Nadine Baker has been waiting 10 months and counting for diagnostic care. At 61, she’s at an increased risk of breast cancer and does everything she can to obtain regular screenings.

“My mom had breast cancer and she’s a survivor,” Baker told reporters. “She had it when she was 48 and was advised to tell her daughters and any granddaughters to please have early screening, make sure that you get regular early screening which I’ve done.”

“I did my due diligence.”

Speaking at the legislature on Monday, Baker said she was originally referred for diagnostic care by her family doctor in March of 2023 after she began experiencing symptoms of breast cancer.

She did not receive an appointment or update for 42 weeks.

On Jan. 5, Baker received a call – updating her that there were still no appointments available unless she was willing to travel to another community or outside the province.

“I said yes. Absolutely, 100 per cent. I don’t care where I’ve got to go and the option that I was given was Calgary but they still don’t have an appointment,” she explained.

To ease wait times for patients, the province announced in December that it had purchased 1,000 scans from Clearpoint Health Network in Calgary, Alta.

The move was met with criticism from the opposition. Records show “Surgical Centres Inc.,” a subsidiary of Clearpoint, has donated to the Saskatchewan Party since 2016.

Since the announcement, 45 patients have been able to have their diagnostic procedures completed in Calgary, according to Minister of Health Everett Hindley.

The province has previously stated that its goal is to cut down wait times for breast cancer screenings to three weeks.

However, the Saskatchewan NDP claim most women in the province are waiting for an average of 10 weeks.

And in Baker’s case – she’s waited more than 10 times the province’s goal.

“The difference between 10 weeks and 10 months can mean life and death,” Health Critic Vicki Mowatt said.

“The Moe government has no excuse to be offering less and less services when other provinces like Ontario are expanding screenings for breast cancer and lowering the minimum age for self-referred screenings. The way Moe and his ministers make excuse after excuse, you’d think healthcare wasn’t a provincial responsibility.”

The number of mammograms performed in the province has declined by more than 10,000 since 2017 according to the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency.

Boasting seven doctors conducting surgeries for breast cancer patients in 2018, Regina now only has three doctors performing those same procedures. All while radiologists are also in short supply.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said in November that the Regina Breast Assessment Centre only has a radiologist three days a week and sees no patients on Mondays and Fridays.

“It’s just a worry because not having it taken care of immediately and as quick as possible can mean that you’re not there after the fact,” Baker added.

“I just want it checked into as soon as possible and I don’t want to sit around for many more months worrying about it.”

While Saskatchewan sought a broader exemption covering all heating forms, Ottawa rejected the request. In response, the province declared it would cease levy collection at the beginning of 2024. Dustin Duncan, the minister responsible for SaskEnergy, emphasized that failing to remit the levy to the federal government by the end of February could lead to legal consequences for executives, including fines or jail time.

Saskatchewan passed legislation aiming to shield executives from such consequences, placing the burden on the province. SaskEnergy has requested the federal government to remove it as a registered distributor of natural gas, urging Ottawa to list the province instead.

Trudeau emphasized compliance with the law, asserting that heating oil is considerably more expensive than natural gas. The carbon pricing system includes rebates, returning proceeds to provinces where charges are collected. Saskatchewan estimates an average saving of $400 for residents by not paying the levy.

Additionally, starting this month, Saskatchewan has ceased collecting the carbon levy from electricity users for heating. This move is not expected to face legal repercussions, as the province controls the carbon levy for its electrical utility, SaskPower. SaskPower is directed to deposit the levies into an investment fund, costing over $3 million this year.

The Saskatchewan Party government plans to utilize funds from the investment for emissions-free electricity projects, including the potential development of a small modular nuclear reactor. Carbon levies from other heavy emitters will be deposited into a separate technology fund for projects targeting emission reduction, sequestration, and capture.

In 2021, Saskatchewan unsuccessfully challenged the carbon levy in court, with the Supreme Court ruling it constitutional.

Violations of Code of Conduct

In the commissioner’s decision, Wade Huber was found to have violated his responsibilities under the 2015 Athletics Canada Code of Conduct and Ethics. His actions were deemed to constitute grooming, psychological maltreatment, and sexual maltreatment under the 2021 Athletics Canada Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport.

University’s Response

The University of Regina terminated Wade Huber’s employment in September of the previous year after conducting an internal investigation into allegations of misconduct.

Whistleblower Complaint

Following Huber’s dismissal from the University of Regina, a whistleblower filed a code of conduct complaint on October 17, 2022, alleging misconduct by Huber toward athletes he had coached from March 13 to July 2022. The complaint detailed instances where Huber was observed massaging female athletes during practice, even when experienced trainers were available for that task. It also cited incidents where he was observed in an intoxicated state at practice and in a hotel where the team was staying for a competition.

Investigation and Findings

In response to the whistleblower’s complaint, the commissioner’s office conducted an investigation, including interviews with 14 witnesses from November 28, 2022, to April 14, 2023. The investigation revealed six allegations against Huber. Three of these allegations, including one involving a consensual kiss that occurred when Huber did not hold a position of authority, were dismissed.

Boundary Violations and Inappropriate Comments

One of the findings indicated that Huber had demonstrated preferential treatment towards a group of female athletes, forming close relationships that included text message exchanges, late-night phone calls, and visits to their homes. These actions were seen as blurring the lines between acceptable coach/athlete relationships and potentially crossing into inappropriate behavior.

Huber was also alleged to have made comments about female athletes’ body parts and clothing, with Fraser’s report stating that such comments constituted “boundary violations.”

Inappropriate Photo and Suspension

Another allegation involved Huber taking an inappropriate photo of one of the female athletes he coached. This incident was reported as upsetting to the witness who discovered the photo. The two remaining allegations, involving Huber appearing at the track facility in a state of intoxication, were unsubstantiated.

Consequences and Suspension

As a result of these findings, Wade Huber has been suspended indefinitely from participating in any program, practice, activity, event, or competition sanctioned by Athletics Canada or any of its members or affiliates. He has the opportunity to apply for reinstatement of his membership after September 13.

Researchers from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and the University of California Berkeley (UCB) have developed a brain-computer interface that could revolutionize communication for people with similar conditions. This technology deciphers Johnson’s brain signals and translates them into words.

Dr. Edward Chang, a neurosurgeon and chair of neurological surgery at UCSF, implanted 253 electrodes onto the surface of Johnson’s brain. These electrodes intercept brain signals that would normally control facial muscles and speech-related movements. A cable connected to a port on Johnson’s head links the electrodes to a computer system.

To train the A.I. algorithms to recognize Johnson’s unique brain signals for speech, she repeatedly recited phrases from a 1,024-word conversational vocabulary. The computer learned to associate these patterns with different speech sounds. An avatar and a voice were integrated into the system, allowing Johnson to communicate through her digital counterpart.

One particularly poignant moment was when Johnson’s voice was synthesized using a recording of her speaking at her wedding before her stroke. Hearing her synthesized voice for the first time, Johnson said, “My brain feels funny when it hears my synthesized voice. It’s like hearing an old voice.”

Ann Johnson hopes her journey will inspire others facing similar challenges. She wants to demonstrate that disabilities should not define or limit individuals. The breakthrough technology offers hope to those living with locked-in syndrome and similar conditions, paving the way for a future where communication barriers can be overcome through A.I. and brain-computer interfaces.

On Tuesday, Saskatchewan’s education minister Dustin Duncan announced policy changes requiring students under 16 to seek parental consent to change preferred names or pronouns at school.

Lisa Broda, the Saskatchewan Advocate for Children and Youth announced an immediate review of the changes the following day. In a news release, Broda said the potential impact of the new policy is “deeply troubling.”

In a letter to Duncan, shared on social media by NDP education critic Matt Love, Saskatchewan School Boards Association president Jamie Smith-Windsor said such a pause “will allow for a complete review and report” from Broda before school boards implement the changes.

“Boards of education would not be doing their due diligence from both a legal and human rights perspective, serving the students of this province unless we have assurance that these sudden policy changes and directives are not putting young people in harm’s way and are not contrary to their human rights,” Smith-Windsor said.

A similar review was recently completed by New Brunswick’s youth advocate. Earlier this year, the provincial government there introduced rules limiting the use of preferred names or pronouns by gender-diverse youth under the age of 16.

Following the review, New Brunswick’s child advocate said the policy violated the Charter rights of children.

“I think it’s an unfortunate that we’re moving towards a place where there there’s openings for political ideology to enter into decision making an education,” Smith-Windsor told CTV News.

“I think (school) boards play a really important role in safeguarding our education system from those kinds of those kinds of interests. School boards are nonpartisan, and they are elected and they’re accountable to the public through their elected roles,” she said.

“And in that nonpartisan role as elected officials, [the boards] think it’s important that we consider the purpose of policy and and how it’s done. I think this has caused school boards to reflect on that role a little bit. The other thing I would say is, I think, missing from this conversation is an opportunity for students to share their views and that should have been contemplated in the development of these policies right from the get-go.”

Smith-Windsor said the school boards’ association also plans to consult the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission regarding the policy changes.

When announcing the change on Tuesday, Duncan compared seeking parental consent before allowing a student to switch pronouns or change their names with seeking permission for a field trip.

“If we are requiring school divisions to get parental consent to go to a half-day field trip to the science center, then I think we need to be treating this issue with the same amount of seriousness,” Duncan said during a news conference.

Advocates who work with trans and gender-diverse youth in the province say the policy shift could pose safety risks.

“We know in this field is that the protections that are provided to trans youth in school are often life-saving, and it is often the only safe place that queer and trans youth have,” Saskatoon Sexual Health director Caitlin Cottrel told CTV News.

She said that trans youth “experiencing negativity [such as] verbal, emotional and physical abuse at home as a response to their identity” are at greater risk of suicide, substance abuse and mental health issues as well as homelessness.

Another policy change announced by Duncan on Tuesday will require schools to share sexual health education materials with parents and caregivers. Under the new rules, parents and caregivers will have the option of opting their kids out of sex-ed.

The policy changes come after the upstart Saskatchewan United Party posted a strong showing in a byelection held in the constituency of Lumsden-Morse earlier this month.

Sask. United’s campaign mainly focused on a Planned Parenthood sexual health resource that was provided to Grade 9 students in the town of Lumsden.

Duncan also said the government would temporarily restrict third-party groups from presenting sexual health education in schools.

The head of the Regina Sexual Assault Centre said its planned programming was cancelled after the announcement, despite the fact that its material is age-appropriate and is more focused on sexual assault prevention and safety.