In the news today: Canadian refugee in U.S. border limbo; health ministers meet today
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Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…
Refugee applicant stuck after crossing U.S. border
A Canadian refugee applicant from Bangladesh who is being held in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Buffalo says he crossed the border into the U.S. by mistake — and now Canada won’t take him back.
Mahin Shahriar told The Canadian Press he entered the U.S. on May 12 after what he believes was a human trafficking attempt.
Shahriar said he was struggling with depression and “a friend” offered him a place to stay for a few days near Montreal.
“I wanted to spend some time out of my home, and he said he had a place I could stay,” Shahriar said in a phone interview from ICE custody.
Shahriar said the address he was given led to a rural road that turned out to be close to the Canada-U.S. border.
Canada’s health ministers meeting in Calgary
Federal, provincial and territorial health ministers are in Calgary for two days of meetings, with interprovincial credential recognition and funding agreements up for discussion.
The office of federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel said she’s also hoping to discuss mental health and addiction issues and vaccination programs.
“The health ministers’ meeting will build on the renewed collaboration between the federal government, and provinces and territories to protect Canada’s health-care system,” Michel’s office said in a statement.
Adriana LaGrange, Alberta’s minister of primary and preventative health services, is set to co-chair the meetings with Michel. LaGrange was set to hold a news conference with her counterparts Thursday afternoon.
September home sales up 5% nationally: CREA
The Canadian Real Estate Association has upgraded its forecast for home sales in 2025, saying it now expects a softer decline this year as activity continues to rebound.
It comes as the association says September home sales rose 5.2 per cent from a year ago, marking the most activity for the month since 2021.
New listings dipped 0.8 per cent in September from August and there were 199,772 properties listed for sale across Canada at the end of the month, up 7.5 per cent from a year earlier.
In its outlook, CREA says it now expects a total of 473,093 residential properties to be sold in 2025 — a 1.1 per cent decline from 2024, after projecting a three per cent drop in its July forecast.
School food programs paused amid teachers’ strike
Several non-profit groups say some Alberta children are going hungry with thousands losing access to school food programs during a provincewide teachers strike.
The strike entered its eighth day on Thursday.
“One family in particular that I know, the mom hadn’t been able to eat for a couple days … her food was going to her kids during the strike,” said Jared Jorstad, a spokesman for Hope Mission.
The woman reached out to the charity for help a couple of days ago.
He said he worries for children who haven’t received help since 51,000 teachers walked off the job Oct. 6.
Strong smell of gas at Vancouver airport terminal
A strong smell of gas at the domestic terminal of Vancouver’s airport forced passengers to be temporarily moved out on Wednesday.
Statements from the airport say the source of the smell was quickly identified and contained after it was noticed shortly after 1 p.m.
The airport says passengers and employees were moved away from affected areas out of an abundance of caution and an initial investigation has found the leak was due to routine maintenance on a boiler.
A statement issued around 3:20 p.m. Wednesday said normal operations had resumed.
Blue Jays cruise to 13-4 win over Mariners in ALCS
Toronto manager John Schneider said he wanted more uppercuts than jabs from his team in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.
A series of haymakers did the trick.
Toronto hit five home runs in a resounding 13-4 win over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night to get on the board in the best-of-seven series.
Alejandro Kirk hit a three-run blast, Andres Gimenez had a two-run homer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer and Addison Barger hit solo shots as the Blue Jays used an 18-hit attack to pummel the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
“The big dogs came out,” said Blue Jays outfielder Myles Straw.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2025