Tag: ABC News

Andrea Chrysanthou says it’s been almost impossible to limit her 13-year-old son Nathaniel’s screen time.

“My son understands that he’s addicted,” said Chrysanthou, the Toronto-based board chair of the advocacy group Children First Canada. She says he’s asked her for help to stop using his digital device so much, but the minute she turns her back, he’s reaching for it again.

Her son is like millions of other kids around the world whose physical and mental well-being are at risk because of excess screen time, according to a new series of research papers published Sunday by medical journal The Lancet.

It’s a broad review of international studies that allowed researchers to distill the potential harms and benefits of digital technology, and offers a sense of “what needs to happen to protect children’s health,” said co-author Jay Shaw, an assistant professor in the University of Toronto’s Department of Physical Therapy.

Despite the breadth of their analysis, Shaw and his colleagues say the true severity of the issue can’t be fully understood or addressed without access to tech companies’ own user data — something those companies are currently under no obligation to share.

But they say their research makes the case that screen addiction among young people is a public health issue that requires governments to intervene.

Parents can’t be the only line of defence, Chrysanthou told CBC News.

“We want the companies and the platforms to take responsibility, to make their platforms safe.”

A ‘clear’ picture

Shaw and his fellow researchers reviewed data from 2,790 studies comprised of more than nine million participants.

Among the youngest users of digital devices, age 10 and under, too much screen time was linked to sleeping less and affected cognitive, emotional and social development.

There was a wider range of implications for young people between the ages of 10 and 24, from mental health problems and reduced physical activity to substance abuse, self-harm and suicidal ideation.

“I think we’re in a moment globally right now, where the harms associated with digital media use, especially for young people, have become quite clear,” Shaw told CBC News.

Dr. Rachel Mitchell, a psychiatrist at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, says this research confirms that tech and social media companies need to share responsibility.

She says most digital platforms and applications weren’t designed for young people, noting that kids five and under and adolescents are at a time in their lives when their brains are still developing and they are more vulnerable.

Mitchell says they’re being bombarded with digital distractions from various applications, games and platforms that often aim to capture constant attention by employing features like autoplay, push notifications and elements of gamification, along with daily rewards for online activity.

“Adults, at least, have fully developed frontal lobes with which to regulate, and they can’t even do it themselves,” she said, referring to the ability to limit screen use.

“So, why we’re expecting children to do it is beyond me.”

Tech’s ‘big tobacco’ moment?

Shaw says there’s a long history of public health interventions when it comes to health-related concerns about certain habits, such as smoking. He says the addictive nature of social media and other digital platforms should be no different.

And society, he says, may be at its “so-called big tobacco moment” with technology.

“If we don’t get out in front of it, then digital technologies will end up being more harmful than beneficial for public health.”

But Mitchell says addressing excess screen use, especially for young people, is a different scenario than smoking.

She says there are no real benefits to smoking, while digital devices and media serve many purposes in our daily lives.

A cigarette, she adds, won’t help you find your way around the city — but a phone will.

In fact, Mitchell points out, the data review in The Lancet highlights the positive benefits of digital media for young people when it’s used in moderation, as well as when it’s used for education and extracurricular learning.

But, she says in order to leverage the benefits, the risks of these technologies need to be managed.

Mitchell says this new research series demonstrates that the risks are so high and affect such a wide population that it’s no longer ethically or morally possible for people to manage without intervention from the government or the tech companies themselves.

Some social media and tech companies have implemented tools aimed at helping parents reduce the amount of time their children spend scrolling.

Meta, the parent company of social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, agreed to implement age limits in the U.S. when it settled a multi-state class-action lawsuit for $18 billion US in August. It was described as the largest state consumer protection settlement in history outside of the Big Tobacco settlements of the 1990s.

TikTok has a default setting that limits usage to one hour for users between the ages of 13 to 17, but this setting can be changed or turned off.

The head of Snapchat’s parent company, Snap Inc., recently told BBC News the company is open to time restrictions for teens.

Steps like these, Mitchell says, are “absolutely necessary” and “should have been there from day one.”

Push for tech company transparency

Shaw and his fellow researchers hope the review can help governments shape public health policy to address the potential harms that the overuse of digital media has on young people.

But he says without access to user data from big tech companies, it will be difficult to get a true picture of how much young people are interacting with digital devices and of the true toll it takes on their physical and mental well-being.

Their series of papers notes that tech giants like Meta, TikTok and Google aren’t obligated to share such data or details about how their algorithms fuel prolonged use, especially among young people.

“It’s very hard to reconcile morally, ethically, how that data cannot be available to researchers,” Mitchell said.

Digital safety legislation like the federal government’s proposed Safe Social Media Act (Bill C-34) would, if passed, compel tech platforms to be transparent and provide accredited researchers with access to electronic data related to online safety.

Bill C-34 would also force social media companies to restrict accounts for children under 16 unless the platforms can implement adequate safeguards to protect them.

The bill, which has yet to be debated in the House of Commons, has drawn criticism over whether it may violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

But neither Mitchell nor Shaw and his colleagues are making the case to ban children from using social media — even Children First Canada’s Chrysanthou isn’t sure it would work.

She says that in places like Australia, where age limits on social media were put in place earlier this year, many kids remain online, having found a way around restrictions or because the tech companies haven’t employed effective checks.

“Beyond some kind of regulations around screen time,” Chrysanthou said, “we want the companies and the platforms to take responsibility, to make their platforms safe.”

Ontario’s medical regulator approved significant changes Tuesday to the way doctors prescribe safer supply drugs, in an effort to reduce the amount of opioids making their way to the streets.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario’s board of directors will soon implement several changes to the practice of prescribing safer supply, which are medications given to people at high risk of overdose as an alternative to illicit opioids.

The board met Tuesday and passed a motion to enact the changes following a discussion on the proposals.

The college will make it mandatory for physicians to prescribe safer supply medications only in conjunction with opioid agonist therapy. The therapy uses medications such as Suboxone and methadone to treat opioid addiction.

“We are just here to protect the public and we’re here to ensure that the public is safe,” said Dr. Patrick Safieh, the board’s chair, near the end of the meeting.

“So we’re trying to prevent diversion as much as possible and at the same time, ensuring that those that do require safer supply are taking (opioid agonist therapy) so that eventually no one is on this and needs this, that’s the purpose.”

The most common form of safer supply is hydromorphone, a powerful opioid often prescribed for pain but significantly less potent than fentanyl and its derivatives that dominate the illicit drug supply chain.

Patients will now have to take the safer supply medications in front of health-care professionals, rather than take the pills home.

The college will not go ahead with an eight-week time limit for physicians to prescribe safer supply to patients it had previously considered.

Hydromorphone being diverted to black market: police

Police forces in Ontario have said diversion of patients’ prescription hydromorphone to the black market is occurring, Safieh said.

The board heard from Dr. Anil Chopra, the college’s associate registrar, who said they have also received information from governments, Addiction Medicine Canada, the addictions section of the Ontario Medical Association and from public health officers about the diversion of hydromorphone to the streets.

Chopra, Safieh and others agreed there is no data available to properly quantify where the hydromorphone on the street is coming from, but said at least part of it is from safer supply prescriptions.

Board member Peter Wiesner said he was concerned that the policy will not work for everyone, citing information sent in by the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network that shows more than 87 per cent of patients on safer supply are also on opioid agonist therapy.

“But what about the 12 per cent that it doesn’t work for?” he asked.

“We need to find, I think, some exemptions for the 12 per cent.”

Policy could have ‘outsized effect’ on rural Ontario

He said the new policy will have an outsized effect on those living in rural Ontario who are not close to a pharmacy.

Another concern he raised is for those people who are employed who are using safer supply drugs. Those people may have difficulties getting to a pharmacy every day to take their medicine if they are not allowed to take some home with them.

Safieh said the college will monitor the changes and make adjustments down the road if necessary.

The office of Health Minister Sylvia Jones has previously said she supports the changes.

Hundreds of physicians say they would stop practising medicine in Alberta if the province separates from Canada, according to a survey by the Alberta Medical Association (AMA).

Of the 1,649 physicians surveyed by the AMA, 15 per cent said they would continue living and practising in Alberta if it became an independent country, and 18 per cent were uncertain about what they would do.

The survey found 55 per cent of respondents said they would move to another Canadian province or territory, while a small percentage would retire or leave the medical field earlier than planned.

The survey results were published Tuesday in a letter released by the association’s president Dr. Heidi Fell.

Tuesday also marked the first of five days of advance voting on separation ahead of the official referendum day on Oct. 19.

‘Focused on an important question’

“As Albertans prepare to vote, the AMA is focused on an important question,” Fell said in the letter. “What could the referendum outcomes mean for patients, physicians and Alberta’s health-care system?”

Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party government has put 10 questions on the ballot.

The first nine questions are about Canada’s Constitution, as well as immigration, including whether the government should impose limitations and financial fees for newcomers and temporary workers accessing health care.

The 10th asks whether the province should stay in Canada or hold a second, binding referendum on leaving the country.

The AMA said if Albertans choose to separate, not only would the medical workforce shrink, but health care in an independent Alberta would be left in limbo.

For example, Fell said, it’s unclear how an independent Alberta would fill the health-care funding gap that would be created after it loses federal money.

“In addition to assuming federal health-care funding responsibilities, significant health-care concerns remain, including maintaining access to medicines, equipment and medical services,” she said.

The association also has questions about the effects of the immigration questions on health care, Fell said, should the government receive a mandate on them.

Fell said she wrote to the province’s health ministers last week for more clarity.

Access, coverage concerns

One of her questions is what doctors should do when someone needs necessary care but their eligibility can’t immediately be confirmed.

She has also asked how questions about eligibility should be resolved without delaying care.

“Physicians often need to make clinical decisions before a patient’s identity, residency status or coverage can be verified,” she said.

“Our position is straightforward: uncertainty about coverage should not unnecessarily delay care, and physicians and their staff should not be placed in the position of determining or enforcing a patient’s immigration or coverage status.”

Fell said the AMA hopes to hear from the government soon.

“Ultimately, we believe questions about coverage should be addressed through a reliable and timely administrative process so physicians can remain focused on clinical decisions and patients can receive the care they need.”

Hospitals Minister Adriana LaGrange’s office said it is reviewing the association’s letter.

“It would be inappropriate to speculate on the outcome of the referendum or any technical legislative, policy or program changes that may follow until Albertans have had their say,” her office said in an email Tuesday.

Noelle Menu, 37, says the pain began to darken her reality at a pivotal moment in her life — once she and her husband decided to try for kids, when she was 26. 

She stopped taking her birth control, which she had been on for a long period, and said she began experiencing pain she’d never had before.

The pain came to define and limit her life, she said, and it seemed nothing could relieve it. She suffered through delays in diagnosis, as well as emergency room visits, a hysterectomy and being placed on waitlists stretching years to see specialists and receive treatment. 

At that point, it was “literally destroying my life,” she said, “and to hear it’s about three to four years to see somebody here, I was just so emotional, so devastated.”

Soon, she realized: “We can’t deal with it in Canada.”

So Menu and her husband pulled from their savings and went into debt to seek private treatment at EndoGlobal in Tijuana, Mexico, which cost about $35,000 including airfare, a multi-day hotel stay and other costs. 

It’s a journey some Canadian women suffering from endometriosis are taking because they feel their health-care system has failed them.

The condition affects one in 10 women, and Canada is doing a “poor” job at providing them care, according to a November 2025 report by the House of Commons health committee — and in addition to causing undue pain, the lost productivity due to the disorder costs the Canadian economy some $2.5 billion a year. 

Gender bias plays a role

Endometriosis is a chronic condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus begins to grow and spread to other parts of the body. This tissue thickens and breaks down according to a woman’s menstrual cycle, and can cause severe inflammation, scarring and pain during periods.

It can take an average of five years to be diagnosed with endometriosis in Canada, the parliamentary committee found, while some people have waited for up to 20 years before doctors linked their pain to the disease. 

Even after that, it can take, on average, between six to 18 months to see a specialist and up to 24 months for surgery, it said. 

It can be difficult to diagnose because its symptoms can resemble other conditions, and the level of reported pain sometimes doesn’t match detectable tissue growth.

The report found that gender bias plays a significant role in those issues — along with a taboo around discussing menstrual issues, it is often assumed that this kind of pain is “just part of being a woman.”

Menu, a supply-chain systems adviser, said she was forced to reduce her workday in half because of the pain. Sometimes, she could barely make it through to the evening. 

“This disease is just debilitating for some women, and I really wish there was more awareness around it and that doctors would take us women seriously.”

Days before her flight, she told CBC News, “It’s hard to be so hopeful just because of the previous surgeries I’ve had, but I’m feeling a lot more hopeful this time.”

Dr. Jorge Zavala is one of the founders of EndoGlobal, and he says endometriosis mimics cancer in the way that it spreads, without being as destructive. 

Zavala said doctors generally lack awareness about the condition, which is why diagnoses can take so long. 

“As a doctor, if you’re not trained in something, you’re not going to be able to diagnose it. It could be poking your eye, but if you are not trained to see it, you’re not going to see it,” said Zavala. 

2-year wait time for surgery

Vanessa Papiernik, 42, says it took about 30 years for her to arrive at her diagnosis — and it came with a cancer scare. 

Papiernik, a veterinarian in Victoria, said she suffered through nine months of “significant” and “debilitating” pain until she landed an appointment for a colonoscopy. 

“I was purely in survival mode,” said Papiernik.

She would take Advil, put on maternity clothes because of the bloating and strap a heating pad around her waist to go to work. 

“I would push the pain aside, but as soon as I got home, I would realize, ‘Wow, this is very dangerous, what I’m going through right now.’”

Her colonoscopy found a mass. For two weeks as she waited for the biopsy results, she feared it was cancer; her sister had died from colon cancer 10 years earlier. However, the results showed it was endometriosis that had infiltrated through the layers of her colon.

She was referred to a centre in Vancouver, but faced a one-year wait to see a specialist, plus another year for surgery, said Papiernik.

“Living like this for two years was just not an option for me,” she said. 

She eventually booked a trip to the same centre as Menu, landing the same week the Calgary woman was scheduled for her own procedure.

There were more than 30 Canadian women receiving treatment there within the same timeframe, said Papiernik. 

“We need to really come face to face with the fact that this is, to some extent, it’s discrimination against women,” said Dr. Nicholas Leyland, president of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. 

“If this were happening with the same degree of pain in a male, it would have been fixed a long time ago.”

‘Complex surgical issues’

Leyland said that there are not enough specially trained gynecologists in Canada to deal with “the complex surgical issues,” and that the condition requires a multidisciplinary approach to care, including psychologists and physiotherapists.

The House of Commons report’s top recommendation called on Ottawa to “develop a national action plan on endometriosis” to deal with the “gaps and barriers that hinder awareness, diagnosis and treatment.”

The federal government responded saying that Statistics Canada would gather data on conditions like endometriosis; the agency has been collecting responses since Sept. 28 and will do so till Jan. 15, 2027.

The Canadian Institute of Health Research has also invested $4.9 million in endometriosis research between 2020 and 2025, Ottawa said.

Shortly before her procedure, Menu said doctors in Mexico found a large mass that threatened to block her bowels and send her into septic shock. She said she was two weeks away from emergency surgery. 

“For me to hear that I could have been in emergency surgery and my specialist appointment [in Canada] was a 30- to 40-month wait…. It makes me so mad,” said Menu, in a late-September interview with CBC News after her surgery.

With the help of her husband, Menu took a walk around the post-surgical floor, which has about 14 beds.

Most of her neighbours were Canadian women. They greeted each other as they passed. 

“I was just so grateful that they were able to find everything,” said Menu.

“I’m on the other side of it now. I’m really happy for that.”

Walking down the street this week, it may seem like everyone is sneezing and hacking up a lung. But as health officials announce the start of an earlier than usual flu season, how worried should Canadians be? And as we head into Thanksgiving weekend, should we be scrambling to update flu and COVID-19 shots? 

Some experts say that while this year’s flu season may have arrived on our doorstep sooner than usual, it’s not necessarily a cause for alarm — but other experts are stressing the importance of prevention in heavy-hit regions such as Toronto and Calgary, where one of this season’s two influenza deaths so far has occurred, according to authorities.

The strain making up roughly 98 per cent of cases in Canada so far tends to be a milder one, according to Brian Ward, professor emeritus at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal.

“So far at least, this looks like an H1N1 dominated year, and the years where H1N1 dominates, you can have very large outbreaks, but the number or the proportion of people … who get very sick, is relatively small compared to years that are dominated by H3N2,” he told CBC News. 

“I’m not convinced yet that we’re actually seeing the beginning of a real outbreak. What we’re seeing is sort of isolated, small outbreaks.”

But where the flu is striking, doctors say it’s striking hard. There are currently more than 400 confirmed flu cases in Alberta, where vaccines aren’t yet widely available.

Some regions have started rolling out flu and COVID-19 shots to high-risk populations, with most regions set to offer shots to the general public by mid-October.

Here’s what we know. 

Is everyone getting sick right now? 

According to the latest national numbers, which include data on influenza trends up to Oct. 3, there have been 3,315 detections of influenza across the country since the end of August. More than 1,140 of those cases were detected in the most recent week of available data, showing that cases are picking up.

Influenza has been associated with two deaths so far this flu season, national figures state. The person who died in Alberta lived in the Calgary area and was in the 70-79 age range, authorities say. Authorities haven’t yet shared where the second death occurred.

It’s an early start to the season. Between Sept. 27 and Oct. 3, 4.7 per cent of influenza tests came back positive, much higher than the average 0.6 per cent rate seen this time of year in 2023-2025. 

But much of this national increase is driven by an uptick of cases in B.C. and in large cities such as Toronto and Calgary. Other areas seeing cases creep up include Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Alberta.

“The rest of the country is really very quiet,” Ward said. 

He noted that in B.C., outbreaks in long-term care homes are driving the increase in cases, warning that families getting together this holiday weekend could result in further spread.

“That may be the seed that moves the virus … into the schools and universities and marketplaces and so on.”

Official figures don’t catch every case of flu, as not everyone seeks out a test when they fall ill. 

In hard-hit Toronto, family doctor Joseph Param told CBC News the increase of flu patients he’s seeing at his practice is mainly among young adults who are more likely to travel on public transit and may still go to work when feeling under the weather, perhaps because they’re used to flu season starting later. 

“Over the last couple of weeks, patients who are very healthy who see me rarely have been coming in with severe symptoms,” he said.

“So it is important that the general population is aware that we are seeing … early cases now and so that we start taking precautions earlier than expected.”

Doctors advise Canadians to stay home if they feel ill and to get vaccinated as soon as shots become available in their area, particularly with the long weekend coming up. 

How effective is the flu shot this year? 

The protection of flu shots varies from year to year depending on the most dominant strain of influenza in your area.  

This year, it’s a “good” match, Ward said. Although H3N2 viruses dominated for much of 2025, that subtype hasn’t cropped up much in 2026, and this year’s vaccine is well-positioned to protect against H1N1. 

He said “influenza viruses march to their own drummers” and can mutate even within one flu season. 

It’s not just flu season in Canada — historically, we see more respiratory illnesses in general cropping up during the fall and going into winter, including colds and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the latter of which is most dangerous in young children.

Rates of COVID-19 are currently trending lower right now than last year, with 4.1 per cent of tests coming back positive in the last week of September compared with 10.5 per cent at the same time in 2025. 

The National Advisory Committee on Immunizations (NACI) said in September that it continues to “strongly recommend” the latest COVID-19 booster shots for those at a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19, including health-care workers, adults over the age of 65, those with immunocompromised systems and people in long-term care homes.

When can I get my flu and COVID-19 shots? 

Several provinces such as Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia are already advising residents that appointments for flu vaccines and COVID-19 booster shots are available now for residents over the age of six months. 

New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are currently allowing residents to book their flu and COVID-19 vaccines, with immunization efforts officially kicking off on Oct. 13. 

Those living in Newfoundland and Labrador can receive flu and COVID-19 shots starting Oct. 19. 

In Ontario, flu and COVID-19 immunizations have been available since last week for high-risk groups, including seniors aged 65 and up, hospitalized patients, long-term care residents and health-care workers, according to the provincial government. They don’t open to the general public until Oct. 26. 

In Quebec, you can start making appointments as of Oct. 13, but the flu and COVID-19 vaccination campaign itself doesn’t begin until Oct. 20. It is only free to eligible residents deemed high-risk, meaning non-eligible residents must pay for the shots. 

Flu and COVID-19 shots can be booked now in Alberta, with the first appointments starting Oct. 19. While flu shots are free to everyone, Albertans who aren’t considered high-risk for COVID-19 will have to pay. 

In B.C., those registered in their Get Vaccinated system will receive a notification reminding them to get their flu shots. Flu and COVID-19 shots are available starting Oct. 13. 

COVID-19 and flu shots will be available at specific clinics in the Northwest Territories this fall, but a timeline hasn’t been released yet. Those in Yukon have been able to book appointments for flu and COVID-19 shots since the end of September. No details have been released for Nunavut’s rollout as of Oct. 8. 

Before heading out to the pharmacy or clinic, it’s important to check the requirements in your area to be sure you’re eligible and that providers near you have received the necessary supplies to offer shots and aren’t experiencing delays.

Most regions offer RSV vaccines to eligible patients as well. 

In the future, we could see more variety in our flu vaccines: an mRNA influenza vaccine made by Moderna was approved by the FDA in the U.S. in the summer, making this the first flu season it’ll face. It’s still under review by Health Canada.

Manitoba

A brand of turkey gravy sold in Canada has been recalled because it contains undeclared mustard.

Kevin’s Natural Foods turkey gravy sold in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan