CSI Blog & Newsroom

Photographer: Tuur Tisseghem

“Recreational marijuana is legal as of today, but the vision of what a pot-permissive Canada looks like remains somewhat hazy,” wrote Patrick Butler for CBC News on October 17, 2018.

Butler continued, “There’s still a lot we don’t know, including what will happen to the illicit dispensaries that popped up in cities across the country in recent years. But here’s a look at what we do know as Canadian consumers buy legal cannabis for the first time.

There is one constant across the country: Online sales are available in all provinces and territories, whether via private retailers or through government-run websites. E-commerce giant Shopify, which will manage online sales for four provinces, is confident its system will be able to handle the volume.”

Read the full article here. 

Photographer: Rawpixel.com

“There is “at least one very significant investigative operation underway” at the moment into one of the largest cyber crimes in Canadian history — the CRA phone scam — with both Canadian and Indian authorities working to shut it down, says Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale,” wrote Nelisha Vellani and David Common for CBC News on September 26, 2018.

Vellani and Common continued, “Goodale made the comments while responding to a months-long CBC Marketplace investigation that traced some of those fake tax calls to illegal call centres in Mumbai. 

The CRA scam usually begins with an automated phone message claiming that the target is facing a lawsuit over unpaid taxes owed to Canada Revenue Agency, and demanding they call back or face arrest. Those who return the calls face further threats, before being instructed to pay an outstanding sum, sometimes through bitcoin or gift cards.”

Read the full article here. 

Photographer: Negative Space

“Venezuelans are living through one of the worst hyperinflation episodes ever recorded since the end of World War Two,” wrote Pablo Uchoa for BBC World Service News on September 22, 2018.

Uchoa continued, “Prices have hit a new high in August, peaking at 65,000% a year, says Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, and one of the world’s leading experts on hyperinflation.

Under President Nicolas Maduro, inflation stands at around 150% a month, says Prof Hanke – hyperinflation is defined as when inflation rates are greater than 50% per month and persist for more than 30 consecutive days.”

Read the full article here. 

Photographer: Rawpixel.com

“At least 1,036 Canadians died in the first three months of this year of what appeared to be opioid overdoses, raising the opioid epidemic’s national death toll to more than 8,000 people since January 2016, according to newly released government figures,” wrote Catharine Tunney for CBC News on September 18, 2018.

Tunney continued, “According to the Public Health Agency of Canada’s latest trend report, 94 per cent of the deaths between January and March of this year were accidental and most of those deaths involved the powerful pain medication fentanyl. 

“The latest data suggest that the crisis is not abating,” said Chief Public Health Officer of Canada Dr. Theresa Tam and Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, in a joint statement.”

Read the full article here. 

Photographer: Rawpixel.com

“(CNN)Cystic fibrosis did not define Claire Wineland. She did.

No matter the obstacles placed in front of her, of which there were many, she refused to be pitied and was determined to live a life that mattered. She inspired countless people, invited — no, demanded — honest talk about illness and mortality, and brightened the worlds of those she touched with her smile, spunk and spirit,” wrote Jessica Ravitz for CNN on September 4, 2018.

Ravitz continued, “On Sunday evening, after being taken off life support and using the newly transplanted lungs she received just one week earlier, Claire took her last breath. The cause of death was a massive stroke she suffered soon after the transplant surgery. She was 21.”

Read the full article here. 

Photographer: Alex Read

“Aretha Franklin was so hard-nosed in her business dealings that she demanded to be paid in cash before performing. Her heirs won’t have it so simple,” wrote Andrew Dalton for The Globe and Mail on September 2, 2018.

Dalton continued, “Though she lived to 76 and was terminally ill with pancreatic cancer, the Queen of Soul died without a will.

As her four sons and other family members move on from Friday’s funeral in Detroit, they’re left with the potentially tall task of finding out how many millions she was worth, and divvying it up, a process that could take years and is likely to play out in public.

Read the full article here. 

Photographer: Matthew Henry

“Ontario’s provincial police force is overhauling its mental health support system in response to the recent suicides of three officers,” wrote Ashley Burke for CBC News on August 28, 2018.

Burke continued, “OPP Commissioner Vince Hawkes is expected to announce details later this week. So far, Hawkes’s only public comments about the deaths have been on Twitter, where he wrote he was “deeply devastated by the recent loss of three of our members.”

Hawkes also vowed to examine any barriers preventing members from seeking help.

The widow of one of the deceased officers is calling on the OPP to set aside time in each officer’s day to allow them to discuss difficult calls with their peers.

Sarah Routhier’s husband, Sgt. Sylvain Routhier, was 37 when he took his life on July 31, after more than a decade as a OPP officer in Belleville, Ont. 

She said her husband was a gentle soul and loving father of three who coached all of his kids’ hockey teams and built a large backyard rink.”

Read the full article here. 

Photographer: Spencer Selover

“A large forest fire in northeastern Ontario was less active on Wednesday but is still causing concern as residents have either left their communities or are on an evacuation alert,” wrote CBC News on August 1, 2018.

CBC News continued, “The Parry Sound 33 forest fire, which began two weeks ago, remains at 10,139 hectares in size with officials saying the fire started being less active on Tuesday due to high humidity levels and cloud cover.

Shayne McCool, a fire information officer with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry says, “It wasn’t as active as it had been in days prior … so that’s a good sign,” he said.

“We made some progress on the southwest side [of the fire]. We’re expecting to see different conditions that we have in previous days [and] that should change the circumstances and allow us to make some more headway on containing this fire.”

The Parry Sound 33 fire started on July 18 and is still not under control. Across northeastern Ontario, there are currently 41 active fires burning with 13 listed as not under control. Crews are still working to fight one of the largest fires in the province near Temagami, which is 27,285 hectares in size.”

Read the full article here. 

Photographer: Wilfred Iven

“Facebook says a software bug made some private posts public for as many as 14 million users over several days in May,” wrote The Associated Press for CBC News on June 7, 2018.

The Associated Press continued, “The problem, which Facebook says it has fixed, is the latest privacy scandal for the world’s largest social media company. On Thursday, the company said the bug automatically suggested that users make new posts public, even if they had previously restricted to “friends only” or another private setting. If users did not notice the new default suggestion, they unwittingly sent their post to a broader audience than they had intended.

Erin Egan, Facebook’s chief privacy officer, said the bug did not affect past posts. She added that Facebook is notifying users who posted publicly during the time the bug was active to review their posts.”

Read the full article here. 

Photographer: Rawpixel.com

Mary Beth Pfeiffer, an investigative journalist from New York State, is author of Lyme: The First Epidemic of Climate Change.

“Like soldiers in an advancing front, blacklegged ticks are today marching across Canada armed chiefly, but not solely, with a pathogen that indiscriminately sickens and disables: Lyme disease,” wrote Mary Beth Pfeiffer for The Globe and Mail on May 11, 2018.

Pfeiffer continued, “In 1990, ticks that carried the infection were found only in Long Point in far southern Ontario. But hitched to birds and enabled by a warmer climate, these blood-sucking arachnids have found a new and rich frontier across vast tracts of the country. They are in Ontario’s provincial parks, in Quebec’s Montérégie region, where temperatures have risen 0.8 degrees Celsius since 1970, along Manitoba’s Lake of the Woods, and in many parts of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and British Columbia.”

Read the full article here.