Flu shot less successful than hoped
This year’s flu shot is estimated to have a 40% success rate in preventing the dominant viral strains of influenza in Canada
Infectious disease experts say those rates are ‘decent’ but lower than what they were hoping to see this year.
Officials analyzed how many people who recieved the vaccine tested positive for the flu virus compared to unvaccinated patients.
At the end of January this year just over 12,000 cases of influenza were reported to the Public Health Agency of Canada with nearly 3000 hospitalizations and 105 deaths nationwide.

DAPL protests calling for action worldwide
Water protectors are calling for people across the world in a “last stand” protest against the Dakota Access pipeline.
Over fifty events across 23 states were organized by Wednesday evening.
Photos posted to social media by water protectors at the opposition camps showed DAPL workers preparing to drill beneath the river after the US Army Corp of Engineers announcement they were granting permission for Energy Transfer Partners to complete the pipeline and cancelling the Environmental Impact Study.
A March on Washington to oppose the Trump Administrations actions on the Dakota pipeline is scheduled for March 8th.

Ottawa seeking to block class-action case for 60s Scoop survivors
Survivors of the Sixties Scoop are appalled at Ottawa’s recent attempts to stall a judge’s decision on a year’s long class action lawsuit against the federal government.
Just one week before the Ontario Superior Court was set to rule on the case, lawyers for the survivors say Ottawa is now calling for a national settlement and asking the judge in the case to hold on his decision.
Lawyers for the survivors called Ottawa’s actions shameless audacity and said the federal government is prepared to file a formal court motion to block the ruling if no agreement can be reached.
The case is seeking over a billion dollars in damages for the cultural loss of 16,000 children the federal government forcibly removed from their indigenous homes in Ontario.

Teen charged after hate crime against indigenous woman
Thunder Bay police have charged a teenager with what is believed to be a hate crime against an indigenous woman.
Investigators say the woman was walking with her sister when someone threw a trailer hitch from a passing car.
She was hospitalized with internal injuries from the attack.
Three 18 year old men and an 18 year old woman were in the car that launched the attack.
One of the men is now charged with aggravated assault.
Police have designated the act as a hate-motivated incident and are asking anyone with information to come forward.