OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada says in cases where an Indigenous offender commits an offence against an intimate partner who is an Indigenous woman, a judge must apply sentencing principles related to both Indigenous offenders and victims of crime in a harmonious way.

In a 5-4 judgment Friday, the top court provided guidance and set out a new framework for determining an appropriate sentence in such cases.

The court said Indigenous people are disproportionately and excessively imprisoned, while Indigenous women and girls suffer from unacceptably high levels of violence and abuse.

It said both of these issues have been shaped by the experiences of colonization, and addressing them together is central to the ongoing process of reconciliation.

This is not a column about my minor medical woes, but it does begin with one.

In the summer of 2022, I noticed a small lump growing in the middle of my arm. It was the size of a large pea, and hard and uncomfortable to the touch. Thankfully, my general practitioner had good news: the growth was quite benign, just unsightly. He froze it off with liquid nitrogen; it left a small, flat scar.

But three years later, the growth had come back. Early this year, I arranged a referral to a dermatologist for that lump and another concern; I was booked in for six months later. I tacked the appointment letter on my fridge, and checked it almost every day.

Many Canadians are all too familiar with the fear of forgetting a specialist appointment still half-a-year or more away.

The province has increased its eligibility for free hepatitis A vaccines ahead of the Manitoba Indigenous Summer Games.

People aged six months or older in Norway House Cree Nation and Sagkeeng Anicinabe Nation, anyone travelling to or working in these communities during the games, and people who have visitors from those communities are eligible for free hepatitis A vaccines.

The games take place July 8 to 12 in Norway House Cree Nation and Aug. 10 to 15 in Sagkeeng.

The current hepatitis A outbreak in Manitoba, first declared in April 2025, has affected communities in northern Manitoba, including an increasing number of cases in Winnipeg.

You’re tired in a way coffee doesn’t fix anymore. Your energy isn’t what it once was. Your clothes don’t fit right. You weren’t always like this — you used to chase your kids around the yard without thinking about it. You used to put on a swimsuit without a care in the world. You used to eat a burger and drink a beer on a Friday and wake up Saturday feeling fine.

What gives? Nothing seems to work anymore. It’s not for lack of trying. You did keto for six weeks until you cracked at a birthday party. You tried intermittent fasting until your 2 p.m. headache became a personality trait every co-worker saw coming. You bought a Peloton that became a sweater dryer. You did those circuit workouts at the place down the street until your back tweaked. You consulted the clinic that promised a peptide and supplement cocktail would fix it all. Spoiler: It didn’t. The pantry has a graveyard of half-empty protein tubs. The drawer has six supplement bottles you weren’t consistently taking. The closet has a pair of jeans you keep “just in case.”

Here’s the part nobody wants to say out loud: The reason none of it stuck isn’t because you lack discipline or your metabolism is broken. It’s because none of those plans were built for a person living your current reality.

Keto works for some people for a while. Fasting works for some people for a while. The reason they didn’t work for you is you have client dinners. You have your kid’s birthday cake. You have the lake in July and the kitchen at midnight after a long Tuesday.

PRAIA, Cape Verde (AP) — Three cruise ship passengers with suspected hantavirus infections being flown to the Netherlands for treatment Wednesday. Three people have died, and the World Health Organization says there are eight cases.

About 150 passengers are isolating aboard the Dutch ship at the center of the outbreak. The MV Hondius is near the Cape Verde islands off West Africa, waiting to sail to Spain’s Canary Islands. Officials say those on board show no symptoms.

Hantavirus is a rare, rodent-borne illness that usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings. The Argentine government’s leading hypothesis is that a Dutch couple contracted the virus during a bird-watching outing at a garbage dump before boarding, according to two officials.

The WHO says the risk to the global population from this outbreak is low, with the organization’s top epidemic expert telling AP, “This is not the next COVID.”

PRAIA, Cape Verde (AP) — Two patients with hantavirus and one suspected of being infected were being evacuated from a cruise ship to the Netherlands on Wednesday, the U.N. health agency said. The vessel at the center of a deadly outbreak remained off Cape Verde with nearly 150 people on board waiting to head to Spain’s Canary Islands.

Associated Press footage showed health workers in protective gear heading to the ship for the evacuation that included the ship's British doctor, who Spain's health ministry said had been in “serious condition” but has improved. An air ambulance later departed.

Three people have died, and one body remained on the ship, the World Health Organization said. Of the eight cases recorded, five were confirmed by laboratory testing.

Hantavirus usually spreads by inhaling contaminated rodent droppings and can spread person-to-person, though that is rare, according to the WHO, whose top epidemic expert said the risk to the public is low.

Let this sink in — $108,000.

That’s what GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy could cost you over 25-30 years. If you’re prescribed Ozempic “off label” for weight loss (same drug, just for diabetic treatment) it will cost you less.

But let’s do the math: Wegovy runs roughly $400-$570 per month in Canada. No provincial drug plan covers it for weight loss. Multiply that out over a few decades, and you’re looking at well over $100,000, out of pocket, over the course of your life.

I’m not anti-medication. GLP-1 drugs are genuinely impressive, and I coach people who use them effectively. But “impressive” and “magic injection” are two very different things. Before you or someone you care about commits to a drug for life, you deserve to understand what the research actually says.