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The U.S. plans to cut Energy Star. Could that raise costs for Canadians?
Energy Star, a popular program that highlights energy-efficient appliances from furnaces to dishwashers, is reportedly on the chopping block in the U.S.
It and other divisions that oversee climate change and energy efficiency would be eliminated as part of the Trump administration’s reorganization of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Washington Post and the New York Times reported earlier this month.
That could affect the labels Canadians rely on to know what products will help them save on energy bills, say observers such as Sarah Riddell, policy research associate with the non-profit Efficiency Canada.
“They can see … just with that one symbol that it’s going to be one of the top performers in terms of energy efficiency,” she said.
But will that symbol still exist after the U.S. program is gone?
While Energy Star Canada is administered by the Canadian government, it relies on U.S. standards, certification and testing for many products — and it’s not clear how it will operate without the U.S. program.
Read more from CBC’s Emily Chung.
Girls and young women need better access to mental health care, StatsCan report suggests
When Emma Bockner was eight, she was prescribed medication for ADHD. Then as a teen, she started experiencing problematic substance use.
“There were a lot of things that happened in my childhood that left me with feelings of inadequacy,” said Bockner, 26, who lives in Richmond Hill, Ont. She’s survived emotional and sexual abuse and struggled with an eating disorder.
When Bockner graduated from high school, she saw her friends moving on with fulfilling lives, as she found herself with a part-time job, often sitting in her room alone, drinking and doing drugs.
“It took me about six months to get into treatment, a couple of months to get into a group home,” Bockner recalled.
Waitlists for mental health and substance use services are one of the deterrents for girls and young women in Canada looking for professional help, a new report from Statistics Canada suggests.
The report looked at access to mental health and substance use health supports among girls and women aged 15 to 29 using 2022 data, the most recent available.
Of these girls and young women, nearly four in 10 met the criteria for at least one of generalized anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, social phobia, or alcohol and substance dependence, said Kristyn Frank, a senior researcher with Statistics Canada’s health analysis division in Ottawa.
In comparison, fewer than two in 10 in Canada’s general population met the criteria for a mental health or substance use disorder that same year, the report found.
“There definitely is something going on with young women and girls in terms of mental health and substance use increasing during the pandemic,” Frank said.
Read more from CBC’s Amina Zafar.
‘Rifts in families’: Alberta parents seek better talk on vaccines as measles outbreak grows
As the measles outbreak grows in Alberta, some parents are feeling the strain. They’re trying to keep kids safe and navigate touchy vaccine conversations with friends and family, whether they support them or not.
Jillian Carter lives in Lethbridge, where the vaccination rate for seven-year-olds last year ranged from 47 per cent in the surrounding county to 80 per cent within the city.
Her first child is an eight-week-old infant who is too young to be vaccinated. So Carter leaves her at home when she shops for groceries, goes out less, covers her daughter’s bucket seat when she enters a building and generally avoids meeting new people socially.
“It does make it hard to branch out into like other communities, knowing that your child’s safety is at risk when you don’t know where other people are standing [on vaccines],” she said.
“You find your people and you know your people. But it’s also something that does make you a little bit scared leaving the house with a newborn.”
Measles was once eradicated in Canada, but it’s coming back after a drop in vaccination rates. In Alberta, the outbreaks started in March and have since grown to 505 cases.
The highly contagious disease typically causes a fever and cough, then a rash. This can normally be managed at home, but in some cases, it brings serious complications such as ear infections, pneumonia and encephalitis, which can lead to lasting brain damage.
As of this week, Alberta had one child with measles in intensive care.
CBC News stopped by a popular playground at Henderson Lake in Lethbridge recently to talk with parents about how this is affecting them and their families.
Read more of the story by CBC’s Elise Stolte.
What else is going on?
Stellantis postpones Canadian-made 2026 Dodge Charger R/T model amid tariffs
The vehicle is produced at the Windsor Assembly Plant.
Door-to-door construction scams return to Ottawa this spring
Police warn homeowners to be wary of unsolicited offers of cheap work.
Duolingo’s CEO says AI will soon replace teachers. But … should it?
Luis von Ahn’s comments come as the company faces backlash for its new AI-first strategy.
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