Opioid painkillers tied to driving injuries

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – People prescribed high doses of powerful painkillers are more likely to be injured while driving than those taking very low doses, according to a new study from Canada. The drugs, known as opioids, include common painkillers like codeine and oxycodone. High rates of opioid prescribing have become more of a concern in recent years, as deaths from overdoses rise and more drugs end up in the hands of people taking them for non-medical purposes. Their effect on road safety may be one more reason to think carefully about high-dose opioids, researchers said. …

Canada natives block Harper’s office, threaten unrest

First Nations protesters march towards Parliament Hill before meeting between chiefs and Canada's PM Harper in OttawaOTTAWA (Reuters) – Aboriginal protesters blocked the main entrance to a building where Canada's prime minister was preparing to meet some native leaders on Friday, highlighting a deep divide within the country's First Nations on how to push Ottawa to heed their demands. The noisy blockade, which lasted about an hour, ended just before Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his aides met with about 20 native chiefs, even as other leaders opted to boycott the session. …

Audit of Canada native band casts cloud on protest movement

Attawapiskat Chief Spence takes part in a news conference with supporters outside her teepee in OttawaOTTAWA (Reuters) – A Canadian native band that successfully pressured the prime minister to hold a special meeting on aboriginal grievances cannot account for millions of dollars in federal funding, according to an audit that critics say was leaked to discredit a growing protest movement. Angry native activists, fed up with poor living conditions they blame on decades of neglect from Ottawa, have blockaded rail lines and threatened to close Canada's borders with the United States in a campaign they call Idle No More. …

Teen fighting down in many countries, not U.S

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Fistfights among kids have become less common over the last decade in 19 of 30 countries surveyed in a new report. “It was not something that we anticipated,” said William Pickett, the lead author of the study in the journal Pediatrics and a professor at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada. “If anything, given what you hear in the news, I would have anticipated the reverse.” But fighting in other countries, including the U.S. and Canada, has remained steady, while in a few nations, including the economically decimated Greece, fighting has increased. …

Lot of work left on Canada-EU trade talks, says senior official

OTTAWA (Reuters) – A large amount of work remains to be done on a proposed free trade treaty between Canada and the European Union, which is supposed to be concluded by the end of the year, a senior Canadian official was quoted as saying on Friday. Canada, keen to diversify its exports away from the United States, says a deal with the European Union would increase two-way trade by 20 percent. …

Canada court says not revealing HIV not always a crime

(Reuters) – Canada’s top court said on Friday that failing to tell a sexual partner you have HIV is only sexual assault if there is “a realistic possibility” of transmitting the virus that causes AIDS. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected the government’s argument that everyone who has HIV should be required to disclose that condition to all sexual partners in any circumstance. …

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