Canada’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.6 per cent in November, the lowest rate in comparable records going back to 1976, Statistics Canada said.

The country added 94,000 jobs in the month, an unusually strong showing and well above economists’ expectations. The gains were led by increases in full-time work, StatCan noted.

And the numbers got a notable boost from Canada’s rapidly-growing cannabis sector.

The number of people directly employed in non-medical cannabis was 10,400, on average, over the past three months, Statistics Canada said, up 266 per cent from a year earlier.

Marijuana became legal for recreational purposes in Canada on Oct. 17.

Watch: Precarious work is on the rise. Here are some ideas on how to fight back (story continues below)

While the total number of people directly employed in non-medical cannabis is relatively small, the industry’s expansion “clearly boosted total employment across various industries,” BMO senior economist Robert Kavcic wrote in a client note.

More than half of cannabis jobs (58 per cent) were in agriculture, while others were in retail, educational services and health care, Statistics Canada said.

Notably, cannabis-related jobs pay better than the Canadian average, with hourly wages at $29.58, compared to $27.03 for the country as a whole.

Quebec leads job growth

Quebec saw the strongest job growth, adding 26,000 jobs in the month. Its jobless rate, at 5.4 per cent, is close to the lowest the province has ever seen.

In a rare bit of good economic news, Alberta added 24,000 jobs in November, and its jobless rate fell a full percentage point to 6.3 per cent. Ontario added 20,000 jobs, and its jobless rate held steady at 5.6 per cent.

But the numbers were so strong that some experts questioned their validity, noting that StatCan’s Labour Force Survey numbers tend to swing wildly from month to month.

CIBC economist Royce Mendes called the Alberta job numbers “a suspicious detail,” while TD Bank economist Brian DePratto wrote that, “as always, a grain of salt is needed when interpreting this volatile series.”

But Friday’s report also contained disappointing details.

Year-over-year average hourly wage growth for permanent employees continued its decline in November to 1.46 per cent, to deliver its weakest reading since July 2017.

Experts have been expecting wage growth to rise thanks to the tightened labour market, but it has dropped every month since its May peak of 3.9 per cent. It now sits well below inflation.

The Bank of Canada keeps a close watch on wages ahead of its interest-rate decisions. On Wednesday, the central bank held its benchmark rate at 1.75 per cent, but in explaining its decision it highlighted other economic negatives such as weaker-than-expected business investment and the sharp drop in oil prices.

Mendes said the Bank of Canada will take notice of the “massive reading” in the November jobs report as it mulls next month’s rate decision.

“The large gain in jobs will keep a January rate hike on the table for now, but we’ll need to see similarly positive evidence from other indicators and no major reversal in the next jobs report,” Mendes wrote in a research note to clients Friday.

— With a file from The Canadian Press

AMSTERDAM — Mutated strains of HIV circulating in Saskatchewan are leading to faster developing AIDS-related illnesses in the Indigenous population, new research has shown.

The research from the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and Simon Fraser University was presented at the 2018 AIDS Conference in Amsterdam on Thursday. It showed that the strains of HIV in Saskatchewan have high levels of immune-resistant mutations compared to ones in other areas of Canada and the United States.

“Physicians were saying there’s something going on here that isn’t right, people are getting sick very, very fast,” said Zabrina Brumme, the lead author of the study and associate professor of health sciences at Simon Fraser University.

“It’s almost as if the virus is nastier.”

Saskatchewan’s HIV incidence rates are among the highest in North America, with 2016 rates in some areas more than ten times the national average. Nearly 80 per cent of people with HIV in the province are Indigenous.

The researchers hypothesized that the quickly developing illnesses were linked with resistant strains that had adapted to the specific immune profile of Indigenous people.

“In Saskatchewan, like other places in the world, HIV is adapting to the host populations in which it is circulating,” Brumme said.

“In Saskatchewan, the majority of HIV-affected persons are of Indigenous ancestry so HIV as a result has adapted to these populations.”

The multi-year analysis compared more than 2,300 HIV sequences from Saskatchewan with sets from elsewhere in Canada and the United States.

They looked at 70 different mutations, but one key mutation was found in more than 80 per cent of HIV strains in the province, compared with only about 25 per cent of HIV strains found elsewhere in North America.

HIV treatment effective on mutant strains

More than 98 per cent of the HIV sequences collected in Saskatchewan had at least one major immune-resistant mutation. Researchers said that means the strains with similar mutations are being frequently and widely transmitted.

Jeffrey Joy, research scientist with the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, said while the findings are concerning, the good news is that if people get tested, the treatment still works on immune-resistant strains.

He said it’s critical to expand access to HIV testing and treatment in Saskatchewan because antiretrovirals not only makes a person’s symptoms diminish, it also can stop the spread of the mutated HIV strains.

“Strains that carry the mutations will slowly die out because they won’t be transmitted to other individuals,” Joy said.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As a result of her outstanding play over the past week, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) has selected senior infielder/pitcher Bayley Hammel of Canon City High School in Canon City, Colo., as the MaxPreps/NFCA National High School Player of the Week.

Hammel was a perfect 16-for-16, with 12 doubles and 13 runs batted in three games during the nomination period of Sept. 1-7. She walked in her only other plate appearance.

Meanwhile, in the circle she went 1-0 with a complete-game shutout in three appearances, with seven hits and no runs allowed over 10.2 innings, three walks and 26 strikeouts.

MaxPreps.com, the official high school statistical provider of the NFCA, provides all statistics for the NFCA High School Player of the Week award. To nominate a player for the award, the coach must enter his or her athlete’s game stats into MaxPreps.com by Sunday evening to be eligible that week.

The MaxPreps/NFCA High School Players of the Week are announced on NFCA.org every Monday during the spring season, with one representative chosen from each of five separate high school regions. During the fall campaign, just a single player is selected representing all participating regions.

MaxPreps is a free stat tool that is available to high school coaches across the country and is one of the most recognized and respected high school athletics websites on the internet. Coaches who enter their team’s stats on Max Preps will not only be nominating their players for this award, but they will be getting their team’s information out to thousands of high school sports fans and college coaches across the country.

To obtain a coach’s login, please contact [email protected] or call 1-800-329-7324 x1. To enter a team’s stats on the MaxPreps website, please click here.

ST. GEORGE, Utah – With a 7-2 victory over Northeastern Oklahoma A&M on Saturday, Chipola (Fla.) won the 2015 NJCAA Division I Softball Championship. Claiming their program’s second national title, the Indians raised the trophy for the first time since 2007.

BOX SCORE | TOURNAMENT AWARDS

Anchoring Chipola’s victory on the mound was sophomore pitcher Jessica Elliott. In the complete game effort, she recorded four strikeouts and allowed just two runs on six hits and one walk.

Freshmen catcher Savannah Ryken and freshman right fielder Gabriela Santos led the Indians’ offensive attack. Ryken had a 3-for-4 day at the plate with two RBIs. Santos went 1-for-2 with a team-high 3 RBIs, driving in two runs in the bottom of the third inning with a two-out single.

Chipola got on the board early with a single from Ryken, scoring sophomore second baseman Ciara Jones from second. Trailing 1-0 going into the third inning, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M increased its deficit with a costly mistake.

With runners at second and third, Golden Norse sophomore pitcher Quincy Charleston struck out Indians sophomore first baseman Jenna Reeves, but the pitch was wild. Reeves advanced to first while sophomore centerfielder Shelby Clark scored from third. The unregistered out became more costly for Northeastern Oklahoma A&M later in the inning with Santos’ two-run single.

The Golden Norse responded in the top of the fourth inning with a two-run home run by freshman catcher Madison VanBurkleo, cutting Chipola’s lead to 4-2. Northeastern Oklahoma A&M picked up two quick outs in the bottom half of the inning but again struggled to retire the side. With two outs, Chipola posted two runs behind a single from Ryken and a Golden Norse error.

After taking the 6-2 lead, the Indians tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Santos drove in sophomore third baseman Brashante’ Dareus on a sacrifice fly.

Chipola’s run to the title was defined by solid pitching and defense. The Indians opened the tournament with a 7-1 victory over Shelton State (Ala.), followed by a 6-1 win against Howard (Texas) in the second round. A 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Miami Dade (Fla.) was followed up by Chipola’s first victory over Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, a 2-1 win in the semifinals.

Capping off the year with the 7-2 title game victory, Chipola improved to 49-10 for the season. The Golden Norse dropped their record to 50-16 for 2015. –

— Courtesy of NJCAA.org

VANCOUVER — Customers at a boutique Vancouver grocery store won’t find racks of individually packaged goods or rolls of plastic bags in which to lug their food home.

The missing plastic and packaging isn’t an oversight. A carefully constructed supply chain allows Nada to sell hundreds of food products without single-use packaging and add little waste to landfills.

The store’s owner is part of a wave of environmentally conscious entrepreneurs who are opening no-waste markets across Canada in an effort to help Canadians and the grocery industry reduce waste amid a global garbage glut.

Watch: How to cut down on your food waste. Story continues below.

“There’s absolutely a huge demand for this type of shopping,” said Brianne Miller, founder and CEO of Nada, which opened its doors to the public about seven months ago.

The roughly 215-square-metre shop stocks colourful produce; bins of bulk items like flour, confectionery and spices; vats of oils and vinegars; and other goods that customers can buy in any amount. Single eggs and sprigs of herbs? Sure.

The shop encourages customers to bring clean, reusable containers from home to box the food. Shoppers who arrive unprepared can rifle through bins of free miscellaneous containers or purchase reusable packaging.

Patrons weigh and label their container the first time they bring it, and that weight is deducted at check out.

The few products from other companies sold in containers, like Earnest ice-cream or Avalon Dairy milk, charge a deposit fee. Those made in-house charge a high deposit fee, like $4 over the more typical $1, to encourage returns.

Nada started as a pop-up to test the market and Miller soon determined it could be a viable business model in Vancouver. The shop is now on track to break even in the coming months, she said.

She has already expanded the product offering and added a cafe that diverts what could otherwise become food waste from the market’s produce section to an ever-changing menu featuring soups and other dishes.

Runs counter to ‘convenience culture’

Miller plans to open a few more stores in B.C.’s Lower Mainland in the next few years, but recognizes she faces some challenges.

While the business model is a natural complement to the plastic-free trend that hit the mainstream last year with a widespread movement against single-use plastic straws, it seems to run counter to convenience culture. Time-strapped consumers are increasingly buying groceries and takeout meals online.

One customer who stopped by Nada on a weekday morning said while she shops there every couple weeks, it requires some forethought. She must remember to clean her containers and bring them along, but that’s not an insurmountable obstacle.

“It definitely means that you don’t necessarily have the same spontaneous shopping,” said Michelle Genttner, co-owner of soon-to-be opened Unboxed Market in Toronto.

But the stores do their best to accommodate first-time shoppers or forgetful regulars.

Customers will be able to rent or purchase containers from Unboxed, for example, or use available paper bags in a pinch.

Miller hopes Nada helps to dispel what she calls the myth of inconvenience. People who often cook for themselves could likely purchase 90 to 100 per cent of their weekly grocery haul at the store, she said, rattling off a long list of what’s available including freshly baked bread and frozen pierogies. Though the store doesn’t yet sell meat aside from some occasional frozen seafood.

There’s also the added complexity of finding producers willing and able to work with a no-waste grocer’s standards.

Many of Miller’s suppliers send their goods to the store in reusable containers. Some, like one local ice-cream maker, even changed their packaging to suit Nada’s ethos.

But it’s not yet perfect and Miller plans to spend the next several months fine-tuning the system.

One such no-waste store already closed after receiving much fanfare when it opened on B.C.’s Salt Spring Island in 2016. The Canadian Press was not able to contact Green’s former owner, but others in the zero-waste community said they’d heard the store struggled due to its remote location.

Refill stores

However, that doesn’t seem to scare other entrepreneurs from joining the zero-waste movement.

Linh Truong operates The Soap Dispensary in Vancouver, where she’s sold bulk beauty and household products into reusable containers for nearly eight years.

About a year and a half ago, she expanded into the storefront next door with Kitchen Staples, which uses the same concept but with bulk foods. Consumers can stock up on condiments, beans, jams, dairy and more.

At least one person a week contacts Truong for advice on opening their own no-waste market or asking to franchise her model, she said. She’s got no plans for expansion, but believes there’s room for entrepreneurs to create their versions in other communities and even buy-in from major grocers and brands.

Some big companies are taking note of the trend. Loop, which will launch this spring in the U.S. and France, is an online shopping platform that will deliver products in reusable packaging rather than their typical single-use containers. It counts Haagen-Dazs, Tide, Crest, and Dove among its partners.

“There’s a real blossoming of refill stores right now,” said Truong.

Researchers have identified a genetic variant that is partially responsible for erectile dysfunction, a development that could help improve treatment, according to a study published in a U.S. journal.

Men who have a copy of this variant have a 26 per cent increased risk of facing erectile dysfunction compared to the average population, said the findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Those with two copies of the variant face a 59 per cent higher risk, according to geneticist Eric Jorgenson, the study’s lead author.

The results were based on a database of 36,649 patients of Kaiser Permanente Northern California.

The average population risk is of one in five men, according to a 2007 study in the United States, but the ratio increases sharply with age.

About a third of erectile dysfunction risk is linked to genetic factors. According to the new study, the genetic variant Jorgenson and his colleagues identified alone accounts for two per cent of the risk.

Obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease all have genetic components and are also linked to erectile dysfunction.

“We know that there are other factors for ED including smoking, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and men who address those factors can reduce their risk of ED,” Jorgenson told AFP.

“Because the region that we identified in the human genome appears to act independently of those risk factors, developing new treatments that target the variation in this genetic location has the potential to help those men who do not respond to current treatment.”

He noted that about 50 per cent of men do not respond to erectile dysfunction treatments currently available.

The study’s results were validated by studying a second database in Britain.

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) is proud to announce the 214 players chosen for the 2015 NFCA NAIA All-Region softball teams.

The squad is comprised of two teams in each of the country’s six regions. A total of 78 different schools had players selected.

Three schools — Central Methodist University in the Midwest, Oklahoma City University in the Southwest and Concordia University (Calif.) in the West — shared the most selections for any school with seven each. Three others — Dickinson State in the Central, Our Lady of the Lake in the Southwest and Oregon Institute of Technology in the West — had five honorees each, while 10 schools, including defending national champion Auburn University at Montgomery, garnered four picks apiece.

All-Region players are nominated and selected by NFCA member coaches in each of the six NAIA regions. First team All-Region choices are eligible for selection to the NFCA NAIA All-America team, which will be announced on June 2.

To view the list of selected All-Region players, click HERE

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Foreign Ministry grabbed a chance to question the state of judicial independence in Canada on Friday, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government faced accusations at home that it had tried to intervene to stop a corruption trial.

Trudeau’s domestic troubles have attracted attention in Chinese state media due to his previous assertion that his government cannot interfere in the case of a senior Huawei Technologies Co Ltd executive arrested in Canada and now fighting extradition to the United States.

China has repeatedly called for the release of Meng Wanzhou, the telecommunication giant’s chief financial officer, arrested in Vancouver in December at Washington’s request. In late January the U.S. Justice Department charged Huawei and Meng with conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Watch: Trudeau comments on SNC-Lavalin, Huawei

At a regular daily news briefing in Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry took the opportunity to take Canada to task over possible double standards, by commenting on a domestic Canadian political issue that does not otherwise involve China.

Trudeau has disputed allegations by his former justice minister that government officials inappropriately pressured her to help the SNC-Lavalin construction firm avoid a corruption trial.

Asked by a state media journalist if it was contradictory for Trudeau to say he couldn’t interfere in Meng’s case and yet his government be accused of trying to intervene in the SNC-Lavalin case, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said he “really liked this question”.

‘Whole world’ interested in SNC-Lavalin case: foreign ministry spokesman

“Of course I think that this is a question that should be asked of the Canadian government,” Lu said.

“In fact on this case you have mentioned, people in Canada are paying it a great deal of attention,” he added. “In fact, not only Chinese and Canadian citizens, but the whole world are extremely interested to hear how the Canadian government answers this question.”

Both Meng and Huawei have denied the U.S. allegations.

Ottawa has until midnight on Friday (0500 GMT Saturday) to announce whether it will issue an authority to proceed, which would allow a court in the Pacific province of British Columbia to start a formal extradition hearing.