Canadian economist Peter Howitt, who is among a group of three researchers to win this year's Nobel Memorial Prize in economics, said he found out about the prize from a persistent Swedish reporter who called his wife's phone early in the morning, even before the committee could reach him.

"It's just the dream of a lifetime come true," he said when reached early Monday. "We didn't have any champagne in the fridge in anticipation of this."

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced Monday that Howitt, along with Dutch-born Joel Mokyr and Philippe Aghion of France, received the prize for “having explained innovation-driven economic growth."

Howitt and Aghion relied on mathematics to explain how creative destruction works, a key concept in economics that refers to the process in which beneficial new innovations replace — and thus destroy — older technologies and businesses. The concept is usually associated with economist Joseph Schumpeter, who outlined it in his 1942 book “Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy.”

The latest survey of endangered southern resident killer whales confirms their plateau and gradual slide toward disappearance in the absence of stronger measures to protect them, a director with the Center for Whale Research says.

Michael Weiss says declining chinook salmon, pollutants and noise from cruise ships, tankers and freighters in the orcas' habitat off the coast of Washington state and southern British Columbia are among the factors driving the decline.

"We're not talking about southern residents going extinct in the next five years, but we are talking about a fairly good chance of at least one of the (three) pods being gone within the next 50 years," Weiss told The Canadian Press.

The long-term work of restoring chinook habitat, particularly freshwater spawning grounds, along with adjusting fisheries, would be key to the orcas' recovery, says Weiss.

OTTAWA - The Canadian Security Intelligence Service lacked "adequate policies and procedures" to manage a confidential technology for collecting information, says a newly released spy watchdog report.

The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency says CSIS mischaracterized a novel technical capability as an extension of existing know-how.

CSIS also did not consult Public Safety Canada about its plans to acquire this novel technical capability and did not notify the public safety minister or the Federal Court before using it in an operation, the spy watchdog says.

"Further, CSIS used this technology prior to satisfying all regulatory requirements," the report says.

HAMILTON - Jon Stokes’s research lab has discovered what could be a breakthrough treatment for Crohn’s and inflammatory bowel disease in about 100 seconds. 

Rather, his AI sequencing tool discovered it in 100 seconds. Then, as Stokes said, his team spent about six months testing the results to confirm they were true. 

Still that’s six months of testing, rather than years. And only $60,000, rather than millions. 

As far as new drug discoveries go, Stokes said this use case of AI could be a game changer for Canadian patients. 

MONTREAL - A new Quebec law came into effect Sunday aimed at protecting consumers against products intentionally designed with shorter lifespans while ensuring they have the information needed to repair and maintain goods they buy.

Quebec's so-called "right-to-repair" law, part of the province's amendments to its consumer protection law, will require retailers and manufacturers to disclose whether replacement parts and repair services are available and maintenance information is made clear ahead of a sale.

The provisions were passed unanimously by the provincial legislature on Oct. 3, 2023, as part of an act to protect consumers against planned obsolescence — the deliberate shortening of the lifespan of a product — and to promote durability, repairability and maintenance of goods.

While Quebec's existing laws, since 1978, required retailers and manufacturers to make information on replacement parts and repair services available, now consumers will have information to fix items themselves.