Experts: Random COVID-19 testing resumes at four major airports

Mandatory random COVID-19 testing resumed on Tuesday, July 19 for vaccinated travellers coming into Canada through four major airports. The tests for select passengers landing in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal will be completed outside the airports, either through an in-person appointment or a virtual appointment for a self-swab test.

Experts: Abortion banned in multiple US states just hours after Roe v Wade overturned

Abortion was already illegal in multiple US states in late June, with bans introduced within hours of Roe v Wade being overturned, as cities erupted in protest at the landmark ruling. It came after the US supreme court abolished the constitutional right to abortion, more than 50 years after it was established, leaving individual states to decide. It is ultimately expected to lead to abortion bans in about half of the states.

Expert: Canadians seeking closure are finally holding funerals delayed by COVID-19

The mandates may be lifted, but COVID-19 continues to shape how families across Canada mourn. Funeral directors say the COVID-19 pandemic has so altered what it means to mourn that it might be a while before there is any community consensus of how and when to have a funeral. While many families feel the time is right to finally mourn, others feel like too much time has passed, and they no longer plan to hold a service.

Expert: Airport delays

While the air transport industry welcomed news that millions of unvaccinated Canadians will soon be allowed to fly, experts and unions said a new influx of travellers could worsen the ongoing delays at airports across the country. The government announced that starting June 20 proof of vaccination will not be required to board a train or a plane in Canada. As of May 22, just over 18 per cent of Canadians — almost seven million people — did not have at least two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Expert: Leftist former guerrilla and populist outsider head to runoff in Colombia presidential election

Colombia’s election will go to a runoff between two opposing anti-establishment candidates on 19 June after voters on Sunday were unable to pick a president outright. Gustavo Petro, a leftist former guerrilla and onetime mayor of Bogotá, won the largest share of the vote, with 40%, but fell short of the 50% required to win outright and prevent a second round.

Expert: Ontario’s right to disconnect act

While Ontario’s right to disconnect law sounds like a good idea, experts say it’s important to observe the impact of the practice on the well-being of employees and its practical application in the workplace before considering a pan-Canada approach. (Global News)

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Experts: Gun violence and legislation

New gun control legislation the federal government tabled Monday includes a national freeze on the purchase, sale, importation and transfer of handguns in Canada. The legislation comes after a number of mass shootings in the United States, including a recent shooting at an elementary school that killed 19 children and two adults in Uvalde, Texas. (CBC News) 

Experts: Quebec to use HPV test to screen for cervical cancer, replacing Pap test

Quebec says it will start using human papillomavirus tests as its primary screening tool for cervical cancer, replacing the Pap smear. The Health Department says the province will systematically offer HPV testing for cervical cancer screening to all women aged 25 to 65, every five years. Earlier this year, the Institut national d’excellence en santé et en services sociaux reported that the HPV test is more sensitive than a Pap smear and could allow patients to collect their own test samples.

Experts: Quebec summer forecast calls for heat, humidity and severe thunderstorms

A hot, "unstable and sticky" summer awaits Quebecers, according to The Weather Network, which predicts periods of abundant heat, often followed by severe thunderstorms. This will be the "fifth consecutive summer where temperatures will be above seasonal normals, which has never happened since we started compiling data" in 1942, according to André Monette, chief meteorologist at The Weather Network.

Experts: COVID-19

Researchers are struggling to explain why Quebec had the country's highest official COVID-19 death toll, but a relatively low number of excess deaths. A study — titled Excess mortality, COVID-19 and health-care systems in Canada — looked at excess deaths, which refers to when observed deaths exceed expectations based on previous years' data, between March 2020 and October 2021.

Expert: Alberta Premier Jason Kenney steps down as UCP leader

Premier Jason Kenney threw Alberta politics into a tailspin on May 18 when he narrowly won a United Conservative Party (UCP) leadership review vote only to announce he was quitting the top job. Kenney said anger from party and caucus members over decisions he made to limit personal liberties during the COVID-19 pandemic led to open criticism of his leadership and ultimately the underwhelming vote of support in the review.