By Tara Deschamps
THE CANADIAN PRESS

Canada’s federal government offered a lifeline to businesses struggling amid the latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic by expanding eligibility for two benefit programs. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and several members of his cabinet announced Wednesday that, due to the increasingly widespread Omicron variant and spiking COVID-19 cases, the government […]

Christmas decorations are never boring, but they aren’t always this exciting either. This installation in town hopefully hasn’t sent anyone rushing to call emergency services, but it is still a lot of fun. The Times staff wishes everyone a happy holiday season and a merry Christmas. –submitted photo

By Maan Alhmidi
THE CANADIAN PRESS

Zahir Alizai is frustrated. His family fled Afghanistan for neighbouring Pakistan earlier this year and he’s been trying for months to bring them to Canada as refugees but his attempts have been unsuccessful. He’s one of many Canadians trying to privately sponsor loved ones who left Afghanistan for neighbouring countries […]

By Katie Tam And Zen Soo
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HONG KONG (AP) – A monument at a Hong Kong university that commemorates the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre was removed by workers early Thursday over the objections of its creator from Denmark. The 8-meter (26-foot) tall Pillar of Shame, which depicts 50 torn and twisted bodies piled on top of […]

By Juan A. Lozano
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOUSTON (AP) – A congressional committee has launched an investigation into the promoter of the Astroworld music festival in Houston, in which 10 people were killed during a massive crowd surge and attendees were packed so tightly that many could not breathe or move their arms. The House Oversight and […]

By Martin Crutsinger
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. consumer prices rose 5.7% over the past year, the fastest pace in 39 years, as a surge in inflation confronts Americans with the holiday shopping season under way. The November increase, reported Thursday by the Commerce Department, followed a 5.1% rise for the 12 months ending […]

By Jill Lawless
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON (AP) – The British government said Thursday it won’t introduce any new coronavirus restrictions until after Christmas, and called early studies on the severity of the omicron variant encouraging. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said two studies suggesting omicron carries a significantly lower risk of hospitalization than the previously dominant […]

By Donna Spencer
THE CANADIAN PRESS

CALGARY – A new home for the NHL’s Calgary Flames hit the ditch, again, over money and risk. The deal didn’t fall apart over the city demanding the Flames share in the cost of solar power and additional road and sidewalk work, but it was the tipping point for Calgary […]

By Henry Gauthier
President & CEO
Riverside Health Care

As the pandemic moved into 2021, health care partners across the region and province began to experience increasing staffing shortages, an issue that has exacerbated across long term care and hospital environments in recent months. As a result of staffing shortages at Rainycrest Long Term Care Home, Riverside Health Care […]

I think of “beauty” this time of year. I think of the calm and quiet, of the dark, of snow banked against the house, the windows covered with frosty lace, and how as a child I would quietly and carefully move away the parcels from under the Christmas tree to […]