85-year-old rams car into​ pair of teens who played doorbell prank on him, police say



Canadian police recommended charges against an 85-year-old man they said rammed his car into two of three teens who had played a doorbell prank on him in February.

Surveillance video showed the driver allegedly speeding toward the teenagers as they ran away down a street before they were struck off-camera in Abbotsford in British Columbia on Valentine's Day.

'Looking at the footage, it is alarming. It is very disturbing.'

Police said the teenagers had been pressing doorbells and running away, which is called "Nikky Nikky Nine Doors" in Canada.

Two of the teens were struck while the third narrowly escaped being hit. According to Global News, the teens were hospitalized in serious condition but later released.

The elderly man could be charged with assault with a weapon, and authorities also may recommend a charge of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, Abbotsford Police Department spokesperson Const. Art Stele said.

"Looking at the footage, it is alarming. It is very disturbing," Stele said. "And it is out of the respect of that that we ensure that any investigations we forward are complete, thorough, and factual."

Stele addressed concerns that it took far too long to charge the man, explaining that police had to rule out other possible explanations, including vehicle malfunction.

"By no means are we intentionally delaying or taking our time," said Stele. "We do want to ensure that the public understands that in order for us to obtain justice and present a fulsome investigation on behalf of the victims and our community, the Abbotsford Police Department does take ample amount and appropriate time to complete these investigations to present to the justice system."

Stele said that it took a long time to sift through all of the data stored in the SUV connected with the incident.

Police said that the man's driver's license was suspended and his vehicle seized.

The disturbing video can be seen on a news report on YouTube.

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Parents sue after Catholic hospital in Canada refused to kill their terminally ill daughter



A Canadian couple is now suing a province and two health authorities after a Catholic hospital refused to euthanize their daughter who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Sam O’Neill, an avid runner and devoted vegan, was diagnosed with stage-4 cervical cancer in early 2022. The cancer was so aggressive that it eventually spread to her spine, breaking at least one vertebra. She also suffered from recurrent kidney infections and osteoporosis.

'You’re being told what you’re requesting is sinful.'

A year later, Sam's health continued to deteriorate. She was then admitted to St. Paul's Hospital, a publicly funded Catholic facility in Vancouver, British Columbia, owned by Providence Health Care, a Catholic medical organization. In spring of 2023, Sam requested — and was granted — assisted suicide services called medical assistance in dying, or MAiD.

Though MAiD has been the law of the land in Canada since 2016, the law provides exemptions for faith-based institutions like St. Paul's, which, in keeping with Catholic doctrine, does not kill its patients, even those with terminal illnesses. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is unequivocal about the evil nature of intentional euthanasia, calling it "murder," regardless of its "forms or motives."

Even with that strict prohibition, St. John Hospice, which is also owned by Providence Health, does kill patients in accordance with civil law. St. Paul's agreed to transfer Sam to St. John, which soon afterward did kill Sam. She was just 34 years old.

On Monday, Gaye O'Neill, Sam's mother and the administrator of her estate, filed a lawsuit against British Columbia through its minister of health, Providence Health, and regional public health authority Vancouver Coastal Health, claiming that the defendants had forced her daughter to endure added pain and suffering because St. Paul's refused to kill her upon demand.

"The circumstances surrounding the forced transfer and Ms. O’Neill’s access to MAID caused and exacerbated Ms. O’Neill’s egregious physical and psychological suffering, and denied her a dignified death," it said.

Gaye O'Neill also went into great detail about her final conversation with her daughter, which apparently took place in a bathroom shortly before Sam's transfer to the hospice.

"We were allowed to say a quick goodbye, so I said to her, 'Sam, I’m so sorry this is happening to you.' And she said, 'Well, it is what it is,'" Gaye recalled.

The family exchanged "I love yous" before Sam was given pain killers and sedatives to ease her journey to St. John. Sam's father, Jim O'Neill, accompanied her in the ambulance.

"It was really, really hard," he said. "You watch her writhing and moaning in pain, not conscious and she’s not going to be conscious ever again."

Jim O'Neill described the experience as "horrendous" and "cruel."

Moreover, the O'Neills claim, Sam never chose to go to St. Paul's in the first place. By refusing to perform MAiD, St. Paul's "violated [Sam's] choice of religion," Gaye claimed.

"They can’t go on hurting people."

In addition to Gaye O'Neill, the lawsuit has two other plaintiffs who seem to have animus against a Catholic hospital for abiding by Catholic teaching. One of the plaintiffs is an organization called Dying with Dignity Canada. Its vice chairwoman, Daphne Gilbert, a University of Ottawa law professor, accused faith-based hospitals of attempting to "stigmatize" the practice of assisted suicide and those who request it.

"You’re being told what you’re requesting is sinful," she said.

Dr. Jyothi Jayaraman, a so-called palliative care physician and coplaintiff, also took issue with a hospital following its founding Christian precepts. "[Canadian Charter law] allows me freedom of religion, which also means that nobody else’s religious beliefs should be imposed on me," she insisted. "I think that is what’s happening, that Providence Health’s religious beliefs are imposed on me in such a way that I can no longer provide care in a medically appropriate and ethical way."

In a statement to Global News, Providence Health reaffirmed the organization's commitment to Catholic teaching and to refusing MAiD practices. However, it claims that it works with Vancouver Coastal Health facilities willing to perform them. "If there are issues or concerns with transfers, the two organizations work to improve the transfer processes wherever possible," Providence Health said.

Health Minister Adrian Dix gave a statement as well: "MAID is a legal end-of-life choice. In British Columbia, it’s strictly regulated, but it’s a legal end-of-life choice. And it’s our job to ensure that people have access to MAID in our province."

In an email to Blaze News, Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition noted that "Sam O’Neill was not denied MAiD," and indeed, received MAiD services at an alternate facility. He also suggested the only crime St. Paul's committed was "refusing to kill their patients."

Finally, he slammed the lawsuit as little more than thinly veiled political activism. "Dying with Dignity, Canada’s leading euthanasia lobby group, is committed to forcing every medical institution to provide euthanasia," he told Blaze News. "Dying with Dignity will not accept any dissent from their demand that all medical institutions must provide euthanasia."

"This story is about using the death of Sam in order to force all medical institutions, including religiously affiliated medical institutions, into providing euthanasia."

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LGBT Pride Leader Sean Gravells Arrested For Alleged Child Pornography: REPORT

‘One of our board members was arrested and is facing severe charges'

President of Canadian LGBT organization ousted following arrest for alleged sex crimes against children



The now-former head of a Canadian LGBT activist group has been arrested and charged with multiple sex crimes against children. Sean Gravells served as president of the North Peace Pride Society from 2018 until Friday, when the group announced his removal from the board following a Jan. 3 vote.

Dan McLaughlin, a spokesman for the British Columbia Prosecution Service, told Canadian state media Monday that Gravells, 39, has been accused of molesting an individual under the age of 16, sexual interference of a person under 16, possession of child pornography, and importation or distribution of child pornography.

Gravells, who indicated in a 2022 Meta post that he had gone to work for WESCO Distribution, is alleged to have victimized children in northern British Columbia in or around Fort St. John. Whereas the alleged molestation is said to have occurred on Dec. 29, the child porn charges occurred on Dec. 31.

The North Peace Pride Society, which has scrubbed the alleged pedophile's biography from its website, appears to have been sponsored in recent years by various Canadian banks and local institutions.

The NPPS has hosted events for minors in recent years, such as its May 2022 "Pride Teen Night" for teens ages 13-18.

Gravells told EnergeticCity.ca ahead of an apparently all-ages drag show in 2022, "We've got, potentially, a young person who's never tried drag before, but they really want to try. So we're going to help them out as much as we can with costumes, makeup. We can't do everything for them, but we can definitely provide some guidance."

The NPPS said in a Jan. 5 statement, "On December 31, 2023, one of our board members was arrested and is facing severe charges inconsistent with the North Peace Pride Society's mission and code of conduct."

"While some board members work directly with youth through library programs, this person was not among them," said the statement. "All board members involved in youth program have undergone criminal record checks."

It's presently unclear whether Gravells previously had a criminal record.

The NPPS vowed that moving forward, all of its board members would be subjected to "record checks to uphold the highest standards."

A spokesman for the federal police operating in Fort St. John declined to provide state media with additional details regarding Gravells' arrest.

McLaughlin indicated he appeared in provincial court on Jan. 1 and his arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 29.

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Canadian court rules police cannot prevent junkies from shooting up on kids' playgrounds



A Canadian judge ruled Friday that junkies cannot be prevented from shooting up in playgrounds and in other children's areas.

According to Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson of the British Columbia Supreme Court, forbidding junkies to do so would impose "irreparable" harm. After all, reasoned the judge, "public consumption and consuming drugs in the company of others is oftentimes the safest" — apparently even if the company sought is that of strangers' children.

What's the background?

The Trudeau government decriminalized hard drugs in British Columbia last year in concert with the province's socialist NDP regime as part of a pilot program set to run until 2026. The program provides junkies in the province — 2,300 of whom overdosed in 2021 — with an exemption from federal law to possess up to 2.5 grams of various illicit substances including fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, meth, and ecstasy.

Of course, this initiative immediately proved problematic for all the obvious reasons.

Deputy Chief Fiona Wilson, vice president of the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police, noted law enforcement officials "heard feedback from our communities about the need to ensure police have appropriate tools to address areas of concern, which prompted the BC Association of Chiefs of Police to advocate Health Canada to add additional exceptions to the exemption."

The "areas of concern" were largely those frequented by children.

B.C.'s socialist premier, David Eby, also acknowledged there had been significant concerns that decriminalization had led to a spike in the use of illicit drugs in schoolyards, reported North Shore News.

The province ultimately pressed the federal government for an amendment to the decriminalization policy to ensure that junkies couldn't abuse their newfound liberty within 49 feet of playgrounds, spray pools, wading pools, and skate parks. B.C. indicated in September that it had received approval to allow police to enforce federal drug law in "child-focused spaces."

"We requested this amendment from Health Canada to ensure that families feel safe in their community while continuing to use every tool available to fight the toxic-drug crisis and save lives," said Jennifer Whiteside, B.C's NDP minister of mental health and addictions.

The resultant provincial legislation, Bill 34, would enable police to tell junkies to stop consuming an illegal substance or to relocate to another place. Noncompliance could be punished with a maximum fine of $2,000 and/or a prison term of up to six months.

Protecting playground junkies

Activists figured that that notwithstanding the roughly 364,764 square miles whereupon junkies could shoot up in B.C., it was essential that the province's playgrounds in particular remained for them a viable option.

The Harm Reduction Nurses Association challenged Bill 34 in November, alleging it violated sections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including the "rights of People Who Use Drugs ('PWUD'), the ... rights of the plaintiff and its members, and the ... rights of Indigenous people."

The group said in a statement, "Bill 34 will drive drug use further into the shadows and put the lives of our clients and community at risk," adding that keeping junkies off of children's playgrounds would "disproportionately target and harm Indigenous peoples in BC."

Caitlin Shane, a lawyer for the Harm Reduction Nurses Association, told the Tyee, "The vast majority of communities in B.C. don't have places to safely use drugs, and when you ban people from using in public when you know there is nowhere else for them to go further pushes people into the margins and towards isolated drug use."

Corey Ranger, head of the HRNA, said Bill 34 was a "reactive, regressive, not evidence-based, not based in harm reduction" law that "poses immense amounts of harm for those already at higher risk of death."

The HRNA activists, like Shane, appear to presume it a forgone conclusion that society must accept that junkies need to continue using.

Court keeps crack on the jungle gym

Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson, appointed to his role by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, acknowledged in his Dec. 29 ruling that "the social harms associated with public illegal drug use range from the loss of public space due to open drug use, to discarded needles and other drug paraphernalia, to drug-related criminal activity and decreases in real and perceived public safety."

Hinskson also indicated that he accepted "that the attendant public safety risks are particularly concerning given that many of the restricted areas and places in the Act are frequented by seniors, people with disabilities, and families with young children."

Despite noting these downsides and the government's indication that the HRNA's "evidence [was] composed almost entirely of affidavits prepared by administrators of public interest groups that are replete with anecdotal evidence, unsubstantiated conclusory statements, layers of unattributed hearsay, ... and policy recommendations," Hinskon nevertheless concluded both that the legislation "will cause irreparable harm" and that its suspension "can be properly characterized as a substantial public benefit."

It appears Hinkson was swayed in part by the argument that shooting up in the company of others, in this case in front of families and children, "is oftentimes the safest, healthiest, and/or only available option for an individual."

The National Post indicated that Hinkson intimated restrictions on where junkies could use drugs amounted to a violation of "the right to life, liberty and security of the person," though the court did not explicitly say so.

The court indicated the province can pursue other legislative and policy alternatives should Bill 34 ultimately be struck down.

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Canadian conservative leader casually wrecks reporter's line of attack simply by asking what he means



The Conservative Party of Canada is presently crushing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals in the polls. The Liberal Party's celebration last month of a veteran Waffen-SS Nazi in Parliament likely didn't help.

Facing the the prospect of a dramatic sea change, it appears some within the northern nation's left-leaning state-subsidized media are eager to paint ascendant CPC leader Pierre Poilievre as a Trumpist figure. Poilievre has once again demonstrated that reporters are going to have to up their game if they're to land a punch ahead of the 2025 election.

The Conservative leader spoke last week to Don Urquhart of the Times Chronicle in the Town of Oliver, British Columbia, after first meeting with fruit growers from the area. He discussed some of the ways he'd eliminate bureaucratic red tape and statist obstacles to a better life for Canadians, apple farmers included.

"We're no longer going to accept that this or that gatekeeping bureaucracy stands in the way of obvious common-sense solutions," said Poilievre. "And when people come to me, say, 'Yeah, but this or that clerk or bureaucracy is not going to be happy.' That's life, right? There's going to be a lot of vested interests and bureaucracies that are gonna be very unhappy when I'm prime minister."

At one stage in the interview, the reporter attempted to play on a thematic groove routinely deepened by Canadian state media and Toronto's union paper, saying, "In terms of your sort of strategy, currently, you're obviously taking the populist pathway."

Between chomps from his apple, Poilievre asked, "What does that mean?"

Urquhart laughed nervously, then responded, "Well, appealing to people's more emotional levels, I would guess. I mean, certainly ... you tap very strong ideological language quite frequently."

"Like what?" asked Poilievre, apparently keen not to deal in abstractions.

"The left wing, you know, this and that, right wing. ... That type," said Urquhart.

"I haven't really talked about left or right. I don't really believe in that," said Poilievre.

Urquhart remained committed to conveying the essence of his accusation: "Anyways ... a lot of people would say that you're simply taking a page out of the Donald Trump book."

"Right, like which people would say that?" said the conservative.

"Well, I'm sure a great many Canadians, but ..."

"Like who?" Poilievre said again.

"I don't know who. ... I'm sure there's some out there," said Urquhart. "But anyways, the point of this, the point of this question is, I mean, why should Canadians trust you with their vote given not just the sort of ideological inclination in terms of taking the page out of Donald Trump's book —"

"What are you talking about? What page?" asked Poilievre. "Give me the page."

"In terms of turning things quite dramatically in terms of Trudeau and the left wing and all of this, I mean. You make quite a, you know, it's quite a play that you make on it," continued Urquhart.

Poilievre, finished both with his apple and Urquhart's tortured attempt at calling to mind a parallel to former President Donald Trump, responded, "I don't know what your question is."

The reporter managed to find the right words when later writing up the interview: "When asked why Canadians should trust him with their votes given his demonstrable track record of flip-flopping on key issues and what some consider his use of polarizing ideologically-infused rhetoric suggesting he simply takes pages out of the Donald Trump populist playbook, Poilievre became acerbic."

The leader of the CPC ultimately told Urquhart that Canadians should trust him with their votes because of "common sense. ... We're going to make common sense common in this country. We don't have any common sense in the current government."

"I'm going to cut spending, cut waste so that we can balance the budget and bring down inflation and interest rates. If you want to be able to pay your mortgage again, if you want to be able to afford rent, then you have to vote for [Pierre Poilievre], because I'm the only one with a common-sense plan that will bring back the buying power of your paycheck," added the conservative.

— (@)

A September Ipsos poll showed the Conservatives leading the Liberals 39% to 30%, reported Reuters.60% of Canadians polled want Trudeau to step down.

Angus Reid Institute polling put the Conservatives at 39% and the Liberals at 27% — enough for Poilievre's party to form a majority government come the next election.

Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs, said, "Pierre Poilievre is doing an amazing job of selling himself to Canadians. ... [L]ike there's Poilievre mania. It's really just a desire for change."

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Report: Male transsexual who raped infant and confessed to drowning toddler put in women's prison containing a maternity unit and kids



A new report has revealed that a male child rapist who masquerades as a female is now being held in a women's prison that contains a mother and child unit and houses infants.

Accommodations for an admitted baby-killer and pedophile

According to a Reduxx report, Adam Laboucan — who now goes by Tara DeSousa — raped a three-month-old infant in Quesnel, British Columbia. The pedophile was 15 at the time of the 1997 crime, which left the infant so badly injured that he had to be flown 410 miles away to undergo reconstructive surgery.

After raping the baby, Laboucan mutilated himself and ate his own flesh, reported the Toronto Sun — long before he would mutilate himself further in an attempt to pass as a woman.

At the age of 17, the pedophile was declared Canada's youngest dangerous offender.

Canadian state media reported that during his subsequent trial, the court heard that Laboucan had apparently also drowned a three-year-old boy in Quesnel at the age of 11, but avoided charges because he was under the age of 12.

Psychiatrists indicated that extra to his violent nature, "Adam Laboucan displays everything from transsexual to pedophilic tendencies."

Dr. Ian Postnikoff told the court the child rapist "said he was not planning a life of crime, but he felt he had no way to control the flood of violent, murderous fantasies," adding that while in custody, "he would turn them against himself, but this high level of self-mutilation, almost self cannibalization, could be turned against other, weaker individuals, with possibly fatal consequences."

Extra to apparently having a taste for human flesh, the child rapist reportedly also prostituted himself out to fellow inmates — one of whom he married — stabbed himself, and threatened to kill a female guard.

Despite his crimes, Laboucan was able to get a sex-change surgery and DD-sized breast implants in prison at taxpayers' expense. The Toronto Sun indicated that the implants alone, usually covered by Canadian provincial and federal governments, "routinely cost as much as $10,000."

After Corrections Canada indicated the federal government had not paid to cut off the child rapist's genitals and outfit him with fake breasts, the Edmonton Sun reported the provincial government of British Columbia likely picked up the tab.

The child rapist with a history of threatening women was denied parole in 2010, on account of "a complex set of risk factors related to his gender identity, impulsive behaviour, violence and sexual deviance put[ting] him at high risk to offend," reported CTV News.

Laboucan was denied parole again in 2018 on account of the likelihood he would reoffend.

However, he was afforded an opportunity to relocate to a different kind of prison: the Fraser Valley Institution for Women in Abbotsford, British Columbia.

FVI houses minimum-, medium-, and maximum-security inmates "in an open campus design model."

According to the Correctional Service of Canada, FVI offers programming "that has been developed specifically to address women's needs and is delivered using a woman centered approach."

The facility also has a mother-child program and a small playground for toddlers and other prospective victims. FVI is one of five federal institutions that permit infants and children up to the age of seven to live with their criminal mothers.

The National Post reported that other convicts on the premises "may live with the mother and child — they can even apply to serve as babysitters or 'aunties,'" although they must be screened beforehand.

Critics have suggested that children would be better off with adoptive families than with child rapists, murderers, and other felons, but such critiques have evidently fallen on deaf ears.

Reduxx noted that Heather Mason, an advocate for the rights of incarcerated women, briefed members of the Canadian parliament in June 2021 about the threat that Laboucan and other transsexuals pose to real women in correctional facilities such as Fraser Valley.

Mason indicated that a woman at the facility "reported that while in the mother-child program, two transgender individuals with convictions for pedophilia, Madilyn Harks and Tara Desousa, would loiter near her and her child, making sexist and inappropriate antagonizing comments."

Harks, a man formerly named Matthew, is a serial pedophile who targeted young girls and is believed to have victimized at least 60 children before being charged for 200 offenses that occurred in British Columbia.

A female inmate told Mason on the condition of anonymity that Laboucan had attended an event at Fraser Valley where infants were present and was even housed next to the mother-child facility.

The child rapist allegedly would also stare at children in the ward.

The anonymous source noted that after concerns were expressed about Laboucan stalking, the child rapist flung a woman about by her hair then kicked her in the face.

"If you speak up or say anything, you're called ‘transphobic’ or a 'Terf' or what you say is 'hate speech,'" Mason told the Toronto Sun. "Women are being sacrificed on the altar of political correctness. We are being erased … everything we fought for is being taken away."

This problem is hardly limited to Canada.

TheBlaze previously reported that Antifa thugs attacked women who protested the potential placement of a male transsexual who murdered two lesbians and their adopted African son in a California women's prison.

David Warfield stabbed 56-year-old Charlotte Reed over 40 times and shot her twice on Nov. 11, 2016. Warfield also shot and stabbed 57-year-old Patricia Wright. Before setting fire to the victims' house, the transsexual activist shot 19-year-old Benny Diambu-Wright, who later perished.

The women attacked by the masked male leftists and called "Terfs" had expressed concern that Warfield, who now goes by Dana Rivers, might continue attacking women while in prison.

New York Democrats reintroduced legislation last month that would enable male transsexuals, including sex offenders, to be jailed with real women, even if they still have their male genitalia intact.

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'Enough of this bulls**t!': Spunky older woman blocks 'a**hole' shoplifter, yanks off his ski mask, and curses him out — before he departs store empty​-handed



A spunky and salty-tongued older woman is becoming a bit of a folk heroine since video has been circulating of her confronting and stopping a suspected shoplifter in a Canadian Walmart over the weekend.

What are the details?

Global News reported that Saturday morning's incident at the store in Campbell River — about four hours northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia — began when a man followed the suspected shoplifter heading for the store exit.

The man — who apparently was recording video of the heist — asked the apparent shoplifter if he was planning on paying for the items that filled his cart.

"Yeah," the alleged shoplifter — who's wearing a ski mask — replies.

As the suspect grabbed his bike and wheeled it toward the open door, he told a gray-haired woman who arrived there before him "excuse me."

Image source: Global News video screenshot

“Excuse me!” she shouts at him — and blocked his path with her shopping cart.

'Enough of this bulls**t!'

With that, the woman got angry and began pulling off the man's apparent disguise — ordering him to "take that f***in' mask off, asshole!" — and hollering that she's seen "enough of this bulls**t!”

The crook put up no fight as the woman pulled his ski mask all the way off, and the man who's recording the incident on video — and perhaps the woman as well — pulled the shopping cart back into the store's lobby.

"F*** off, asshole!" the woman exclaims. "Get out!"

"Take your s**t and go," the man recording the video instructed the culprit.

The woman then yelled it's "you assholes" who "jack up the price for everybody else ... it’s about time they got caught!”

The alleged shoplifter left with only his backpack.

Anything else?

Campbell River RCMP Const. Maury Tyre confirmed the video’s authenticity and told Global News that officers were still trying to get in touch with the person who recorded it.

Tyre added to the outlet that people in the community are growing frustrated about strings of blatant crimes — and that the bravery shown by the people in the video, while not advisable, was nevertheless honorable.

Global News said thata Facebook post about the incident drew more than 1,200 comments on Sunday.

Canadian doctor diagnoses patient as suffering from 'climate change'



In the first diagnosis of its kind, a Canadian patient has been diagnosed as suffering from "climate change" after a doctor became frustrated dealing with multiple cases of people harmed by wildfires and a heat wave over the summer.

Kyle Merritt, an emergency room doctor in Nelson, British Columbia, made the diagnosis after the patient went to the emergency room with a case of asthma that was made worse by smoke during wildfire season.

The patient was one of many who suffered from poor air quality caused by the smoke, which is an annual problem for this area of British Columbia.

Another patient, a woman in her 70s, was admitted to the emergency department at Kootenay Lake Hospital in late June, in the midst of a record-breaking heat wave when temperatures rose as high as 121 degrees Fahrenheit.

"She has diabetes. She has some heart failure. ... She lives in a trailer, no air conditioning," Merritt told Glacier Media.

"All of her health problems have all been worsened. And she's really struggling to stay hydrated."

Over the summer, experts attributed the deaths of more than 500 people in the region to record-breaking temperatures, according to coroner reports. Wildfires in July and August made the air quality 43 times worse than levels scientists say are safe.

"We were having to figure out how do we cool someone in the emergency department," Merritt explained. "People are running out to the Dollar Store to buy spray bottles."

Witnessing environmental factors impact his patients' health convinced Merritt that doctors need to directly call out climate change in their diagnoses, to raise awareness of the issue.

"If we're not looking at the underlying cause, and we're just treating the symptoms, we're just gonna keep falling further and further behind," he said.

"It's me trying to just ... process what I'm seeing. We're in the emergency department, we look after everybody, from the most privileged to the most vulnerable, from cradle to grave, we see everybody. And it's hard to see people, especially the most vulnerable people in our society, being affected. It's frustrating," he added.

Merritt and about 40 other doctors and nurses have formed a group called "Doctors and Nurses for Planetary Health." They say that climate change is the "biggest public health threat of the 21st century."

As such, they're calling on the government of British Columbia to end fossil fuel subsidies "immediately" and spend money to transition to "clean energy."

"The Covid-19 pandemic proved that our leaders are able to face health threats quickly and resolutely. The health of our planet, and all its inhabitants, cannot tolerate any further delay in climate change mitigation," the group said in a call to action. "We must implement bold and innovative climate solutions now. Our health depends on it."

"I don't think people realize the impacts of environmental degradation and climate change on human health," Merrit told a local British Columbia news outlet last week.

"Working with patients directly, we are actually starting to see the health effects of climate change now. It's not just something that is going to happen in the future."

Despite video of hooded figure setting fire to Canadian church, officials uncertain if blaze days later that burned same church to ground was arson



Despite surveillance video of a hooded figure setting fire to a Canadian church's door last week, officials said they're uncertain if a blaze just days later at the same church that burned it to the ground was arson, CTV News reported.

What are the details?

Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Surrey, British Columbia, confirmed there was a recent attempted arson at St. George Coptic Orthodox Church, the network said.

Surveillance video of the attempted arson timestamped 2:30 a.m. Wednesday shows a woman approaching the building's front door, lighting it on fire, and then walking away.

Surveillance video provided to @CTVVancouver by one of the church members shows a woman lighting the front door of… https://t.co/AjA1Lx0YPh

— Regan Hasegawa (@rhasegawaCTV) 1626704558.0

Church members told CTV News the door was damaged, and they had been there working with police to identify the suspect.

Another fire

Then a massive fire burned St. George church to the ground early Monday morning, the network said — just five days after the attempted arson caught on camera.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

CTV News said flames broke out at the church shortly after 3:30 a.m., and by the time firefighters arrived the building was engulfed in flames, and it was upgraded to a third-alarm fire. No one was hurt, the network added.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

But despite the earlier video, Assistant Chief Shelley Morris of the Surrey Fire Service said the cause of the blaze that destroyed the church is not known.

"We don't know the cause at this time," she told CTV News. "We'll be investigating later today once we fully douse the fire."

Sgt. Elenore Sturko with the Surrey RCMP added to the network that while it's "disturbing that the church has now burnt ... there is no indication that these two incidents are linked." Sturko also told CTV News that "we will be investigating both of these incidents separately."

Church members have a theory

Some in the St. George congregation believe the church was deliberately set on fire.

"I think it's arson, and I think it has probably to do with the burning of churches that's happening around the country, where there is no distinction between one type of church or another type of church," Medhat Elmasry, a church board member, told the network.

Medhat ElmasryImage source: YouTube screenshot

Sturko added to CTV News that the string of recent church fires also is on the minds of police.

"We also are aware that there have been other church fires across British Columbia and other parts of Canada, and we are alive to that," she told the network. "We don't have any information to suggest [it's] related to any of those other incidents at this time, but our officers, and the Surrey Fire Service, are treating this as suspicious at this time."

'It feels really bad'

Elmasry also told CTV News that St. George has been around since the 1990s, and more than 380 families attend.

"It feels really bad, because… it's our life, our churches, our life. We spend a lot of time in our church. And we have a large congregation. So I speak on behalf of my congregation," he noted to the network. "I'm sure we're all heartbroken at the moment."

Elmasry also told CTV that many items inside the church are irreplaceable.

"There are relics of saints that are totally priceless. That must have gone in these flames. You cannot recover those," he told the network, adding that he hopes the culprit is caught.

"My message is: 'What have you achieved? What did you do this for? You targeted a peaceful community, a peaceful church,'" Elmasry told CTV News.

While the church carried insurance, it also was home to a daycare, and now there is concern regarding where the 65 kids who attend will go now, the network said.

Surrey church burned to ground in suspicious fireyoutu.be