifteen years ago, the Canadian-born Khadr was imprisoned in the notorious U.S. detention facility Guantanamo, accused of killing an American soldier/medic during a firefight in Afghanistan. Khadr was just 15 years old at the time.The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 2010 that Canadian authorities violated Khadr’s charter rights when they interrogated him there, despite the fact he was a minor, had no legal representation and had been tortured.Khadr subsequently launched a $20-million civil suit against the Canadian government. That was settled earlier this month when the government agreed to pay him compensation — reportedly $10.5 million — rather than pursue what officials said would have been a costly court battle that the government had no hope of winning.Several Conservative MPs have taken to the airwaves and newspapers in the U.S. to denounce the payment, starting Monday with a scathing column by Peter Kent in the Wall Street Journal entitled “A Terrorist’s Big Payday, Courtesy of Trudeau.”On Thursday, Trudeau did not directly link the two issues when asked if the Conservative campaign in the U.S. is hurting Canada’s position as it prepares to enter NAFTA negotiations.The trade talks are “too important to fall into partisanship for most people,” he said during a news conference in Barrie, Ont.“Canadians expect their representatives, whatever party they be part of, to be standing up for Canadian interests and making sure that we are creating the right deal for Canada as we move forward on modernizing NAFTA.”However, Trudeau’s principal secretary, Gerald Butts, has engaged in a Twitter war with several Conservative MPs over the past few days in which he has directly linked the two issues.“Conservatives mount aggressive anti-PM campaign in the US on the eve of NAFTA renegotiation,” he tweeted at one point.His tweets Thursday suggested Tories should confine their criticism of the Khadr payment to Canadian soil, advising one Tory MP that even when Liberals “disagreed with your government’s approach to the U.S., we supported you while in the U.S.”But Scheer dismissed that argument, saying, “It’s not credible to think that somehow the news and commentary somehow stops at the border.”He said the Khadr issue is completely separate from NAFTA, on which Conservatives will continue to “present a united front” in the U.S. with the governing Liberals on the benefits of free trade.The partisan quarrel comes as the Commons international trade committee is poised to meet Friday to consider a joint Conservative-NDP request for an emergency summer meeting to grill key ministers on Canada’s approach to the NAFTA negotiations.Although the two parties originally wanted Canada’s chief NAFTA negotiator, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, Finance Minister Bill Morneau and International Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne to be invited to testify, the NDP upped the ante Thursday, signalling that they’ll propose Trudeau himself be a witness.A spokesman for Freeland said she has happily accepted the invite.“We are working with the committee to confirm a date as quickly as possible,” Adam Austen said in an email.
OTTAWA – The personal information of Canadians will be on the negotiating table when North American free trade talks begin this month.The United States has served notice it wants an end to measures that restrict cross-border data flows, or require the use or installation of local computing facilities.It is among the many American goals for the coming NAFTA renegotiation spelled out by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.Privacy advocates say that means trouble for Canada’s ability to shield sensitive information such as health or financial data from the prying eyes of foreign agencies by storing it in computer servers on Canadian soil.The U.S. proposal runs counter to public-sector privacy laws in British Columbia and Nova Scotia that require domestic data storage.It also seems at odds with the federal government’s strategy on cloud computing — the purchase of digital storage from third parties — that says all “sensitive or protected data under government control will be stored on servers that reside in Canada.”The B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association is urging Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland to ensure legislation already on the books is not undermined by the NAFTA negotiations.“Canadians are concerned about their personal information being shared in any way, shape or form with an increasingly erratic United States,” says a recent submission to the minister from association executive director Vincent Gogolek.Some American companies offer a Canadian data storage option in response to market demand and governments should continue to have freedom to protect citizens’ information and privacy rights as they see fit, Gogolek says in the submission, part of federal consultations on the NAFTA renegotiation.Freeland is saying little about the government’s tactics for now, but Canada plans to soon outline broad objectives for the talks.The Ottawa-based International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group says Canadians must have a say before Canada signs off on any new provisions.“Privacy rights are something that are really fundamental for Canadians,” said Tim McSorley, the group’s national co-ordinator. “Our first concern is that any agreements made in NAFTA regarding privacy rights should be done in public and open to consultation and discussion, both in Parliament and with stakeholders.”The U.S. trade representative flagged the data storage issue in its 2017 report on foreign trade barriers, noting the B.C. and Nova Scotia laws prevent public bodies such as schools, universities, hospitals and government-owned utilities from using American services when there’s a possibility that personal information would be stored in, or accessed from, the United States.The report also highlighted the Canadian government’s major consolidation of federal email services, a procurement project that cited national security as a reason for requiring the contracted company to keep data in Canada.This requirement effectively precludes U.S.-based cloud-computing suppliers from participating in the process, unless they replicate data storage and processing facilities in Canada, the U.S. trade representative noted.The Information Technology Industry Council, a Washington-based lobby group, has expressed concerns about the national-security exemption to the Canadian government, according to correspondence obtained by Gogolek’s association through the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.The council calls on governments worldwide to forbid local infrastructure requirements, denouncing them as discriminatory and contrary to the notion of cross-border trade.In the post-9-11 era, however, many countries remain skittish about U.S. law-enforcement and security agencies getting their hands on sensitive personal records.The U.S. Patriot Act, passed following the 2001 terrorist attacks, gave the Federal Bureau of Investigation broader access to records held by firms in the United States, including data on Canadians.Revelations in recent years by former U.S. spy contractor Edward Snowden about widespread surveillance of communications have done nothing to dispel the wariness of civil libertarians and privacy advocates concerning sovereignty over data.Analysts also point out that the European Union has been moving toward stronger control over data, including transfers between member states and the U.S.It would therefore be difficult for Washington to demand that Canada let U.S. firms host government data about Canadians with no restrictions, suggested Toronto lawyer David Young, who specializes in regulatory law with an emphasis on privacy.“I believe it has to be dealt with on a different level,” Young said.The best way to store sensitive domestic data — as well as when and how it can be transferred across borders — should be decided by Canadians, digital freedom organization OpenMedia says in its NAFTA consultation submission.“We should be able to make our own data privacy policies without the interference or intervention of other state actors, and Canadians’ sensitive data and privacy rights must not become a bargaining chip sacrificed for the sake of economic gain.”— Follow @JimBronskill on Twitter
With files from Chris Purdy, Colette Derworiz in Edmonton and Jonathan Hayward in Humboldt, Sask. Brandow encouraged those gathered to lean on their faith as they struggle to deal with the tragedy.People laid flowers in a circle around centre ice in the rink as family and friends of players listened to prayers and hymns.Pictures of the dead and injured were placed on stands at one end of the arena.Nick Shumlanski, the only one of the 14 injured in the crash to be released from hospital, attended the vigil wearing his white, green and yellow team jersey, an obvious bruise under his left eye.The Humboldt Broncos were on their way to a playoff game Friday in Nipawin when the bus carrying the team collided with a semi.Sunday’s vigil took place the same night as Game 6 was scheduled to be played with the Nipawin Hawks in the Humboldt rink. There was a moment of silence at the time the game was supposed to start.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended the vigil along with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe. Trudeau visited survivors of the crash in a Saskatoon hospital earlier in the day. Family and friends also shared more stories Sunday of their memories of those lost and unbreakable bonds forged by a love for hockey.More names were confirmed of those killed early Friday evening at an east-central Saskatchewan highway intersection.Scott Thomas remembered his 18-year-old son, defenceman Evan Thomas, as a strong athlete. He played both hockey and baseball and was a good student. But he was a teammate first.“He liked sports, but at times I think he tolerated sports so he could be a teammate,” the father said in a phone interview with The Canadian Press. “He loved his teammates and I think that was more important to him than the actual sport he was playing.“He loved those boys. He really loved those boys.”Thomas said that before Christmas, he spoke with the team’s head coach, Darcy Haugan, who was also killed in the crash, about whether there would be any trades for the second half of the season.“Darcy just said, ‘You know, Scott, there’s something about this group of kids that’s special,”’ he recalled. “He didn’t want to make any changes because they are such a great group of kids.”Player Logan Boulet, 21, had been on life support until his organs were donated, cousin Julie Kindt said on Facebook.“These actions alone give voice to the selfless and benevolent nature Logan possessed in life,” his godfather, Neil Langevin, posted in a statement on behalf of the family.Assistant coach Chris Beaudry was driving his own vehicle to the game the night of the crash.In an interview, he described his colleague, Mark Cross, as one of the happiest people he had ever met. Cross was from Strasbourg, Sask., where he played hockey before joining the Broncos’ coaching staff.“His first game, we found a tin of mints and ever since then it’s been alternating back and forth, buying mints for each other and sharing it as a joke. We’d end up going through a whole tin every game,” said Beaudry.Brody Hinz, 18, worked as the team statistician for the local radio station. Golden West Radio said in a statement that Hinz was being mentored by Tyler Bieber, the team’s play-by-play announcer, who was also killed in the crash.Adam Herold, a few days shy of his 17th birthday, was the youngest to die in the crash. He had previously played with the Regina Pat Canadians but, when the Regina team’s season wrapped up, he was sent to join the Broncos for their playoff round.Jacob Leicht, 19, was remembered for his laugh and bright smile.“Your laughter is so contagious and you had a smile that lit up any room,” relative Cassidy Tolley wrote in a Facebook post.Charlie’s Charters posted on Facebook about the bus driver’s death. Another team Glen Doerksen drove for, the Kinistino Tigers, also issued a statement.“(Doerksen) spoke at length of his time in rinks with his own family and now how much he enjoyed being able to take and watch other teams from minor, to senior to SJHL to their hockey games,” a spokesperson for the Tigers wrote on Facebook.Others killed include Broncos captain Logan Schatz, defenceman Stephen Wack and forwards Jaxon Joseph and Logan Hunter.The intersection in east-central Saskatchewan where the crash happened reopened to traffic shortly before noon on Sunday.While the wreckage had been removed, there were still playing cards and a broken DVD of the movie “Slap Shot” scattered in the ditch. The Hanson brothers, popular characters in the movie, tweeted condolences to the Broncos on the weekend, as did other celebrities.Team president Kevin Garinger acknowledged the shock and heartache at the arena during vigil.“I want to say to all the Humboldt Broncos families, billets, coaching staff, teammates, classmates, teachers, friends, community members – not one of us is alone in our grief,” he said.Garinger then read off a list of the injured and dead, his voice breaking toward the end.“Today and for every day forward we are all Humboldt Broncos.”
Thousands gathered to remember 15 people who died when the Humboldt Broncos’ bus crashed late last week and heard a heart-rending recollection from the team chaplain who happened upon the gruesome scene and heard sounds of the dying.“We travelled up and arrived at the scene … and walked up on a scene I never want to see again,” Pastor Sean Brandow told a vigil held Sunday night in the Saskatchewan junior hockey team’s home arena. “To sounds I never want to hear again.”He said he felt at a loss as emergency crews worked to save those they could. And then it got worse.“To go to the hospital and walk around and just hear groaning and panic and fear and distress and pain and just nothing but darkness,” he said.“To sit and hold the hand of a lifeless body … This is the valley of darkness. All I saw was darkness and hurt and anguish and fear and confusion. And I had nothing. Nothing. I’m a pastor, I’m supposed to have something.”
A former funeral home director is facing a number of charges after allegedly defrauding the families of people who had pre-paid for their arrangements.Provincial Police Sgt. Peter Leon says the investigation centred on the Watts Funeral Home, a now-shuttered family-run business that had three locations in the central Ontario communities of Wasaga Beach, Midland and Penetanguishene.Leon says one of the family members on the funeral director team allegedly took money that had been provided by clients who were pre-paying for their funeral arrangements in a bid to make life easier for their loved ones.He says police began investigating the funeral home in 2013 and eventually uncovered 86 alleged victims who were defrauded of nearly $400,000.He says the Bereavement Authority of Ontario, the province’s regulatory body for funeral service providers, ultimately reimbursed those who lost money.Darrin Watts, 52, is facing six charges including two counts of fraud over $5,000, 2 counts of theft over $5,000, using forged documents and breach of trust. Leon says no other family members who help run the funeral home were believed to be involved in the alleged fraud.“It’s very disturbing that there’s individuals out there that are taking advantage of what is one of the most difficult things to do — say goodbye to a loved one,” Leon said.Carey Smith, Chief Executive Officer of the Bereavement Authority, said Darrin Watts owned funeral homes in Midland and Penetanguishene while his parents ran a third in Wasaga Beach. All three operated under the name Watts Funeral Home, he said.Smith alleged that Darrin Watts gained access to a number of accounts set up by people who had pre-paid their funeral arrangements.In such situations, Smith said, clients pay a fixed sum to funeral home operators, who become trustees for the money. He said funeral directors are ideally supposed to invest the funds in trust, allowing them to acrew interest that will cover inflation and other costs incurred since the arrangements were first made.Between 2012 and 2013, however, Smith alleged Watts went to some banks and cancelled the client’s arrangements, receiving the money that was being held in trust.Smith also alleged Watts told some clients he was transferring their accounts to a different financial institution, then taking possession of the money. Smith also said he forged documents cancelling pre-arrangements for clients who had booked with his parents’ funeral home, depriving his family members of the money.Smith said the Authority audited the Watts’ facilities in 2013 and sounded the alarm on the alleged fraud by contacting police. Darrin Watts turned in his funeral director licence shortly thereafter, Smith said, and his parents had to close their business.Smith said large-scale frauds in the funeral sector are rare, but said they can deal a devastating blow to the entire field.“When we have one person do something untoward, it starts to erode the reputation of the rest of the industry even if it’s a one-off,” Smith said. “That’s what we have a grave concern about.”Smith said Ontario’s funeral directors pay annual licensing fees, part of which form a mandatory contribution to a compensation fund run by the Authority.That fund is usually used to reimburse clients who made arrangements with funereal homes that were forced to close. In this case, however, he said the Authority used the fund to compensate Watts’ alleged victims.Leon praised the organization’s willingness to make the customers’ whole.“They assumed … the role of becoming the victim on behalf of those individuals,” he said.Watts is due to appear in a Colingwood, Ont., courtroom on May 1. It wasn’t known whether he had a lawyer.
HALIFAX – A witness testified Monday that he was becoming intimate with Montreal-born yoga instructor Kristin Johnston when Nicholas Butcher unexpectedly came into the bedroom, hours before he allegedly killed her.Michael Belyea told a Nova Scotia Supreme Court jury that Butcher found Johnston in Belyea’s flat in the early hours of March 26, 2016.She broke up with Butcher, but he later returned to find her kissing Belyea in his bedroom — who, despite the drama, said he was never concerned for Johnston’s safety.“He didn’t seem aggressive with her, even verbally aggressive. He was not happy about the situation, but there was nothing that would lead me to worry about her physical safety,” he testified.Butcher is on trial for the second-degree murder of Johnston, who was found dead later that day in her Halifax-area home.Belyea said that Johnston, 32, had come to his flat with her friend Lisa Abramowicz, where the 41-year-old carpenter and musician said the three were listening to a Johnny Cash record and sharing a drink.He testified that he heard footsteps coming up the stairs to his upper-level flat in a two-unit house.Belyea said it was a man in his 30s he’d never seen before, and assumed the person was looking for someone in the lower unit. He said eventually the man said he was looking for “Kristin.”“He was being very quiet and looking around a bit and I found it difficult to get an answer out of him,” said Belyea. “I definitely found it strange that he was being so quiet.”Belyea said he led the man around the corner to where Johnston was, and said she appeared shocked to see Butcher, asking him how he had found her.Butcher and Johnston talked in the kitchen and then at the bottom of the stairs before Johnston came back alone, and said she had broken up with Butcher, said Belyea.Several friends and family have testified that Johnston was not happy in the relationship and wanted to break it off.Belyea said Johnston then said she was tired and was going to sleep over, and went into the bedroom. He said goodbye to Abramowicz and followed Johnston. He closed the door behind him, and heard Abramowicz leave soon after.Belyea — who said he had previously been intimate with Johnston when they first met in 2009 — said he laid on the bed with Johnston and they started kissing.Then, he heard footsteps coming from the kitchen. He assumed Abramowicz had forgotten something, but then he felt a push on his shoulder.It was Butcher.“He said to her something like ‘What are you doing’ or ‘Why are you doing this’,” said Belyea, as the 35-year-old accused looked on emotionless from his lawyer’s bench.“I remember her saying, ‘This is where I want to be’.”Belyea said he asked Butcher what he should do, and he asked Belyea to give them some space. He said he went into the kitchen, but then thought his continued presence at the flat might make things worse, so he decided to step outside for a walk.Belyea was gone for about 15 minutes, and when he returned, Johnston and Butcher were gone.She sent him a message apologizing for what happened at 5:30 a.m.Hours later, Johnston was found dead.The Crown alleges that Butcher killed Johnston and tried to kill himself at her home in Purcells Cove.Prosecutor Tanya Carter has said the medical examiner will testify that Johnston had 10 wounds on her neck, and that her death was caused by sharp force.Butcher has pleaded not guilty.Earlier Monday, defence lawyer Peter Planetta appeared to question the reliability of Abramowicz’s memory of the evening.Abramowicz testified that the last message she sent to her childhood friend was, “How’s” — short for how’s it going — as she wanted to check in with Johnston after leaving her at Belyea’s flat.However, Planetta noted the message also included several kiss-face emojis, and that Abramowicz had not mentioned those in her previous testimony. He asked if the emojis had to do with Belyea, and she said no.Abramowicz, 34, said she had also sent Butcher one message that same morning, but Planetta pointed out she had actually sent him two messages.He suggested that if she couldn’t recall certain details about the messages she had sent two years ago, perhaps her other memories were not complete.“Certain things from that night stick out very clearly to me,” Abramowicz replied.She also testified that weeks before the alleged murder, she had a phone conversation with an inconsolable Butcher, in which “he bawled like a baby for about an hour and a half.”Planetta pointed out that this was new information, and that she had made a police statement, testified at an earlier court hearing and met with Crown prosecutors in relation to the case.“You had every opportunity to say everything that was on your mind … and you didn’t mention at any time this 90-minute conversation with Mr. Butcher,” he said.Abramowicz replied: “If I didn’t mention it, it’s because I wasn’t asked about it.”Planetta then suggested that she didn’t tell police about the conversation, but brought it up Monday, because she’s “willing to do whatever it takes to make Mr. Butcher look bad.”“No, I’m saying exactly what happened,” she said, at times becoming visibly frustrated with Planetta and making comments that prompted a few cautions from Justice Joshua Arnold.The trial continues Tuesday with the cross-examination of Belyea.Follow (at)AlyThomson on Twitter.Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version incorrectly stated that Johnston had left the friend’s apartment before Abramowicz sent her a text.
Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government has unveiled more details on its plan to sell recreational cannabis. Here’s a look at provincial and territorial plans to date.– British Columbia has set the age of consumption at 19. Retail sales to be allowed through public and private stores, but retail licences won’t be approved without the support of local governments. Retailers will not be permitted to sell weed in stores that sell liquor or tobacco. People will be allowed to smoke pot in public places where tobacco smoking and vaping are permitted. It will be banned in vehicles and in areas frequented by children, including beaches, parks and playgrounds. Adults will be allowed to grow up to four plants per household, but landlords and condo councils can restrict or prohibit cultivation and smoking on their properties.– Alberta plans will control the online sale of pot, but will leave over-the-counter sales to private operators, who will be subject to extensive background checks. Minimum age of consumption to be 18. Private pot stores will have to be physically separate from stores selling alcohol, tobacco or pharmaceuticals. Pot stores will not be allowed to sell anything but cannabis and cannabis-related products. The province expects to issue 250 licences in the first year. Stores will have to be 100 metres away from schools and health-care facilities.– Saskatchewan is proposing a minimum age of 19 and is banning consumption in public places. Sales will be handled by the private sector with about 60 retail permits awarded to private operators in as many as 40 municipalities and First Nations communities. The Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority is to regulate cannabis sales and municipalities will have the option to ban sales.– Manitoba plans to set its legal age at 19, a year later than the legal age for drinking alcohol. Government legislation proposes a ban on people growing cannabis at home for recreational purposes. The Liquor and Gaming Authority of Manitoba would regulate the sale of cannabis and municipal governments would have the option to ban sales by referendum. People would be banned from smoking cannabis in most public places and people caught driving under the influence would be subject to fines and suspensions similar to those in place for alcohol-impaired drivers.– Ontario will sell pot through a government-run online retail channel when it is legalized this fall and plans to have cannabis in private retail stores by April 1, 2019. A Crown corporation will regulate the marketplace, and the Progressive Conservative government says it won’t put a cap on the number of pot shops that will operate. The legal age to buy recreational cannabis is 19. Legislation proposed by the government would prohibit smoking cannabis in places where smoking tobacco and using e-cigarettes would be prohibited. The maximum amount of recreational marijuana an adult can possess will be 30 grams.– Quebec has passed a law whereby all pot will be sold through a subsidiary of the provincially run liquor board. Quebec also plans to control sales online. It would be illegal to cultivate pot for personal or commercial use, unless authorized, and possession in a home is to be limited to 150 grams of dried cannabis and to 30 grams on a person. There is to be a zero-tolerance policy for driving under the influence of any drug. The legal age for consumption is 18.– New Brunswick is setting the minimum age at 19 and plans to require users to lock away their marijuana when it’s in their home. The province says people would be able to buy cannabis at a subsidiary of the province’s liquor commission.– Prince Edward Island has set its legal age at 19, and says it will sell marijuana at stand-alone outlets run separately by its liquor commission. P.E.I. plans to allow online sales and restrict marijuana use to private residences.– Nova Scotia says marijuana is to be sold alongside alcohol in nine provincial liquor commission stores, as well as through online sales, to anyone who is at least 19. The province accepts federal rules setting a personal possession limit of up to 30 grams and a personal cultivation limit of up to four plants per household. It plans to establish provincial penalties for youth possession of up to five grams.– Newfoundland and Labrador will allow sales in private stores. Legal age set at 19. The Crown-owned liquor corporation is to oversee distribution to private retailers. Consumption to be restricted to private residences.– Yukon has set its minimum age at 19. Its legislation on legal marijuana would allow the public possession of up to 30 grams of dried cannabis or its equivalent, and personal cultivation of up to four plants per household. Consumption would be limited to privately owned residences and adjoining properties, as long as the owners permit it.– The Northwest Territories has tabled legislation that proposes the minimum age of consumption at 19. The NWT Liquor Commission will be responsible for distribution and sales at existing liquor stores. Residents will be able to mail-order cannabis to allow access to marijuana in communities that do not have a liquor store. The government will be able to fine stores that don’t post signs about the health risks of pot. Communities will be able to hold a plebiscite on whether to restrict or ban sales. A maximum of four plants per household – no matter how many adults live there – and smoking is to be permitted in public where cigarettes are allowed, including trails and parks unless they are being used for public events.– Nunavut completed initial stakeholder consultations last summer and was holding a public survey to help guide the development of policy and legislative options.
OTTAWA — Canada’s chief science adviser admits her first year on the job was not exactly what she’d expected.“I survived,” Mona Nemer says, laughing. “It was an exciting year. Lots of things to learn. In many ways it was a great job offer because it didn’t have any to-do list. It was just very broad and you could define the position.”Her role, she says, is not to be a lobbyist. She isn’t there to tell politicians or public servants what to think or what decisions to make. Since September 2017, her job has been to help them find the scientific evidence they need to make decisions.But first, Nemer says, she’s had to figure out how decisions get made at all.Nemer, 61, is soft-spoken, her English precise but slightly accented. Born and raised in Lebanon, she moved to Kansas for university and ended up at McGill University in Montreal more than three decades ago to complete grad school.Seated in the board room in the suite of offices assigned to her and her staff of 15, Nemer clutches a white coffee mug stamped with the words: “I’m a scientist. What’s your superpower?”With a PhD in bio-organic chemistry, she has been in the lab as a cardiac gene specialist, helping isolate genes that contribute to certain heart conditions. Her work helped develop diagnostic tests for heart failure and birth defects. She has held a Canada research chair and for more than a decade she was the vice-president of research at the University of Ottawa.But she had never spent much time inside a government.“Simplistically, I thought there was a place you just weigh in and make sure things are happening but it’s actually much more complex than this,” she says. “It turned out that actually my broad mandate and some of the specifics that I was tasked with were easier said than done.”Canada hadn’t had a science adviser for almost a decade. The former science-adviser position existed between 2004 and 2008 but was abolished when Stephen Harper was prime minister. Nemer’s office had to be built from the ground up.Still, Nemer says she is already seeing evidence her informal meetings with ministers and deputies and the questions she answers during her lab tours with government researchers are having an effect.“I can certainly say that they’ve listened,” says Nemer.Finance Minister Bill Morneau consulted her on the 2018 federal budget; the government billed it as a “science budget,” with several billion dollars pegged over the coming years to fund more research through granting councils, upgrade federal laboratories, restore funding to the National Research Council and increase scientific capacity across the federal government.Work with Environment Minister Catherine McKenna led to a committee co-chaired by Nemer and McKenna’s deputy on environmental science, which recently identified gaps in Canada’s climate science and issued a request for research to fill them.Nemer is also to install science advisers in specific departments.Science Minister Kirsty Duncan says she’s thrilled with Nemer’s first year but Nemer cannot be the only person to help the whole government include science and evidence in its decisions. Duncan says there will be five or six departmental chief scientists appointed in the coming months, including in the environment, fisheries and natural-resources departments.“Dr. Nemer does tremendous work but one person cannot change a system,” Duncan says. “She needs to have support, she needs to have a network of advice that she can go to.”Mehrdad Hariri, the CEO of the Canadian Science Policy Centre in Toronto, says he thinks there is no doubt Nemer has already had an impact.“She is ensuring the culture of evidence-based decision making is being upheld,” he says.He says the scientific-research community increasingly believes it has channels into the government to share research and bureaucrats are more confident in finding and using that research when it’s needed.Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — More than four years after it started, Canada is ending its air-to-air refuelling support to the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.Rear Admiral Brian Santarpia says the Canadian Forces will repatriate its Polaris air-to-air refuelling plane on Saturday, ending one of Canada’s longest contributions to the war against ISIL.Santarpia says the decision was made in consultation with allies and it’s based on a combination of factors, including a decrease in the number of coalition missions over Syria and Iraq.He says it also reflects the shifting nature of Canada’s role in the coalition, which has moved toward training of Iraqi security forces.The first Canadian Forces Polaris refueller arrived in Kuwait to begin supporting anti-ISIL airstrikes and reconnaissance missions over Iraq and later Syria in October 2014.Despite the plane’s departure, Canada continues to have a sizable presence in the fight against ISIL, including two Hercules transport planes, medical personnel, more than 200 trainers and dozens of special-forces soldiers.The Canadian Press
FLINT, Mich. — Lawyers for a Montreal man convicted of stabbing a police officer at an airport in Flint, Michigan, have asked the judge to sentence him to 25 years in prison.Amor Ftouhi (ah-MOOR’ fuh-TOO’-ee) was convicted in November on several charges in the June 2017 attack, including committing an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries. Witnesses said Ftouhi, who is Muslim, yelled “Allahu akbar” — or “God is great” — while attacking Lt. Jeff Neville, who survived being stabbed in the neck.Ftouhi could get a life sentence. But in a memorandum filed Thursday in federal court in Flint, his attorneys asked that he be sentenced to 25 years and that he should spend that time in solitary confinement.They wrote that Ftouhi was depressed about debt and an inability to properly support his wife and children after moving them from Tunisia to Montreal. They have said he expected to be killed by other officers.The attorneys declined to comment about the filing when reached by phone.The Associated Press
From a dog fight between two sitting MLAs in northern Alberta to a conservative grudge match near Calgary, hear are 10 constituencies to watch in Tuesday’s Alberta election:Chestermere-StrathmoreThis redrawn constituency on Calgary’s eastern boundary is a grudge match between Freedom Conservative Party Leader Derek Fildebrandt and United Conservative candidate Leela Aheer. Fildebrandt says he was told by UCP Leader Jason Kenney in late 2017 that he would not be allowed to run in the constituency, shared with Aheer due to the redistribution, because the party felt it was Aheer’s best chance to win and they needed female candidates. Kenney denies there was an ultimatum and Fildebrandt was later expelled under a cloud of controversy.Edmonton-McClungIf the Alberta Party hopes to escape the outer rim of Alberta’s political universe, it needs its leader, Stephen Mandel, in the legislature. Mandel is well known in Edmonton, having served as its mayor and as a health minister in the former PC government of Jim Prentice. His opponent, Lorne Dach, is a backbench NDPer who won the constituency with 55 per cent of votes in 2015 but does not have a high profile. The UCP candidate is Laurie Mozeson.Calgary-Mountain-ViewA wide open race among all four parties found itself in flux when United Conservative star candidate Caylan Ford, an Oxford-trained international governmental relations expert, quit the race amid reports she made online comments sympathetic to white nationalists, a charge she says is untrue and distorted. The constituency was the only one held by the Liberals at dissolution, but MLA David Swann has retired and Liberal Leader David Khan hopes there is residual support there to get him into the legislature. He is challenged by NDP Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley and Angela Kokott for the Alberta Party, a well-known broadcast journalist. Jeremy Wong is running in Ford’s place for the UCP.Drayton Valley-DevonThis area southwest of Edmonton has become the face of the debate over intolerance in the election. Midway through the campaign, homophobic and anti-abortion statements made by UCP candidate Mark Smith surfaced in the media. However UCP Leader Jason Kenney, while denouncing the remarks, resisted calls to toss Smith overboard as a candidate. Smith, the UCP’s education critic, captured the constituency for the Wildrose party in 2015. NDP member Kieran Quirke, Gail Upton (Alberta Party), and Ron Brochu (Liberals) hope to capitalize on the controversy.Calgary-ElbowThis constituency includes a fight between high-profile politicos Greg Clark and Doug Schweitzer. Clark was the only Alberta Party member elected to the legislature in 2015, winning it handily with 42 per cent of the vote. Schweitzer ran as a candidate for the UCP leadership and was a campaign manager for former PC premier Jim Prentice. Janet Eremenko is hoping to win it for the NDP and Robin Mackintosh represents the Liberals.Edmonton-MeadowsThe UCP candidate is former Edmonton Eskimos president Len Rhodes. Kenney appointed him in February, bypassing three grassroots candidates. One of those candidates, Arundeep Singh Sandhu, said Kenney had encouraged him to run, and the decision sparked a protest rally. Rhodes does not live in the area but Kenney said it was a one-off decision to recruit a star candidate. Rhodes is running against Jasvir Deol of the NDP, Amrit Matharu of the Alberta party and Maria Omar of the Liberals.Calgary-South EastThe Alberta Party is hoping name recognition and controversy surrounding the UCP will help it win this seat. The Alberta Party candidate is legislature member Rick Fraser, who briefly joined the UCP after his Progressive Conservatives merged with the Wildrose party. Matt Jones replaced UCP candidate Eva Kiryakos during the campaign after Kiryakos quit over her comments about Muslims and transgender washrooms. The Liberal candidate is Leila Keith and Heather Eddy represents the NDP.Calgary-BuffaloThis redrawn central constituency is a bellwether for NDP fortunes in Calgary for those who subscribe to the theory of vote splitting. Finance Minister Joe Ceci is running again and is the only NDPer who won in Calgary in 2015 with more votes than the combined totals of rival candidates for the Wildrose Party and the Progressive Conservatives. Those two parties have since merged to become the United Conservatives. Ceci is up against the UCP’s Tom Olsen, a former journalist and spokesperson for former PC premier Ed Stelmach. Omar Masood is running for the Alberta Party and Jennifer Khan represents the Liberals.Central Peace-NotleyThanks to boundary redistribution, at least one sitting legislature member is guaranteed to lose on Tuesday. Marg McCuaig-Boyd, the energy minister, is running in this rural northern area against UCP legislature member Todd Loewen. In 2015, McCuaig-Boyd won the seat despite polling far behind the combined vote of the now-merged Wildrose and PC parties. Loewen, running then for the Wildrose, edged out the PC candidate in the now-defunct Grand Prairie-Smoky. Travis McKim is the Alberta Party candidate and Wayne Meyer represents the Liberals.Lethbridge-WestEnvironment Minister Shannon Phillips, the face of Alberta’s climate change and carbon tax program, is seeking re-election for the NDP. She won the constituency handily in 2015 with 59 per cent of the vote. The Progressive Conservatives and Wildrose party combined for just 37 per cent. She is running against UCPer Karri Flatla. The UCP has made the carbon tax the focus of its election campaign and has promised to repeal it as job one in the first legislature sitting. Pat Chizek is the Liberal Party nominee and Zac Rhodenizer is running for the Alberta Party.— By Dean Bennett in EdmontonThe Canadian Press
CALGARY — Canadian actress Amber Marshall has been chosen to lead the Calgary Stampede parade this year.Marshall, 31, is best known for starring as horse-whisperer Amy Fleming, whose family owns a ranch in the long-running CBC drama series “Heartland” filmed just south of Calgary.Marshall and her husband own their own ranch and are active in the rodeo world. The Stampede is celebrating women in western culture this year and president Dana Peers says that makes Marshall a perfect choice.Peers says Marshall represents and promotes western heritage and values both on and off the screen.Marshall says she’s always looked up to women who lead a western lifestyle because they are strong, independent and hard-working.The parade will kick off the 10-day Calgary Stampede on July 5. The Canadian Press
CALGARY — A southern Alberta man who shot at suspected thieves on his rural property is being sued by one of the people.A statement of claim says Ryan Watson entered Edouard Maurice’s property near Okotoks on Feb. 25, 2018.It says that when Watson was discovered and attempted to flee, Maurice fired a warning shot in the man’s direction that struck his right forearm, causing severe damage.The claim alleges the injury was caused by Maurice’s negligence.Maurice was charged with aggravated assault and weapons offences, but the Crown stayed the charges.Watson pleaded guilty earlier this year to mischief and breaching probation and was sentenced to 45 days that he had already served.The lawsuit has not been proven in court and no statement of defence has been filed.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2019. The Canadian Press
American Idol winner and platinum selling recording artist David Cook, performing at a benefit concert at Jammin Java in Virginia on December 2nd, celebrated reaching a $1 million fundraising goal for brain cancer research with his fans across the globe.Since 2009, Cook and his fans had raised $930,000 for brain cancer research through the Race for Hope DC and various other events. In November, Cook set a goal of raising the remaining $70,000 to benefit Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure (ABC2), a venture philanthropy organization.Cook has been a champion for brain cancer research since losing his beloved brother Adam to the disease. “It’s one of my proudest life experiences to be involved in this fight,” said Cook. “The way the fans have galvanized around this cause has been huge.”“Raising a million dollars for brain cancer research is quite an accomplishment,” said Max Wallace, CEO of ABC2. “David and his fans are making a big impact.”Cook is putting the finishing touches on a new album and the first single, “Wait for Me,” is available on iTunes and other digital retailers.Cook and his fans will continue fundraising when they participate in the 2015 Race for Hope on May 3, 2015 in Washington, DC, which benefits Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure and the National Brain Tumor Society.Source:PR Newswire
World tennis number two Andy Murray has announced that he has set up his own tennis event, Andy Murray Live presented by SSE, to help raise money for charity.The unique event, taking place on Wednesday 21st September at the SSE Hydro Glasgow, was the brainchild of Murray, who wanted to build a legacy tennis event in the UK whilst raising valuable funds for two charities.Tickets go on sale today, with half of all seats costing £25 or less, making the event very accessible for all.The City of Glasgow will play host to this new event where the evening will feature a Singles and Doubles match with all profits going to local Glasgow charity, Young People’s Futures and UNICEF, the world’s leading children’s organisation, of which Murray is a UK Ambassador. The former Wimbledon and US Open Champion and current Olympic gold medal holder will play Gael Monfils, the flamboyant Frenchman in the Singles. For the Doubles, Andy will be joined by his brother, World Number One Doubles Player, Jamie, to play against Monfils and British Tennis icon, Tim Henman.The evening will mark the first ever tennis event staged at the city’s state-of-the-art SSE Hydro, which topped the Billboard Venue Chart globally earlier this year.Murray said, “It’s great to be returning home to Scotland and playing in the city of Glasgow. I travel the world playing tennis and unfortunately I don’t spend as much time as I would like to at home. I owe it to my fans who have supported me throughout the years and what better way than to play in front of them at The SSE Hydro whilst raising money for Young People’s Futures and Unicef. I’m looking forward to bringing top-level tennis to Glasgow on an annual basis and making this event bigger and better every year.”Presenting partner, SSE’s Head of Sponsorship and Reward, Colin Banks added, “We are proud to be partnering with ‘Andy Murray Live’, which will see world-class tennis played at The SSE Hydro for the very first time. The success Andy has had on and off the court is unprecedented and he is a wonderful ambassador for British sport. We’re looking forward to what promises to be an incredible event, and we’ll also be offering our customers the chance to win some incredible experiences ahead of the day.”Joe Aitken, Head of Major Events, Glasgow City Marketing Bureau commented, “We’re delighted that Andy has chosen to launch this inaugural event in Glasgow. The city enjoys an enviable reputation as a top 10 global sports city with a worldclass events portfolio and a state-of-the-art arena in the SSE Hydro. We’re also a city of hugely supportive tennis fans as our hosting of the Davis Cup has shown, so Andy, Jamie, Gael and Tim can expect a thoroughly warm welcome and I’m sure they will enjoy playing in front of a packed home crowd on the night.”Lily Caprani, Unicef UK’s Deputy Executive Director said: “Andy has provided vital support for Unicef’s work for children for a number of years, most recently raising awareness and much-needed funds for children affected by the Syrian conflict through his campaign, Andy’s Aces. We are very proud to announce that Andy has been appointed a Unicef UK Ambassador and this latest initiative is an example of his continued commitment to help children in danger. The money raised through ‘Andy Murray Live’ will help us provide life-saving food, clean water, vaccines and health care for children in emergencies, as well as education and protection from violence, exploitation and abuse.”Ann Lawrance, Young People’s Futures, commented: “Young People’s Futures are overwhelmed and so thankful to Andy Murray for choosing our project from many Scottish charities. Our team are so excited to be linked to the UK’s top sportsman and world number two. We are pinching ourselves at the thought of this opportunity. We can’t thank Andy enough for his support and look forward to what could be a life changing prospect for YPF and the Possilpark community.”Tickets, from only £20 including VAT (plus booking fee) are available to purchase now: online at www.thessehydro.com; by calling the ticket hotline on 0844 395 4000, or in person from the main box office at the SECC. For accessible area tickets, please call 0800 952 0110 or for group bookings, please call 0844 395 4010. The event is being presented by SSE with host city Glasgow, and other official partners including Standard Life, Under Armour, Jaguar and the Wimbledon Foundation.For more information about ‘Andy Murray Live’ presented by SSE and hosted by the City of Glasgow, go to www.andymurraylive.com.
Ronald McDonald House New York has announced that it will partner with Steve Van Zandt as an official friend and ambassador of the House.In his new role, the rock and roll legend, actor and music education advocate will promote the great work of the House and also provide unique mentorship to the cancer stricken children of the organization. As a partner of the house, he will provide the children with access to amazing musical activities and events throughout 2017.The Ronald McDonald House has a long tradition of partnering with influential personalities to promote its mission and help brighten the lives of children afflicted with cancer. Prominent friends of the House include musicians, athletes and social impact leaders. “I believe that being part of a band is special and that music can sometimes have healing powers,” said Van Zandt. “Through my partnership with the House, I am hoping that I can share this power and love for music with the people that need it most.”Van Zandt will be releasing his first album, SOULFIRE, in nearly two decades, on May 19 and he will personally announce his new partnership with Ronald McDonald House New York at the annual Heroes Volunteer Event, on June 20, 2017, at Guastavino’s in New York City. At the event, Van Zandt will officially present a special gift to the House children. Tickets are available at www.heroesevent.com.“The House has always been blessed with great friends that help amplify our work here locally in New York,” said Ruth C. Browne, President and CEO of Ronald McDonald House New York. “With the help of other friends like Stevie, we are able to raise awareness for all the programs the House has to offer and help keep families close.”The Ronald McDonald House is the largest facility of its kind, with more than 300 sites worldwide. In New York, the organization helps keep families close by providing temporary housing for children battling cancer and their families. Afflicted families can visit and receive treatment at 16 different nearby partnering hospitals throughout the city.
June marks the fourth annual EAT (RED) SAVE LIVES campaign to raise money for The Global Fund and awareness for the fight to end AIDS, with tickets going on sale today to the first-ever EAT (RED) Food & Film Fest.Led by Chef Mario Batali and supported by chefs, restaurants and culinary brands nationwide, (RED) today announces the first of many ways for people join the fight to #86AIDS.Mario Batali said: “It’s a beautiful thing when food not only brings people together, but does so in a way that means real impact on the AIDS fight. Thanks to the enthusiastic support of so many of my heroes in the culinary industry we’re taking the campaign all across the country. So whether you’re eating, drinking or Tweeting, your choices really do count this June.”Deborah Dugan, CEO of (RED), commented: “It’s so inspiring to see the culinary community wrap its arms and apron strings around a fight as important as this. We’re enormously grateful to Mario and every one of our EAT (RED) SAVE LIVES supporters for making it easy for everyone, everywhere, to become a key ingredient in the fight to end AIDS.”THE EAT (RED) FOOD & FILM FEST!, presented by Bank of AmericaOn the evening of June 20, the first EAT (RED) FOOD & FILM FEST in New York’s Bryant Park will give food fans the opportunity to savor the ultimate New York picnic dinner designed by Mario Batali, Ina Garten, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Danny Bowien of Mission Chinese, and The Beatrice Inn’s Angie Mar. Presented by Bank of America, ticketed guests will also enjoy an outdoor screening of Sleepless in Seattle, (BELVEDERE)RED summer cocktails, Birra Moretti beer and wine by Josh Cellars. A limited number of tickets are available at ticketmaster.com/EatRED for $100, with 100% of the ticket price going to fight AIDS with (RED). Thanks to dollar matching by Bank of America and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, every ticket purchased will result in $600 to fight AIDS.HOME COOKS EAT (RED) THIS JUNEHelloFresh will offer limited edition (HELLOFRESH)RED meal kits with easy-to-follow recipes created by (RED) Chef Ambassadors Mario Batali, Emeril Lagasse, Rachael Ray and Carla Hall. Starting May 23, for every new subscriber who orders a (HELLOFRESH)RED meal kit using code HELLORED, HelloFresh will offer a $20 discount off the first box and make a $20 donation to fight AIDS. Customers can select one (RED) recipe, plus two others, as part of their weekly HelloFresh delivery. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will match every donation by HelloFresh, up to $500,000. All customers will have an opportunity to donate directly via the HelloFresh website, with additional matching by The Gates Foundation, up to $75,000.THE (RED) SUPPER @ BONNAROO(RED) and Bonnaroo are teaming-up with legendary James Beard Foundation Award-winning chef and author, Hugh Acheson for an unforgettable (RED) Supper @ Bonnaroo on June 8.Raising money for the Global Fund, the family-style festival dinner takes place as the first night of Bonnaroo 2017 swings into action. Guests will enjoy Hugh’s special three course (RED) menu, with tickets priced at $75, and 100% of the ticket price will go to fight AIDS. Thanks to generous matching by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, every ticket purchased will result in $225 to the Global Fund.Marijke Wijnroks, Interim Executive Director of the Global Fund, said: “(RED) is great at coming up with smart, innovative ways for people to support the AIDS fight. The disease has had a devastating impact, and though we’ve made huge progress, campaigns like EAT (RED) SAVE LIVES help to remind everyone that we need to keep our feet on the gas to end it for good.”
Sir Elton John and David Furnish will host the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF)’s 26th annual Academy Awards Viewing Party on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at West Hollywood Park in Los Angeles.BVLGARI is the gala event’s generous Presenting Sponsor.This year, through the support of EJAF’s friends at BBVA Compass, the Roca Brothers of the Michelin three-star restaurant El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain, will design and prepare a sumptuous dinner for Party guests to enjoy while watching a live telecast of the 90th Academy Awards. El Celler de Can Roca has been among the top three restaurants on the influential World’s 50 Best Restaurants list from Restaurant magazine the past three years, claiming the top spot in 2015. Alexander Gilkes of Paddle8 will return to conduct the evening’s highly anticipated live auction. Illusionist David Jarre will make a special appearance, and the event concludes with dancing until dawn with DJ Johnny Dynell.The Foundation is excited to announce that one of 2017’s newest breakout bands Greta Van Fleet will be the evening’s special guest performers.EJAF’s Academy Awards Viewing Party is the most highly visible and successful fundraising event in Hollywood on Oscar night. Over the past quarter century, this annual event has raised more than $62 million, thanks to the generosity of EJAF’s supporters. These funds help the Foundation to make a real difference in the lives of people at risk for or living with HIV/AIDS, including urgently needed medical care in the Caribbean, innovative treatment and prevention programs in the Southern United States, and national initiatives addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States, Canada, and Latin America.BBVA Compass, TheBLUEFISH, and M∙A∙C Viva Glam have partnered with EJAF as the evening’s Co-Sponsors; Fin Gray and Michael Melnick and Guy and Lisa Ruffin are Associate Sponsors. Champagne will be provided courtesy of Hatt et Söner, wines by Domaine Bertaud Belieu, and spirits by Chopin Vodka and Clase Azul Tequila. The Foundation is especially grateful to the City of West Hollywood for continued collaboration with EJAF on shared goals. American Airlines is EJAF’s official airline.This year’s event co-chairs are Tim and Jane Allen, Alessandra Ambrosio, Jean-Christophe Babin, Beck, Joseph W. Blount, Boy George, Jim Carrey, Ciara, Chris Colfer, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Cara Delevingne, John Demsey, Zooey Deschanel, Michelle Dockery, Jennifer Kelly Dominiquini, Jay Duplass, Ava DuVernay, Tracey Emin, Roland Emmerich, Frank Giustra, Fin Gray and Michael Melnick, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, Patricia Hearst, Tracey Jacobs, Allison Janney, Caitlyn Jenner, Quincy Jones, Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss, Heidi Klum, Robert K. Kraft, Diana Krall and Elvis Costello, Ryan Kwanten, Diane Lane, Sandra Lee, Spike and Tonya Lee, Judith Light, Eugenio Lopez, Rob and Sheryl Lowe, Eric and Janet McCormack, Joe McMillan, Lea Michele, Thomas E. Moore III and Mark Reynolds, Matthew Morrison, Mike and Kelly Myers, Kumail Nanjiani, Yvonne Orji, Sharon Osbourne, Katy Perry, Tyler Perry, Busy Philipps, Andrew Rannells, Pamella Roland, Jane Seymour, Sarah Silverman, Gillian Hearst Simonds and Christian Simonds, Steve Sims, Sharon Stone, Sam and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Steve Tisch and Katia Francesconi, Steven Tyler, Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright, and Denzel and Pauletta Washington.