Election Coverage: 'Hopeless optimist' Jagmeet Singh plans to play to his strengths

Tucked slightly out of the way under the shade of a patio umbrella, federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is mostly left alone on this sunny July morning at a coffee house in downtown Toronto, but a casual exchange with a passerby illustrates an approachability frequently characterized by colleagues and captured in public opinion polls. I interviewed Singh this summer for CTVNews.ca’s election profile.

This and other stories from the 2021 and 2019 Canadian elections and the 2020 U.S. elections.

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Gender bias against female surgeons fuelling surgical backlogs

Female surgeons in Canada have long faced gender-based referral biases that result in large pay gaps, and an inequitable and inefficient environment for patients, Canadian surgeons say, but with the urgency surrounding surgical backlogs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some say the time is ripe for major changes to healthcare.

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Take a trip to Shanghai at home

While celebrating Lunar New Year might look different this year, there are other ways to escape the solitude of the pandemic: Immerse yourself in the vibrancy of China’s most populous city — from the comfort of home. (Credit: Photo by Luke from Pexels)

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Data exposure flaw on Walmart.ca revealed personal customer information

A flaw allowed access to sensitive customer information on Walmart's website, demonstrating the ease with which such data could be accidentally exposed. Walmart has since disabled the pages where this security flaw was found.

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Yes, millions of people are living a relatively normal, coronavirus-free life

Anything resembling "normal" may seem unfathomable as the number of COVID-19 cases worldwide dash past 80 million and Canada grapples with a second wave that far surpasses what it experienced in the spring.

It is a term that feels wildly out of place in 2020, but in some parts of the world where the virus has been all but eradicated, like Taiwan and Australia, life is about as close to "normal" as one can imagine during a global pandemic.

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How Airport Covid‑19 Testing Will Change Travel: Everything you need to know

In exchange for open borders and peace of mind while travelling, would you be willing to spend a little extra time at the airport to get a Covid‑19 test? In Canada, airport Covid‑19 testing pilot projects are underway to see whether these travel points of entry and exit make ideal gatekeepers for containing the pandemic: Can departure tests prevent infected travellers from boarding a flight and spreading the virus? Can arrival tests shorten mandatory quarantine periods?

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COVID-19 curves: Plotting the trajectories of every country

With more than a million cases and counting, COVID-19 has hit every continent except Antarctica. From Canada to South Korea, every country has responded differently - in some cases, quite significantly.

I teamed up with Jesse Tahirali, CTVNews.ca’s Digital Content Editor, to produce this interactive package to chart and compare the progression of jurisdictions that have reported more than 100 cases. I also highlighted a few countries and aggregated information on the measures they took and when to give some background and context.

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Grieving family says Canada abandoned son in Florida prison

I wrote about Sacha Bond, a Quebec man who had been in a Florida prison since he was 19 - nearly half his life. Due to a series of events, he ended up in a coma, still chained to his hospital bed and under 24/7 guard. From the length of his sentence and the family’s efforts to bring him back to Canada to serve his time, to the state of U.S. prisons and issues around mental health and incarceration, it’s a tragic story on many levels. Sacha Bond died three days after this story was written, on Aug. 16, 2020.

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Defund the police? This is how much Canadian cities spend on policing

Cries to defund the police have rung out in protests across the United States and Canada, sparked by the death of George Floyd, seen in a video pleading and gasping for air as a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee against his neck -- long after he had already gone silent. So what does police spending look like in Canada? I dug through budget reports and financial statements from the last five years to find out.

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Nobody died in these long-term care homes - what did they do right?

Since COVID-19 was first reported in Canada, the disease has spread quickly and silently through nursing homes, leaving in its wake a devastating death toll. Stories from worried family members and reports -- including a damning one by the Canadian Armed Forces — have shocked Canadians. However, amid the alarming numbers, are the lesser-known stories of nursing homes that did not face a crisis. I spoke with several operators to see what actions they took that put them on such different trajectories. I thought a lot about what went wrong, which made me also think about what went right elsewhere. So this is a part of that story.

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Romance book industry in turmoil over racism controversy

A hiring announcement by a very small publishing company over the summer has snowballed into an explosive confrontation on racism within the powerful Romance Writers of America (RWA) organization, leading to the resignation of more than a dozen board and committee members within a few short weeks and leaving the future of the influential trade group in doubt.

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On eve of 350th anniversary, HBC's future in question

From “Rupert’s Land” to Fifth Avenue: Founded in 1670, Hudson’s Bay Co. began primarily as a fur trading business, occupying some 40 percent of what is now Canada and a significant portion of what became Minnesota and North Dakota. With the iconic retailer turning 350 this year, I wanted to revisit a company I used to cover and take a peak at where it might be headed next.

I wrote a lot about this company’s modern day operations over the years, some of which can be read here as well.

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