Under a heavy, rain-soaked Belgian sky, Sweden's flag was raised Monday at NATO headquarters in Brussels to formally mark its new status as a full member of the western military alliance. Its neighbour, Finland, applied at the same time as Sweden and was accepted into the alliance last year. The Nordic country plans to send a reduced battalion to join the Canadian-led multinational brigade in Latvia, part of NATO's mission to deter Russia in eastern Europe. In a statement, the Swedish Armed Forces said that Sweden and Denmark will take turns leading a battalion that will form part of the Canadian-led brigade in Latvia. The Danish and Swedish troops will replace each other every six months, Janes Defence News reported in January, noting that the first Swedish unit — of 600 soldiers — had been designated already and will deploy in 2025.

Child and youth advocate Kelly Lamrock wrote a report calling out the province for failing to properly run social programs, dating back several decades. (Ed Hunter/CBC - image credit)New Brunswick's child, youth and seniors' advocate has issued a sweeping and scathing denunciation of how the provincial government runs social programs, saying the system is fixated on following rules rather than achieving results. "The failings in long-term care are also the failings in how New Brunswick social programs have been governed," Lamrock writes. Lamrock's report said there is a disconnect between the budget process and what New Brunswickers see day to day. That model is more appropriate for the manufacturing sector than social policy, he adds.

WATCH | Ceremony marking 10 years since the withdrawal from Afghanistan:Début du widget Widget. Fin du widget Widget. Canada marks 10 years since the Afghanistan military mission's endTen years after Canadian troops pulled out of Afghanistan, the Canadian forces held an understated ceremony in Ottawa to pay tribute to the lives lost and reflect on the lessons from the nation's longest war. It has become more sharp — even painful — since the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in 2021. Maloney said he doesn't think Canadians will ever be ready for a national conversation — either politically or socially — about the Afghan war.

‘Community champions’ are recruiting their neighours to capture heat images of their homesResidents and business owners in Georgetown, P.E.I., are being enlisted to help their town become climate-neutral. Researchers at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) have asked locals to take pictures of their buildings using infrared cameras, which capture heat leaks, as well as with humidity-measuring hygrometers. The data is being collected this month in a new survey, part of the researchers efforts to help Georgetown become a net-zero community — meaning a municipality that reduces at least as many carbon emissions as it creates. The project is being led by UPEI working with community volunteers its researchers call "community champions," who are helping get the word out throughout the community. Professor Kuljeet Grewal says that his team is trying to get up to 350 buildings in Georgetown to participate by the end of March.

(CBC-Radio Canada/Submitted)Four women in Newfoundland and Labrador have been named among the top business leaders in Atlantic Canada. On Thursday night in Moncton, 25 women were named Atlantic Canada's 25 most powerful women in business in 2024 by Atlantic Business Magazine. Heather Dalton says that a list like Atlantic Business Magazine’s is still important in 2024, as she is often one of very few women in many industry business meetings that she attends. (Submitted by Heather Dalton)This is the fourth year in a row that Atlantic Business Magazine has released the list. All four winners this year echoed the sentiment that a list like the one from Atlantic Business Magazine is still important.

They focused on different aspects like when an ice-free Arctic might happen in September, how often it might occur, and if it could extend to other months. Consistently ice-free conditions, which refers to the transition to a frequently ice-free Arctic, are expected to occur between 2035–2067 under the high-emission scenarios, with a small delay possible for lower-emission scenarios, the researchers said. “Even if ice-free conditions are unavoidable, we still need to keep our emissions as low as possible to avoid prolonged ice-free (new window) conditions,” Jahn said. “Clarity on how this issue will be handled will facilitate communication around the occurrence of the first ice-free Arctic when it occurs. The study, Projections of an ice-free Arctic Ocean published in the journal Nature Reviews Earth and Environment.

We are proud to share that we had over 40 skaters competing this past weekend at the Newmarket Ice Blitz Star 1-4 Competition. It was a very busy weekend for our skaters and coaches with many new memories made. Congratulations to all athletes on a fantastic weekend of skating! SCBC LIST OF ENTRIES:STAR 4 Girls o13:Sydney Walker – 2nd placeKayla Giang-PhamSTAR 3:Diya DheerAreia Ellis-DawsonKeya JariwalaPiper KrolickRebeckah EastEmma LiuMackenzie LamMuaaz ZeshanLauren Cheung-SeekitBryce KellySehaj SinghIsabel GaenshMaryam ZeshanSimran NimraniJaslyn UbhiAva FurykMariah FernandesAlexa AglipayEverly AndrejekSTAR 2:Prabvir UbhiTiffany Grace TaoHunter KrolickAshley GaymesEvelyn JiangSaanvika PawarMila PentchevElla YauOlivia HelikKashvi JoshiPrimm Kaur SinghEverleigh BurgosGrace FurykKaylee JiangKayla MaxwellEmily OgilvieSamadhi PathrianeMehar BrarNathaniel NanayakkaraJasleen CheraZoe ForteSTAR 2/3 DANCE:Aila & HunterCongratulations to all SCBC skaters and their coaches on a successful competition. We are so proud of you!

The Union representing workers at two potash mines operated by Nutrien says it's shocked and disappointed the resource giant will be temporarily shutting down three mines here in Saskatchewan. Nutrien said in a statement issued on Wednesday the production downtime is in response to a "short-term slowdown in global potash markets." Trevor Bothorel/CBCNutrien's statement explained if all three of the potash facilities were to remain idled for the full eight weeks, potash production could be reduced by 700,000 tonnes of potash. NutrienKruger said ideally, Nutrien would have shut down production at the sites while finding other work for USW members. Kruger said the USW has a number of questions about the short-term shutdown and he expects Nutrien to be providing some answers in the coming days and weeks.

Police have identified the victims of a mass killing in the Ottawa suburb of Barrhaven as a Sri Lankan newcomer family, including a mother, four children and a 40-year-old acquaintance who was living in the home. Six people including a mother, her four young children and a family acquaintance were killed inside a townhouse in the south Ottawa suburb of Barrhaven late Wednesday night. WATCH | How police responded to the crime: Ottawa police identify victims in mass killing Duration 4:37 Ottawa police Chief Eric Stubbs says the youngest of the six people killed in Barrhaven was less than three months old. Flowers sit at the scene of a homicide where six people were found dead in the Barrhaven suburb of Ottawa on March 7, 2024. My community has woken up to shock, grief and tragedy today as 6 people, including four children, have been murdered.

Dame Deborah James died from bowel cancer aged 40 (PA Media)Professor Tim Spector will lead a team at King’s College London to investigate a surge in bowel cancer cases among young people. The team at King’s, alongside nine other global universities, will study factors contributing to early-onset bowel cancer by analysing samples from diverse populations worldwide. They will look at known risk factors such as obesity and poor diet and new risk factors including environmental and social factors. In laboratory experiments, the scientists will investigate how these factors lead to cell changes linked to early-onset bowel cancer. Dame Deborah James died in June 2022 at the age of 40 after suffering from early onset bowel cancer.

The inspectors rated both safety and leadership and gave an overall rating of "requires improvement"Inspectors who have downgraded a maternity unit have said low staffing levels "put the safety of birthing people and babies at risk". The hospital said a lot of work had taken place to address the issues highlighted by the inspectors. The inspectors found that "staffing levels for midwives did not always match the planned numbers, putting the safety of women and birthing people and babies at risk. "There were insufficient suitably qualified and competent medical staff for maternity triage and elective caesarean section lists." A small number of staff told inspectors about discrimination towards people from ethnic minority groups in the department.

Prior to CBC, Ryan worked as a communications intern with University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto, as well as a newsletter writer within the School of Journalism. Currently, he works as a marketing and communications assistant with The Creative School’s Dean’s Office and writes stories for the Top 5 newsletter. Mastering essential journalism skillsThe Journalism program at The Creative School equips students to be completely newsroom-ready upon graduation. Learn more about the Joan Donaldson CBC News Scholarship and view the recipients here (external link) . The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan UniversityThe Creative School is a dynamic faculty that is making a difference in new, unexplored ways.

Health Canada tells CBC News it updated its website Monday to provide more clarity on who is eligible for the national dental care program. (Brian Morris/CBC - image credit)The federal government has posted updated information online on who is eligible for Canada's national dental care plan. The additional details come after seniors raised concerns about whether their existing private dental insurance plans disqualified them from the public plan. Those with access to private dental coverage through their work or professional organizations remain ineligible for the Canadian Dental Care Plan. Do you have questions about how Canada's new dental care plan may affect you?

The morgue at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John's uses the containers as overflow storage. Bodies are placed in the freezers until the next of kin can claim them. But it'll soon have a more permanent solution for the overflow of unburied remains: a permanent storage unit at the Health Sciences Centre. The permanent storage unit will preserve the bodies during that process, the health authority said. It's not clear where on hospital grounds that storage unit will be located.

A draw wouldn’t help either Uruguay or England. His bold and fast play helps England against its Group D opponents.​It’ll be a battle of the strikers (assuming Suarez plays). There’s no way you can drift to qualification.” — England’s manager Roy Hodgson to reporters.​10 — England’s 10-game unbeaten streak in World Cup group stage matches was snapped against Italy. It wants to start a new streak.​Oscar Tabarez and Roy Hodgson share an interesting World Cup experience. Both returned to the World Cup after a 20-year managing absence.