Winie Coulanges

Editor-in-Chief

Photo Via CNN

Throwback Thursday: Measles has returned

Once upon a time, in the year 2000, the disease was considered eradicated in the US thanks to widespread vaccination. Following the confirmation from the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert Kennedy Jr’s, an uptick of confirmed Measles cases can be seen across North America. The Associated Press reported 223 cases in Texas in early March 2025, with the majority being observed in young children and teenagers. Kennedy, who does not have a background in healthcare, suggested during a press conference that parents vaccinate their children against the disease but stressed that it was still a personal choice. Four years ago, he wrote the following for the Children’s Health Defense publication : “Measles outbreaks have been fabricated to create fear that in turn forces government officials to ‘do something.’ They then inflict unnecessary and risky vaccines on millions of children for the sole purpose of fattening industry profits.” Experts recommended a vaccination rate of 95% to form herd immunity and the disease was considered eradicated in Canada in 1998. However, Quebec is facing its own outbreak with public health officials reporting 36 cases in the province, out of which 28 were observed in the Laurentians region as of March 11th. The province’s vaccination rate has dropped since the COVID-19 pandemic with Montreal’s being the lowest at 83% in 2024, according to CBC. In an interview with CityNews, Dr. Don Vinh, a specialist at the Mcgill University Health Centre, said “You’re a victim of your success because when you eliminated disease, you don’t see it. It becomes this abstract concept and then you think you don’t need the vaccine. When, of course, the disease is eliminated because of the vaccine.”

Photo Via The Beat 92.5

The SAQ is changing:

The Société des Alcools du Québec (SAQ) is changing, here’s what you can expect in the next couple months. Following the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump against Canada, they’ve pulled all American products off of its shelves and webstore. The Québec government also asked the SAQ to cease supplying American products to stores, restaurants and bars until further notice.  Local business owners are excited for the new shelf space available. In an interview with Le Journal de Chambly, Francis Lavoie, owner of a vineyard explains that “we’ll see in a week. Our representatives are negotiating for more space in SAQ stores because you need to occupy shelf space to sell. The fact that there’s no more American alcohol is good for us and local products. We don’t export our products. Thus we don’t have to pay duties.” To combat the fallout the tariffs will have on local businesses, Premier Francois Legault announced on X that he will be working to facilitate direct-to-consumer sales by Canadian alcohol manufacturers, thus lowering their expenses. On March 11th, the company announced via a press release that it was shutting down 8 stores and developing new strategies to adapt to changing alcohol consumption habits. Starting in April, the SAQ will test micro-agencies in select grocery and convenience stores that will offer a selection of 30 products. They will also debut a pilot delivery project in Montreal this summer with a possibility to expand to the rest of Québec.