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A white paper from Canada and the United States focuses on collaboration between the two countries on their commitment to deal with the overdose crisis. "Substance Use and Harms During COVID‐19 and Approaches to Federal Surveillance and Response," issued Sept. 27, states that the increase in "substance use harms and deaths" during COVID‐19 is partly due to a decrease in access to services. The white paper itself focuses on the restrictions to methadone access in the United States and says little about the Canadian rules, but they are much more lenient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers the result of a survey regarding the transcript fees of registrar offices across the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean Area. The survey revealed that majority of respondents' institutions charge for transcripts. It also shows that 30 percent of the public institutions do not provide electronic transcripts compared to nearly 48 percent of the private institutions. Also presented is the purpose of the transcript fees collection.

The article focuses on the faculty writing group from education department of Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada. A brief historical overview of the group that started in 2009 and recruited eight women faculty in 2010 after the fluctuation of its membership. It explores the effort of the group to establish links in academic industry by conceptualizing a project, reflections of key issues, and the need to balance between flexibility and structure.

The article reports that former Toronto, Canada mayor Rob Ford who is currently a rehab counsellor and has cancer used city hall security officers as private bodyguards to help hide his intoxication from the cameras.

An important aspect of ASIS&T's international outreach is service to indigenous populations, a need that has received greater recognition since Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's public apology in 2008 for past disruption of Native families. The emerging field of indigenous librarianship can contribute significantly to the process of reconciliation in Canada and other countries with similar colonial legacies. Indigenous librarianship requires reconsidering the organization, classification and representation of library materials from a perspective free of culture- and language-based assumptions. Key themes in indigenous librarianship include removing barriers to access, providing culturally relevant materials and services and departing from widely used knowledge organization systems such as the Dewey Decimal System to create classifications that reflect the Native worldview and epistemology. Successful examples include Australia's Pathways thesaurus project, the Maori Subject Headings from Aotearoa/New Zealand and the British Columbia First Nations Names Authority. Increased involvement by Indigenous people in information studies will enhance accurate representation of their cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on a study of a group of offenders who were not following treatments but are still driving without licenses in Canada. According to McGill University psychiatry professor Thomas G. Brown in Quebec, he had seen results from a brief treatment based on the principles of Motivational Interviewing (MI). The research team paid 70 dollars each to the participants after the brief treatment and in two follow-up appointments. The results will be released in February 2010.

The article presents a study "The Economic Burden of Chronic Psychotic Disorders in Ontario," on the increased cost of treatment of patients with psychotic illnesses because of complex medical needs. Topics discussed include views of health economist Claire de Oliveira, on the study; cost of patients with chronic psychotic disorders; and separate treatment for mental health and physical health.

The article offers news briefs related to mental health. The human resources department at Ontario Power Generation Inc. monitors stress in the workplace in response to the increasing incidence of work-related stress. A study conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control found that girls were more likely than boys to cope up better with stress.

Reports on the findings of a study conducted by researchers from the University of Toronto and appearing in the medical journal "Addictive Behaviors" stating that only one out of three alcoholics seek treatment in Canada. Analysis of respondents' access of mental health services for alcoholism treatment; Age factor and severity of problem in addiction service utilization; Access to a range of services in a variety of community settings.

The article discusses the Canadian court system's views on indigenous and state authority in aboriginal title litigation in Canada. Topics discussed include the court case Delgamuukw v. the Queen related to legal traditions in court to prove continued ownership and governance of traditional lands, relations between indigenous and colonial authorities in courtrooms, and litigating claims within colonial courts.

The article presents updates on alcoholism and drug abuse in the U.S. and Canada. A research on drugs approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that could prevent the neurological harm caused by alcohol is supported by three federal grants. The Manitoba Government and General Employees Union (MGEU) protested on the announcement from the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba (AFM) in Canada that it will close three of its treatment locations from mid-day December 24, 2009 to January 4, 2010.

The article reports on the case of a student at Canada's Carleton University for hacking the school's computer network. The police charged the student with mischief of data and unauthorized use of a computer for allegedly hacking into Carleton's computer network to prove that it should be stronger. The student allegedly sent campus officials a 16-page letter revealing the network-account names and passwords of 32 students. The alleged student could get up to 20 years in prison for his action.

Reports that Peter Rost, a vice president of marketing at Pfizer, has publicly accused drug companies of using misleading and unethical tactics in their efforts to stop the importation of lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada.