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TORONTO — There were moments on "The Shape of Water" shoot when the team felt like they were in the windswept Sahara desert, as a gale blew through the set and sent dirt from nearby sand piles swirling into the air.Then there was the time cast member Michael Shannon accidentally crashed his character's car into a pole during filming.Such challenges arose in Hamilton and Toronto, where director Guillermo del Toro shot the dreamy merman drama that has a leading 13 Oscar nominations, includin

If you have ever found yourself spontaneously making female friends in a bar bathroom line, you're not alone. After all, it's so easy to break the ice with other women when A) drinks are involved and B) ladies are dishing out compliments left, right, and centre.But after the night is over, you likely find yourself wondering, why can't making female friends always be this easy? Turns out, it can be."My two rules are affirm and ask!" Shasta Nelson, a San Francisco-based friendship expert and autho

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accepted Kent Hehr's resignation from the federal cabinet pending an investigation into an allegation that the sport and disabilities minister made inappropriate sexual remarks while a provincial politician.Trudeau, who characterizes the move as a leave of absence, says Hehr's duties will be performed in the meantime by Science Minister Kirsty Duncan.Hehr released a statement after his resignation.Statement from Kent Hehr. #cdnpoli#hwpic.twitter.c

OTTAWA — The presumption of innocence is "strictly" a legal construct that shouldn't stop Canadians from believing women who come forward with allegations of assault, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Thursday.While some members of his caucus stood behind him with incredulous looks, Singh told reporters there are "different issues" at play when women step forward with accusations."If you are asking me when I was a lawyer in a legal lens, there is a discussion or presumption of innocence &mdash

I hate to admit it, but it has always been there in the background, like the dull drone of a refrigerator's compressor, recognizable only in its sudden absence. And I felt so defeated this past week when the silence in my head burst, and into the emptiness of that void thundered depression, no longer mute, but rattling and unsettling.And even though 20 years have passed, how could I ever forget sitting in the shaded room of my psychiatrist's office on a sunny summer's afternoon. Below, the metho

Canada's Competition Bureau is launching a lawsuit against Ticketmaster, arguing the monopoly ticket seller has been deceiving customers when advertising prices."In July, we called on ticket vendors to review their marketing practices. Today, we are filing an application with the Tribunal to stop Ticketmaster from making deceptive claims to consumers," Commissioner of Competition John Pecman said in a statement. False advertising on ticket sales is unfair. That's why we're taking action to deter

Watch the video above for a quick guide on protecting your knees. We asked physiotherapist Jesse Awenus (that's him in the video) from Synergy Sports Medicine in Toronto to comment on why he chose those specific exercises for protecting the knee. Here's what he had to say:Knee injuries are common and can be tricky to rehabilitate. Sometimes, simple activities like jumping over a snowbank or shoveling can cause your knee to twist (Ouch!). Instead of taking care of your knees after an injury has o

By Katherine McGilton and John MuscedereToday, over one million Canadians are medically frail: approximately 25 per cent of those over age 65 and 50 per cent past age 85. The aging of Canadian society and the growing number of older adults living with frailty poses unprecedented societal and medical challenges, which will only increase in the coming years.In 10 years, over two million Canadians may be living with frailty, which is defined as a state of increased vulnerability, with reduced physi

COMOX, B.C. — Half of the high schools in a Vancouver Island school district have been closed as an RCMP investigation is underway and police say there is no word when the probe might conclude.A news release posted by the Comox Valley School District said Mark R. Isfeld, G.P. Vanier and Highland secondaries did not open Thursday, following notification from police that one of the three schools is not safe.School was open as usual at the school district's three other high schools.The distri

COMOX, B.C. — Half of the high schools in a Vancouver Island school district have been closed as an RCMP investigation is underway.A news release posted by the Comox Valley School District says Mark R. Isfeld, G.P. Vanier and Highland secondaries did not open Thursday morning, following notification from police that one of the schools is not safe.School is open as usual at the area's three other high schools, and the district says it is working with police, but adds that its own findings p

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne says now isn't the time to discuss the shifting political landscape in light of the stunning resignation of Patrick Brown as Progressive Conservative leader.Wynne spoke to reporters at Queen's Park Thursday to respond to sexual misconduct allegations against Brown, the MPP for Simcoe North, that spurred him to step down earlier that morning. Brown says the accusations against him are false.Wynne expressed support for two women who told CTV News that Brown acted ina

When my daughter Claire was born, I became not just a mother, but a disability advocate.The prenatal tests had indicated that Claire would be perfect in every way. Instead, she was born with a "constellation of symptoms" indicating that she would face significant challenges throughout her lifetime, although the severity of her disability was not immediately apparent.Instead of marvelling over her newness at home, I met with a geneticist at the hospital and learned what her wide-set eyes, short f

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has little in the way of good news for Sears Canada workers who risk losing their pension following the company's demise.At a press conference in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Trudeau suggested that laid-off Sears workers, many of whom had counted on their company pensions for their retirement, fall back on employment insurance and the Canada Pension Plan.Asked by Globe and Mail bureau chief Bob Fife what his government would do about the fact Sears left its pension

TORONTO — Ontario's Progressive Conservatives say they will select an interim leader on Friday to replace Patrick Brown, who stepped down amid allegations of sexual misconduct.The party's deputy leaders would not say, however, whether the person they choose would lead them in the scheduled June election or if a leadership race would be held before then, saying only that caucus members would need to have those discussions.Deputy leader Sylvia Jones says the party is moving on and is focused

TORONTO — Having the flu significantly raises the risk of having a heart attack, especially among those aged 65 and older, an Ontario study suggests."What we found is that you're six times more likely to have a heart attack during the week after being diagnosed with influenza, compared with a year before or a year after the infection," said Dr. Jeff Kwong, lead author of the study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine."What we were also surprised about is that we found

OTTAWA — Kent Hehr cancelled an announcement Thursday shortly after the prime minister was asked about sexual harassment allegations against his minister of sport and persons with disabilities.Global News' David Akin told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a news conference that women are speaking up about Hehr, alleging that he made unwanted comments about their bodies during his time in the Alberta legislature. He added that female political staff were uncomfortable to ride in elevators wi

OTTAWA — New Democrat MP Nathan Cullen has apologized for criticizing the Trudeau government's decision to force groups applying for summer-job grants to affirm their respect for a woman's right to have an abortion.The apology came hours after Cullen criticized the way the Liberals added the new requirement to the Canada Summer Jobs program, which helps employers subsidize the cost of hiring students for summer work.The requirement stipulates that an applicant must affirm that both the job

LONDON — Researchers have identified a mummified body found in a Basel churchyard as a wealthy 18th-century Swiss woman who is an ancestor of British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.The body of an apparently wealthy woman was found decades ago during renovations on the Barfuesser Church in the Swiss city. There was no gravestone, and her identity was a mystery.Basel's Natural History Museum says its experts led an international team that identified her. The results will be shown on Swiss t

50 Cent? More like 700,000,000 Cent.The rapper accidentally became a bitcoin millionaire after forgetting he accepted the cryptocurrency as payment for his 2014 album, "Animal Ambition."According to a report from TMZ, 50 was the first rapper to do so.One bitcoin was worth $662 USD at the time the album came out, and fans could purchase it for a fraction of that, according to The Verge. 50 raked in about 700 bitcoin, or about $400,000, back then. He left the bitcoins sitting in his account untouc

Angel Gurria sounds like the leader of an environmental or social justice group.In a recent University of Toronto lecture, "Climate Action: Time for Implementation," he stressed that climate change is a public health issue "disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable as well as those least responsible for anthropogenic warming."Gurria is Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a group representing some of the richest, most industrialized natio

With a brand new year on the horizon, it's time to start planning for the upcoming beer festivals. If you are anything like me, there are far too many to attend and not enough time. So I've made it a little easier, and chosen a few of the key festivals around the globe worth taking some time off and heading down to. While there are certainly more than these select few, in my opinion, these are the ones that provide the most value or experience.Canada:Farmhouse Fest (Vancouver, B.C.)This is by fa

Meghan Markle has a ton of famous friends, and Priyanka Chopra is one of them. The two met at a party roughly two years ago and really hit it off.Now the Bollywood star is dishing on Markle's engagement to Prince Harry and what she thinks her famous friend will be like as a member of the Royal Family."They're so happy and so in love," Chopra gushed to E! News about the engaged couple. "It's so normal and sweet and yet not normal at all, so I'm super happy for her, I really am."While the 35-year-

RICHMOND, B.C. — RCMP say a man who was performing a series of acrobatic manoeuvres was seriously injured at a Richmond, B.C., leisure facility and has since died.Extreme Air Park, an indoor trampoline facility, says in a statement that it is devastated over the death and customer safety is its highest priority at the facility.Mounties say in a news release the 46-year-old man was visiting the facility on Jan. 20 with his two children when he was hurt.Police say the man's fall led to serio

Death is the final stage in life and something that makes many people uncomfortable. One's own mortality can be difficult to accept, especially as you get older and those around us slowly start to pass away.My mother, who is 76, nonchalantly told me the other day that she was planning on attending a friend's funeral later in the week. She also told me that she has reached a point in her life where she finds herself searching obituaries for a familiar face or someone she had known. This has becom

OTTAWA — A new, provisional estimate by Statistics Canada suggests $1.2 billion worth of cannabis produced in Canada last year was illegally sold outside the country.The federal agency is releasing fresh cannabis-related figures as it tries to assess the magnitude of the black market in preparation for Ottawa's expected plan to legalize recreational weed later this year.The report says about 20 per cent of the pot produced in Canada last year was sold outside the country.It says the vast m

The era of Gregor Robertson is now officially almost over, and for those of us who have been critical of the Vancouver, B.C. mayor's tenure, it's also reasonable to consider the positive achievements — but they have been so few and so secondary to the main issue of sustainably growing this beautiful city that they become relatively insignificant. As we move forward, I think it's important to remember what has happened to our city under 10 years of Vision Vancouver stewardship.Initially, I

Last year was one that saw white supremacist marches, a fatal shooting at a mosque in Quebec City, and widespread discussion of discrimination and racism. It was certainly a time when allies in the fight for equality and justice were needed, and that's still true in 2018.But what is an ally, exactly? At Safety Pin Box, the term is defined as referring to someone from a privileged group who supports the efforts of oppressed people. How that support is ultimately defined depends very much on the n

Older inmates are posing a new problem for Canada's prison system. The Correctional Service of Canada is developing a strategy to adapt the system, but it may come too late to meet the needs of many elderly inmates.An aging prison population is somewhat of a recent problem in our country. This is reflective of larger social demographics and an aging population overall. After all, as our general population ages, so does the prison population.Moreover, the median age of offenders entering the pris

OTTAWA — "Justin Trudeau broke the law. A first in Canadian history for any sitting Prime Minister." — Tweet from Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, Jan. 5, 2018.____In December, Mary Dawson, then the conflict of interest and ethics commissioner, found Prime Minister Justin Trudeau contravened four sections of the Conflict of Interest Act in relation to vacations on a private island owned by the Aga Khan.The findings prompted Andrew Scheer to tweet that Trudeau had broken the ethics

NEW YORK — Burger King is delivering its own hot take on a regulatory showdown that has enflamed the U.S., using a flame-grilled Whopper.Burger King's new ad has become a sensation, with more than a million views on YouTube and it's lighting up Twitter.In the ad, customers whom the restaurant says are real, are told they will be charged different prices for a Whopper, based on speed. Prices range from $5, to $26.And the customers grow increasingly furious in an art-imitating-life display t

The right to choose is at the heart of any democracy. Whether electing a mayor, prime minister or the leadership of a union, the will of the people must be respected. For too many Canadian workers, however, that kind of choice can too easily be taken away, and that weakens all workers.The strength of the labour movement, after all, is the ability of workers to set the course of their own bargaining unit based on the wants and needs of the members who were there, and the needs of their families a

In the wake of the controversy over the role of "fake news" in the election of Donald Trump, as well as its role in other recent events, it seems many people are losing faith in social media.A new survey from public relations firm Edelman finds that trust in social media platforms dropped in 21 of 28 surveyed countries over the past year, including in Canada. The largest decline was in the U.S., where trust in social media dropped by 11 percentage points in a year, with 42 per cent of respondent

The recent Bell Canada data breach might not have contained any compromised financial information, but it could still create "stepping stones" to more serious cases of fraud and espionage, according to a cybersecurity expert.On Tuesday, the company alerted customers that the information of "fewer than 100,000" users was illegally accessed by hackers. The RCMP announced it had opened an investigation.Bell, Canada's largest telecommunications company, said that while names and email addresses were

TORONTO — Ontario's Opposition leader is stepping down amid allegations of sexual misconduct, dealing a severe blow to his party just months before the province heads to the polls.Patrick Brown announced the decision in a statement issued early Thursday morning, following a hastily-called news conference in which the Progressive Conservative leader "categorically" denied what he called "troubling allegations" about his conduct and his character.In the statement, Brown said that after consu

TORONTO — Ontario's Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown is "categorically'' denying what he describes as "troubling allegations'' about his conduct and his character, saying he will defend himself in the court of law.A visibly emotional Brown said late Wednesday that he was made aware of the allegations hours earlier, but did not provide details on what those allegations are.CTV News tweeted that two women have come forward with graphic sexual misconduct allegations against Brown

Edmonton police have charged two women with attempted murder in an abuse investigation involving five children under the age of 10.After receiving a tip from a babysitter last month, police said they checked a house in the city and found the children in a "shocking environment and physical state."All of the kids needed medical attention, including two who were admitted to hospital with serious injuries.Sgt. Aubrey Zalaski praised the babysitter who called police out of concern for the children."

MONTREAL — U.S. aviation authorities will take a look at the equipment used by an Alberta skydiver who was killed this week after slamming into a California home during a wingsuit competition.Aime-Jean St. Hilaire-Adam, 27, hailed from Calgary but was originally from western Quebec.He died Monday after striking a fellow jumper mid-air and slamming into a home without his parachute ever deploying.Authorities found his unconscious body on the roof of a home just a few kilometres southwest of

Toronto police say they are investigating sexual assault allegations against a doctor who used to practise in the RCMP's Ontario division.Police say they were notified by RCMP in the last week of what they describe as historical abuse allegations.Police spokeswoman Meaghan Gray says no charges have been laid so far and investigators don't believe there is a threat to public safety.Neither police nor RCMP have identified the doctor.RCMP say they encourage anyone with information to come forward a

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Leader Jamie Baillie was forced to resign Wednesday after an investigation found he acted inappropriately and breached the legislature's policy on workplace harassment.A brief statement from the party said it launched an independent, third-party probe into Baillie's behaviour after harassment claims were brought to party's attention late last month.The statement provided no details about the nature of the allegations.The PC Party does not, and