LEWISBURG — Ashley Sofilkanich did not extend her 20-point game streak to five but the sophomore forward nonetheless played a historic and pivotal role in Bucknell's 51-36 win over previously undefeated Youngstown State. Bucknell (2-4) won its second straight game and remains undefeated at Sojka Pavilion with the victory over the Horizon League foe. The Penguins fall to 4-1. "I am thrilled with the win," said Bucknell coach Trevor Woodruff. "We are very specific about our style of play. We want to defend first knowing if we can do that nightly then we can survive hard offensive days. It is a good step for us. I am happy with the all-around team effort. We took care of the home court and that is always important." 36 points is the fewest yielded by the team since destroying Saint Francis University 68-31 on Dec. 1, 2021. Bucknell was on pace to break it before YSU scored 16 points in the final stanza. Sofilkanich was omnipresent nearly collecting her first triple-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and a career-high nine blocks, breaking her previous best of eight versus Army on Jan. 27. The nine blocks also set the Sojka Pavilion record previously held by Hope Foster vs. Hampton on Nov. 10, 2006 and the aforementioned Army game by Sofilkanich. The Penguins shot a measly 15.0% on 9-for-60 on the game, and Sofilkanich's lurking presence was directly responsible for the plethora of missed layups. Sofilkanich was efficient from the field going 5-for-11 and added nine points by going 9-for-18 from the free throw line. The 18 attempts are also a new career-best and set a new Sojka record. Bucknell tied a Sojka record by recording 12 blocks for the second consecutive game. Youngstown State's 15% shooting percentage also set a new record for lowest opponent shooting percentage. Bucknell only shot 34.8% (16-for-46) from the field but it was more than enough to sink the Penguins's undefeated season. Seven players scored for the Bison with Tuana Coskun and Ashley O'Connor tying for second-best with eight points. Coskun was two points away from her first double-double as the sophomore transfer led Bucknell with 12 boards. Bucknell 51, Youngstown State 36 Bucknell (2-4) 51 Ashley Sofikanich 5-11 9-18 19; Ashley O'Connor 2-5 2-2 8; Tuana Coskun 3-10 2-4 8; Anna Kunzwiler 2-8 3-4 7; Isabella King 2-5 0-0 4; Reese Zemitis 2-4 0-0 5; Elana Weisman 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 16-46 3-12 16-28 51. Youngstown State (4-1) 36 Jewel Watkins 1-14 7-12 9; Malia Magestro 2-8 2-3 8; Xoe Rosalez 2-5 2-2 6; Faith Burch 1-9 2-6 4; Abby Liber 0-4 1-2 1; Sophia Gregory 1-5 1-3 3; Sarah Baker 1-5 0-0 2; Bella Samz 1-3 0-0 2; Erica King 0-5 1-2 1; Haley Thierry 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 9-60 2-16 16-30 36. Score by quarters YSU;5;6;9;16 — 36 BU;13;12;13;13 — 51 3-point goals: Youngstown St. 2-16 (Watkins 0-5; Magestro 2-5; Rosalez 0-2; Liber 0-1; Samz 0-2; King 0-1); Bucknell 3-12 (Sofilkanich 0-1; O'Connor 2-4; Coskun 0-1; Kunzwiler 0-2; King 0-2; Zemitis 1-2). Rebounds: YSU 40 (Liber 10); Bucknell 51 (Sofilkanich and Coskun, 12 each); Steals: YSU 10 (Rosalez 4); Bucknell 1 (Coskun 1); Assists: YSU 3 (three with 3); Bucknell 8 (Coskun 4). Total fouls: Bucknell 23, YSU 19; Fouled out: none; Technical fouls: none. A -n/aThe Indian-born head of one of Japan's most famous snack brands has warned that the country must change its mindset and admit more immigrants to get the economy back to the glory of its boom years. Politicians have struggled for years to recover from the so-called lost decades as a range of differing programmes have failed to kickstart growth, including an ultra-loose monetary policy and trillions of dollars in stimulus measures. And as the new government of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba eyes a fresh drive to bring back the heyday of its global tech domination Lekh Juneja, the head of rice cracker giant Kameda Seika, said he worries his adopted country has lost its edge. "Forty years ago I came to Japan because it was close to number one in GDP... it was booming," the biotech scientist told AFP at Kameda's headquarters in Japan's rice heartland of Niigata. But at some point "Japan thought 'we have everything now'. And I think that the hungry spirit to (have) the guts to go global started disappearing a bit". Kameda's expansion mirrored Japan's postwar boom, increasing revenues tenfold between 1965 and 1974 and becoming synonymous with the nationally adored "senbei" crackers in the process. But the country that gave the world the Sony Walkman, the bullet train and Super Mario is no longer setting the pace in technology, overtaken by Silicon Valley, South Korea and China. In the late 1980s, Japanese firms dominated the world's top 10 companies by market capitalization. Today not one makes the list. The population is aging and projected to drop by almost a third in the next 50 years, and firms are already having problems filling vacancies. Although it has relaxed the rules in recent years, Japan has not turned in a big way to immigration as a solution. The country "has no choice" but to allow in more immigrants, said Juneja, 72, who first came to Japan in 1984 and previously worked for a food ingredients maker and a pharmaceuticals firm. "It's not only the numbers. It's also the mindset, the culture. We have to go global," he said. According to a recent study, Japan needs to more than triple its number of foreign workers to 6.88 million by 2040. Currently it's on track to be almost a million short. Since joining the firm Juneja has been trying to make Kameda more international as well as a "rice innovation company". In the testing centre for new products the employees rolling out dough and trying out new recipes and flavors include an American and a Vietnamese. Language "is a big barrier. You bring people to Niigata and they don't speak Japanese and it's very difficult for them", Juneja said. "We need to change that. If we employ people who only speak and write Japanese, we have very limited resources, very limited choices," he warned. Japan has very few foreign-born CEOs, and boardrooms are overwhelmingly male. There are 13 female CEOs in Japan's 1,600 top-listed firms, a Kyodo News survey showed in September. "It's very rare for a foreigner)to become a CEO in a Japanese company," Juneja said. "But look at the U.S." "There is Microsoft, there is Google, all these companies have Indian CEOs," he said. "I think Japan has to change... We are proud (in Japan) of our backgrounds. But I think flexibility and having people from overseas would be very critical for Japan." Not all the non-Japanese CEOs have had a smooth ride. In November the German chief of Olympus resigned after allegedly buying illegal drugs. And in 2018, Carlos Ghosn, the Franco-Lebanese-Brazilian chief of Nissan, was arrested on suspicion of financial misconduct. He then escaped, in part by hiding in an audio equipment box. "He didn't generate a very good image for foreign CEOs here," Juneja said. "But the difference between him and me is that I have got a Japanese passport."
BINGE-WATCHING a CSI TV show marathon when she was home sick from high school planted a seed in Tori Berezowski's mind to work in forensics. Login or signup to continue reading At 16-years-old the Canadian was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and she thought maybe she could become a doctor or a nurse to help people. "I knew I wanted to help people in a really meaningful capacity," she said. That's when she combined her initial interest in forensic science and her desire to help others and made the decision to study anthropology as a major during her undergraduate studies. "It brought those two worlds together because although we're working with deceased individuals the work we do can help with the police and their investigations, but we can also connect people back with their loved ones," she said. She fell in love with the field, graduating with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and then a Master of Science from the University of Toronto, Canada. In 2020 she boarded a plane to Australia on a Vice-Chancellor's PhD Training Scholarship to take her next study step in Newcastle. "I had never been to Australia before this and it was a bit of a crazy decision looking back but now my whole life is here," she said. "Having grown up in Canada where six months of the year is winter, Newcastle was such a beautiful change with its beaches." On Monday, December 16 the 30-year-old will graduate from the University of Newcastle with a PhD in Law - combining aspects of forensic anthropology, criminology and geophysical sciences. "I've had a really great time, and oh man I did it," she said. Supervised by criminologist and forensic scientist Dr Xanthé Mallett, Ms Berezowski's PhD research helped tackle the problem of locating hidden graves by trialling two innovative technologies for searching underground: ground-penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). "These are graves that are associated with homicides. An offender can choose to get rid of the body, and one of the ways to do that is in a grave - which is quite advantageous because graves are so hard to find," she said. "One of my favourite parts of my degree was the field work that I got to do. I got to go out to the Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research and do my data collection, which was always a really good time." "I also got to be connected with some really great researchers." She said she felt relieved to be graduating and hopes to secure a job as an academic. "I really love teaching and my dream role would be some kind of lecturing position at a university either in forensic science or in crimonology," she said. Dr Berezowski joins more than 3700 students graduating from the instituion this week. Graduates will join a network of more than 185,000 alums who stretch across 154 countries worldwide. Alanna is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald with a focus on education. She takes pride in regional journalism which she believes is crucial to informing our towns and cities. Have a story? Email her at alanna.tomazin@austcommunitymedia.com.au Alanna is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald with a focus on education. She takes pride in regional journalism which she believes is crucial to informing our towns and cities. Have a story? Email her at alanna.tomazin@austcommunitymedia.com.au DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. Also includes evening update. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. WEEKLY Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. WEEKLY Get the latest property and development news here. WEEKLY Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. WEEKDAYS Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. WEEKLY Follow the Newcastle Knights in the NRL? Don't miss your weekly Knights update. TWICE WEEKLY Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. WEEKLY Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. TWICE WEEKLY Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. AS IT HAPPENS Be the first to know when news breaks. DAILY Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! DAILY Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily!
Optimism grows over passage of 2024 Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform BillThe Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — What a wonderful year 2024 has been for investors. U.S. stocks ripped higher and carried the S&P 500 to records as the economy kept growing and the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates. The year featured many familiar winners, such as Big Tech, which got even bigger as their stock prices kept growing . But it wasn’t just Apple, Nvidia and the like. Bitcoin , gold and other investments also drove higher. Here’s a look at some of the numbers that defined the year. All are as of Dec. 20. Remember when President Bill Clinton got impeached or when baseball’s Mark McGwire hit his 70th home run against the Montreal Expos? That was the last time the U.S. stock market closed out a second straight year with a leap of at least 20%, something the S&P 500 is on track to do again this year. The index has climbed 24.3% so far this year, not including dividends, following last year’s spurt of 24.2%. The number of all-time highs the S&P 500 has set so far this year. The first came early, on Jan. 19, when the index capped a two-year comeback from the swoon caused by high inflation and worries that high interest rates instituted by the Federal Reserve to combat it would create a recession. But the index was methodical through the rest of the year, setting a record in every month outside of April and August, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. The latest came on Dec. 6. The number of times the Federal Reserve has cut its main interest rate this year from a two-decade high, offering some relief to the economy. Expectations for those cuts, along with hopes for more in 2025, were a big reason the U.S. stock market has been so successful this year. The 1 percentage point of cuts, though, is still short of the 1.5 percentage points that many traders were forecasting for 2024 at the start of the year. The Fed disappointed investors in December when it said it may cut rates just two more times in 2025, fewer than it had earlier expected. That’s how many points the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by the day after Election Day, as investors made bets on what Donald Trump’s return to the White House will mean for the economy and the world . The more widely followed S&P 500 soared 2.5% for its best day in nearly two years. Aside from bitcoin, stocks of banks and smaller winners were also perceived to be big winners. The bump has since diminished amid worries that Trump’s policies could also send inflation higher. Related Articles Holiday shoppers increased spending by 3.8% despite higher prices Heavy travel day starts with brief grounding of all American Airlines flights Are religious people more generous than non-religious people? What new study finds Amazon and Starbucks workers are on strike. Trump might have something to do with it JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, BofA facing federal lawsuit over Zelle payment network fraud The level that bitcoin topped to set a record above $108,000 this past month. It’s been climbing as interest rates come down, and it got a particularly big boost following Trump’s election. He’s turned around and become a fan of crypto, and he’s named a former regulator who’s seen as friendly to digital currencies as the next chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, replacing someone who critics said was overly aggressive in his oversight. Bitcoin was below $17,000 just two years ago following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. Gold’s rise for the year, as it also hit records and had as strong a run as U.S. stocks. Wars around the world have helped drive demand for investments seen as safe, such as gold. It’s also benefited from the Fed’s cut to interest rates. When bonds are paying less in interest, they pull away fewer potential buyers from gold, which pays investors nothing. It’s a favorite number of Elon Musk, and it’s also a threshold that Tesla’s stock price passed in December as it set a record. The number has a long history among marijuana devotees, and Musk famously said in 2018 that he had secured funding to take Tesla private at $420 per share . Tesla soared this year, up from less than $250 at the start, in part because of expectations that Musk’s close relationship with Trump could benefit the company. That’s how much revenue Nvidia made in the nine months through Oct. 27, showing how the artificial-intelligence frenzy is creating mountains of cash. Nvidia’s chips are driving much of the move into AI, and its revenue through the last nine months catapulted from less than $39 billion the year before. Such growth has boosted Nvidia’s worth to more than $3 trillion in total. GameStop’s gain on May 13 after Keith Gill, better known as “Roaring Kitty,” appeared online for the first time in three years to support the video game retailer’s stock, which he helped rocket to unimaginable heights during the “ meme stock craze ” in 2021. Several other meme stocks also jumped following his post in May on the social platform X, including AMC Entertainment. Gill later disclosed a sizeable stake in the online pet products retailer Chewy, but he sold all of his holdings by late October . That’s how much the U.S. economy grew, at annualized seasonally adjusted rates, in each of the three first quarters of this year. Such growth blew past what many pessimists were expecting when inflation was topping 9% in the summer of 2022. The fear was that the medicine prescribed by the Fed to beat high inflation — high interest rates — would create a recession. Households at the lower end of the income spectrum in particular are feeling pain now, as they contend with still-high prices. But the overall economy has remained remarkably resilient. This is the vacancy rate for U.S. office buildings — an all-time high — through the first three quarters of 2024, according to data from Moody’s. The fact the rate held steady for most of the year was something of a win for office building owners, given that it had marched up steadily from 16.8% in the fourth quarter of 2019. Demand for office space weakened as the pandemic led to the popularization of remote work. That’s the total number of previously occupied homes sold nationally through the first 11 months of 2024. Sales would have to surge 20% year-over-year in December for 2024’s home sales to match the 4.09 million existing homes sold in 2023, a nearly 30-year low. The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. A shortage of homes for sale and elevated mortgage rates have discouraged many would-be homebuyers.Next-Level Gaming Power! Discover AMD’s Radeon 780M
ASUNCION, Paraguay -- Gaston Martirena and Adrian Martinez scored first-half goals as Argentina's Racing won its first Copa Sudamericana championship by beating Brazil's Cruzeiro 3-1 in the final on Saturday. Martirena opened the scoring in the 15th minute and Martinez added a goal five minutes later to give “La Academia” its first international title since 1988 when it won the now defunct Supercopa Sudamericana. “Maravilla” Martinez scored 10 goals in 13 matches and finished as the top scorer in the competition. “We suffered until the last minute, but to be able to win a cup after so many years is a blessing,” Martinez said. “It's historic, it was a long time without being able to raise an international cup, we have a poor year in the league, but we were able to give the fans this satisfaction.” Roger Martinez sealed the victory with a goal in the 90th. Kaio Jorge scored in the 52nd for Cruzeiro. Racing, a team based in the city of Avellaneda, took the lead when Martirena, a Uruguayan right-back, sent in what appeared to be a cross from the right but the looping ball went over Cruzeiro goalkeeper Cassio and into the far corner of the net. Martinez doubled the lead with a shot from five meters. The game was played in Estadio General Pablo Rojas in Asuncion, Paraguay, where most of the 45,000 fans were supporting Racing. Copa Sudamericana is the second most prestigious club competition in South America behind the Copa Libertadores, and its first edition was in 2002. Racing is the first Argentinian team to win the competition since 2020 when Defensa y Justicia beat Lanus. The last two competitions were won by Ecuadorian teams. Brazilian teams Atletico Mineiro and Botafogo will play next weekend in the Copa Libertadores final in Buenos Aires, Argentina. ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerAaron Rodgers explains why decision on New York Jets future is likely to be delayed(Bloomberg) — Investors have a challenge in betting on the usual stock market rally that tends to arrive after a presidential election: With the S&P 500 Index on track for one of its best ever starts to a year, history can’t be a guide this time. Buying US stocks into year-end following a vote is the classic trading playbook. Historically, the S&P 500 has posted a median return of 5% from Election Day in November to the end of the year, according to data compiled by Deutsche Bank AG. Even the riskiest pockets like small-capitalization companies typically catch a bid in the rising tide. But this is hardly a classic election year. The S&P 500 is up 25% in 2024 after leaping 24% in 2023, putting the index on pace for its first back-to-back years of more than 20% gains since the late 1990s. As a result, share prices are high, with the S&P 500 trading at more than 22 times projected 12-month earnings, compared with an average reading of 18 in the last decade. And positioning data shows traders are already heavily invested in equities. Meanwhile, familiar foes from the past few years, rising bond yields and the threat of persistent inflation, loom in the background. All of which has the stock market set up for a potentially quiet holiday season — as opposed to the ragers of election years past. “With valuations elevated and the S&P 500 already near 6,000, the market will creep higher from here,” said Eric Beiley, executive managing director of wealth management at Steward Partners. “But I don’t see a big year-end rally because rising yields will keep investors at bay.” No Hurry The Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates twice since September. But recently, central bankers indicated that they aren’t in a hurry to go further. At the same time, Treasury yields have jumped to multi-month highs after US president-elect Donald Trump’s election victory ignited bets that his economic plans like large import tariffs and mass deportations of low-wage undocumented workers could stoke inflation and hurt growth, possibly reducing the Fed’s scope to cut interest rates. This explains why Wall Street strategists have been dialing back their rate reduction expectations since Trump’s election victory. The six months from November to April are historically the best part of the year for US equities because companies and pension plans tend to increase their stock buying starting on Nov. 1, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac. However, those year-end rallies typically aren’t as robust when the S&P 500 has already risen at least 20%. In that case, since the 1970s the average return from now to Dec. 31 has been roughly 1%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Of course, this bull-market rally has gone far beyond these levels, with the S&P 500 up almost 70% since bottoming in October 2022. That will curb gains into late December, according to Savita Subramanian, head of US equity and quantitative strategy at Bank of America Corp. “Sentiment and positioning based on at least five indicators have grown dangerously bullish, leaving less room for positive surprises,” she wrote in a note to clients on Nov. 15. Heavy Hedging Already, some of the riskiest parts of the market are showing signs of weakness. Small-cap stocks, for instance, have erased most of their post-election rally as concern grows about the Fed’s rate path. And uncertainty over higher borrowing costs is prompting investors to hedge against sharp declines. Demand for far out-of-the-money put options on the S&P 500, technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index and small-cap Russell 2000 Index has risen to levels last seen during the heavy volatility ahead of the election, according to Kevin Brocks of 22V Research. That said, the rally isn’t necessarily in jeopardy simply because there’s growing speculation that the market has run too far. Valuations and investor sentiment can stay frothy for weeks — even months — before stocks suffer a significant drop, said Max Kettner, chief multi-asset strategist at HSBC Bank Plc, adding that there are “very few reasons to suggest a year-end rally has already been front-loaded.” Indeed, investors keep funneling money into stocks: They put $16.4 billion into US equities in the week through Nov. 20, marking the seventh consecutive weekly inflow, according to a Bank of America note citing EPFR Global data. The optimism isn’t entirely surprising. Looking at history, the S&P 500’s advance over the past two years isn’t even half of the 143% average gain in the 16 prior bull runs since 1945, according to Birinyi Associates. What investors most want to see when judging the rally’s strength is the gains broadening beyond the megacap tech that have been powering indexes higher on enthusiasm for artificial intelligence. It’s starting to happen, as the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index is outperforming the regular market-cap weighted version of the benchmark since Election Day, with financials, energy and consumer discretionary shares leading the way. In the end, however, it may be the bond market that sends the loudest signal for stock prices. If Treasury yields stay high and the Fed stands pat, there are serious risks to betting on significant further gains in equities. “A broadening rally is crucial but the one thing standing in the way of a strong advance for stocks the rest of the year is the bond market,” said Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group. “That may ultimately put a lid on a hefty year-end rally.” —With assistance from Natalia Kniazhevich.
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Natixis Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)
REVIVER® HELPS DRIVE THE SPIRIT OF GIVING THIS HOLIDAY SEASONHaitian authorities have struggled to address rise of powerful armed gangs, and accountability for violence is rare. Armed men have opened fire on a group of journalists in Haiti who had gathered to cover the reopening of the capital’s largest public hospital. While authorities have not offered details on casualties from the attack on Tuesday, the Reuters news agency reported that two journalists and a police officer were killed, citing a journalist who witnessed the attack and asked not to be named. “We express our sympathy to all the victims’ families, in particular, to the PNH [Haiti’s national police] and all the journalists’ associations,” Haiti’s transitional presidential council stated in a social media post. “We guarantee them that this act will not remain without consequences.” The attack is the latest to roil Haiti, where continued political and economic instability have helped fuel the rise of violent armed gangs that have grown more powerful since the assassination of former President Jovenel Moise in 2021. Law enforcement authorities on the island nation have struggled to counter the criminal groups, which have exerted control over an estimated 80 percent of the capital, Port-Au-Prince, where widespread violence has hammered civilians and disrupted vital services . One institution forced to close in March was the General Hospital, the country’s largest public hospital. Journalists had gathered on Tuesday morning to cover the facility’s reopening when gunmen opened fire at about 11am (16:00 GMT), Reuters reported. Government officials had convened to reopen the hospital in downtown Port-Au-Prince in July, but that event was also targeted by gunfire, which forced former Prime Minister Garry Conille to flee the scene. An unverified video posted online on Tuesday appears to show three journalists lying wounded on the floor of the building. A recent report by the United Nations stated that only 24 percent of health facilities in the Port-Au-Prince area are operational. Johnson “Izo” Andre, a powerful gang leader in a coalition known as Viv Ansanm, posted a video to social media on Tuesday taking credit for the attack.
Girls soccer photos: Group 4 final - Westfield vs. Eastern, Saturday, Nov. 23
When B.C. Premier David Eby meets with Canada’s provincial and territorial premiers this month for a meeting of the Council of the Federation, accelerating patient access to new, effective cancer treatments to improve health outcomes should be at the top of their agenda. As patient organizations representing cancer patients for many years, Colorectal Cancer Canada and the CanCertainty Coalition are calling out the long delays Canadian patients face when they need new cancer treatments. These delays are taking a toll and can be measured in the number of lives lost. There will be almost a quarter of a million people newly diagnosed with cancer in Canada this year. For some, new medications are their only hope to prolong their lives. Despite this, accessing them may take years — time many won’t have. Patients and families ask groups like ours, why does it take so long? Canada currently ranks a dismal last place of the G7 countries for the length of time it takes to approve and provide patients new cancer drugs. This takes about two years of waiting in Canada, while other countries manage their regulatory and health technology assessment process in half the time. We must do much better for Canadians already living with the burden of a cancer diagnosis. Since 2022, our organizations have been thoroughly examining this issue with the goal of finding solutions. We have convened policy roundtable sessions and policy summits. We have sought expert insights from a range of healthcare professionals, industry leaders, health policy consultants, patient groups, health technology assessment agency representatives, and provincial drug program managers to explore new thinking and update frameworks to enhance patient access to new cancer medicines. We have studied international best practices and their relevance in the Canadian context. We have also critically examined the intricate and protracted drug negotiation process, led by the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA). And, we have scrutinised the often-lengthy time it takes provinces to list these drugs on their respective formularies and are finally made available to patients. For example, in Ontario it takes almost six months once a price has been negotiated at pCPA before the new drug is available to cancer patients. British Columbia can and must move much faster. We applaud the announcement by Ontario Premier Doug Ford that he will focus on accelerating treatment access for patients in Ontario, and that as Chair of the Council of the Federation he will encourage other Premiers to make this issue a priority, as this is a national crisis. Patient organizations support Premier Ford’s intention to see innovative treatments for life-threatening or severely debilitating conditions, such as cancer, funded immediately after Canada’s Drug Agency (CDA) issues a funding recommendation. This means patients would not have to endure the lengthy bureaucratic price negotiations before accessing the treatment they need. Premiers can take immediate action to help cancer patients by ensuring new drugs are made available immediately following the reviews conducted by Canada’s Drug Agency (CDA) or L'Institut national d'excellence en santé et en services sociaux (INESSS) by incentivizing rapid price negotiations at the pCPA. This is not an unsurmountable task. Collectively we have the capability, means and the opportunity to make this a reality. We call on Premier David Eby and B.C. health minister Josie Osborne to make timely access to new cancer drugs a priority now with the unified goal of dramatically reducing wait times for access to new cancer drugs, because cancer patients cannot wait. Robert Bick is a charter board member of Kidney Cancer Canada, and the co-lead and co-founder of the CanCertainty Coalition. Barry Stein is the president and CEO of Colorectal Cancer Canada and is a survivor of metastatic colorectal cancer. The CanCertainty Coalition is the united voice of more than 30 Canadian patient groups, cancer health charities and caregiver organizations working with oncologists and cancer care professionals to improve the affordability and accessibility of cancer treatment.
'Drone Vigilantes': Chris Christie Issues Warning, Slams Federal ResponseGordon Brown declares opposition to assisted dying lawREVIVER® HELPS DRIVE THE SPIRIT OF GIVING THIS HOLIDAY SEASON