Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 6h

US agriculture is in trouble: due to a high $US, lack of research investment, trade wars, & ICE (& perhaps climate change?):
“For the first time in history, the US became a net agricultural importer in 2019 - a jaw-dropping reversal for what was once the world's breadbasket.”
- BBC World of Business

Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 19h

Saskatchewan Health Authority has finally posted information about its fall COVID / flu immunization clinics:

Walk-in Vaccine Clinics

All Saskatchewan residents ages six months and older are eligible to receive free influenza and COVID-19 vaccines. Children aged six months to four years can only be immunized at SHA influenza and COVID-19 clinics, public health offices, or by a physician or nurse practitioner.

www.saskhealthauthority.ca

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 20h

"A member of the union representing Saskatchewan nurses says issues with overcrowding at Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital are not due to seasonal surges that are typical for emergency rooms, but are in fact 'routine.'”

'In no way is this seasonal': Nurse's union disputes SHA explanation for overcrowding at Royal University Hospital

The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses says patients being treated in hallways at a Saskatoon hospital is not due to an influx of flu patients.

thestarphoenix.com

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 21h

“Some of these organizations are riding this tailwind into Saskatchewan.…six years since launching its model, the Alberta government has yet to show the impacts of its model on overdose deaths, transmission of blood-borne infections or any other health outcome.” 2/2

Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 21h

“The contracting of ROSC Solutions Group to guide Saskatchewan's transition to a 'recovery-oriented system of care' fits a broader pattern…[of] the proliferation of organizations affiliated with the Alberta government & aligned with its abstinence-based mandate.” 1/

Saskatchewan government funded two advisory reviews by ROSC Solutions Group

ROSC Solutions Group, a top recipient of AB recovery contracts, was funded for two reports on operations of Saskatchewan recovery centres. Their outcomes are creating a new beachhead for the privatize...

drugdatadecoded.ca

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 1d

Statscan will release in December of this year life expectancy estimates by province for the 3 years ending in 2024. That may also shed more light on what has been happening to death rates in Saskatchewan. 13/13

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 1d

If anyone reading this knows more about these data or has explanations of what is going on, please comment or DM me. 12/

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 1d

The good news is that with these new corrected counts, the trend in deaths has not continued to rising steadily since the onset of COVID, as previously shown, but levelled off two years ago (still at a higher rate than before COVID, however. 11/

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 1d

...does not have the resources to keep up with verifying death counts. This is odd when we have still been in the midst of significant COVID waves, a major flu wave last year, & a drug poisoning wave. 10/

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 1d

It also is odd it takes over 2 years to make these corrections. The count for 2023 Q1, for example, over 2 years ago, was adjusted down by 7.9%. This suggests that Saskatchewan vital statistics (where the counts would originate, including for Statscan) does not place a high priority on or...9/

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 1d

It's odd deaths would *all* be revised *down* so much. Deaths are counted by place of residence, not place of death. It seems unlikely 100s people/Q would, come to SK to die, then later be removed from our count to be counted elsewhere. One would think reverse would be true, esp. in winter. 8/

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 1d

I queried SK Govt about the reason for the significant revisions. They replied with a description of methods used to check & verify death data - all well & good, & necessary - but did not explain the significant size of the revisions or why they were delayed up to 2 1/4 years. 7/

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 1d

Revisions are not unusual but the delay in revisions, fact that all are down, & size of revisions is unusual. Last major revisions were made 2023 Q3. Most of those were *up*, rather than down, in one case up 579 deaths in one quarter. But the revision were in both directions, up & down. 6/

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 1d

The changes in death counts are significant: 5 quarters are revised down by more than 200 deaths. The percentage revisions down range from 2.2% up to 8.5%. All revisions are downwards. 5/

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 1d

Previous (blue) line shows deaths trending up since COVID, with seasonal fluctuations. Green line shows flat trend in deaths pre-COVID, red line upward trend post-COVID up to 2025 Q1. New revised data (yellow line) shows trend in deaths levelled out starting in 2023 Q1 (no trend line shown). 4/

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 1d

The blue line shows the previous quarterly deaths as of the 2025 Q1 report. The yellow line shows the new death trend as of last week (2025 Q2), with corrections made to the counts for 9 quarters back to 2023 Q1. 3/

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 1d

Here is the graph I have been updating & posting quarterly as the hardest evidence we have about what is actually happening with deaths in Saskatchewan. 2/

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 1d

2 weeks ago Statistics Canada & Saskatchewan released quarterly population updates with odd results. This quarter Saskatchewan made some significant corrections that reduced previous death counts back 2+ years. 1/

Demography, Census Reports and Statistics | Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics | Government of Saskatchewan

Find quarterly demography reports and statistics for Saskatchewan, as well as the results of the most recent national census.

www.saskatchewan.ca

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 1d

Saskatoon community leaders spent two days and a night homeless on Saskatoon’s streets.
What one participant saw and learned:

'The cracks aren't cracks, they're crevasses': Former teacher peers into homelessness in Saskatoon

John McGettican, who works with Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools, had his eyes opened during a recent homeless challenge.

thestarphoenix.com

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Reposted by Laurence Thompson

liseabetta.bsky.social @liseabetta.bsky.social · 2d

Please follow @moriartylab.bsky.social for her charts on COVID levels by province and Canada as a whole. #Skpoli #Cdnpoli

Tara Moriarty @moriartylab.bsky.social · 8d

Canadian COVID Forecast: Sep 27 - Oct 10, 2025

SEVERE: none
VERY HIGH: MB, NL, NS, SK
HIGH: CAN, AB, BC, NB, North, ON, PEI, QC,
MODERATE: none

About 1 in 60 people in Canada are CURRENTLY infected.

This image shows gauges with the Sep 27 - Oct 10, 2025 Forecast scores for Canada, the provinces, & territories. From left to right:

Canada: HIGH - 7.5
Alberta: HIGH - 6
British Columbia: HIGH - 5.8
Manitoba: VERY HIGH - 12.1
New Brunswick: HIGH - 6.3
Newfoundland & Labrador: VERY HIGH - 10.2
North: HIGH - 9.2
Nova Scotia: VERY HIGH - 11.6
Ontario: HIGH - 6.3
Prince Edward Island: HIGH - 7
Quebec: HIGH - 9.6
Saskatchewan: VERY HIGH - 12.4

A text box reads: "The COVID Forecast is calculated from 3 equally weighted categories: 1) Current infections and spread; 2) Healthcare system impact; 3) Mortality. Within each category, there is one sub-category for trends over the most recent week (Trends) and one sub-category for current parameter values relative to a specified baseline (Current values). Trends and current values are weighted equally when determining the final score for a category. All Forecast input data and sources are available here (https://datastudio.google.com/embed/u/0/reporting/42b886cf-d661-488e-b7d8-5c5836b55ab6/page/p_2yqs028mwc). Past Forecast scores are available in the table below. Forecast scores are grouped into 4 ranges: MODERATE (1 to <5, white), HIGH (6 to <10, yellow), VERY HIGH (10 to <15, orange), SEVERE (>15 red)."

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 2d

“The 2024 study concluded that the merger could cause substantial economic harm to grain producers, more than $700 million annually due to higher shipping fees and lower prices from buyers.”
The Saskatchewan government did not oppose the merger.

Simon Enoch @simonenoch.bsky.social · 2d

Welter said there is often no incentive for large grain companies to offer a better price for a famers “because in many cases they become the only game in town, or one of only two or three available options.” leaderpost.com/business/wes...

As Western Canada's grain market consolidates, farmers brace for impact

Bunge merger with Viterra seen as further erosion of competition. Bottomline of farmers likely to impacted.

leaderpost.com

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 2d

I agree with this. But there is also a selfish argument for those who think that way. Your taxes are your insurance premium:
1. in case of that car crash or cancer or child with heart trouble when you are young
2. for when you are old, have less income & need the most health care.

Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 9d

“Why should my taxes pay for YOUR healthcare?”

Because you live in a society. Part of being in society means contributing to ensure everyone is taken care of

I wish more people would realize the tax dollars they would spend on Universal healthcare would be far less than private insurance premiums

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 2d

After 5 years of COVID & flu overloading #yxe hospitals, we enter respiratory illness season with no immmunization plan to keep pts out of hospital & no plan yet in place to increase hospital services & facilitate discharge more quickly. We are already over capacity in #yxe after summer respite. 9/9

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 2d

Instead, Sask Pharmacy Association tells us they expect the program to start Oct 14 via pharmacies: 8/

Head of Sask. pharmacy association expects COVID-19 vaccine program to start Oct. 14 | CBC News

Saskatchewan residents should soon be able to roll up their sleeves to get the latest COVID-19 vaccine. Michael Fougere, CEO of the Pharmacy Association of Saskatchewan, says he expects the province’s...

www.cbc.ca

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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 2d

As of this post on October 5, Sask Health / SK Govt have not posted any timeline or details on fall immunization campaign and no appointments yet available: 7/

Vaccine Clinics

2025-26 Fall Influenza and COVID-19 Immunizations

www.saskhealthauthority.ca

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