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Episode 15 of Season 6 ofThe Sopranosfeaturesa scenewhere Tony and Paulie are out for dinner with some friends. After Paulie’s endless stories about the old days, Tony becomes irritated and declares that “’remember when’ is the lowest form of conversation.” He then gets up and leaves in a low-level huff.

It’s understandable that some people find certain types of reminiscing annoying. They believe in living in the moment and looking forward to the future, not rehashing the past. Nostalgia was, in fact, a medical condition that described a particular kind of melancholy fused with sentimentality.

Things got quite melancholic and nostalgic for me on Friday night when I attended a reunion of dozens of people who worked in Winnipeg radio over the decades. These were mentors, peers and followers from a time when AM radio still played music and FM had time to play 20-minute album tracks. There was even a special session entitled “War Stories” where it wasall“remember when.” Much time was devoted to those who are no longer with us.

It’s so easy to get lost in thoughts about “the good old days” when life was simpler and so many possibilities lay ahead. The older we become, the more we have conversations that include the phrase “remember when.”

Music fans are not immune to this, of course, especially those getting on in years, increasing every time a rock star passes away. In the last 10 days, we lost funk/rock masterSly Stone, Beach BoyBrian Wilsonand industrial dance pioneer Douglas McCarthy of Nitzer Ebb.

“Remember whenHot Fun in the Summertimeblared out of AM radios during the hottest days of the year?”

“Remember when you heardGood Vibrationsfor the first time and your concept of music changed?”

“Remember when we all danced toJoin in the Chantin dark clubs where everyone was wearing the blackest clothes they could afford?”

I confess to saying all those things over the past week. Those conversations dovetailed into other related topics. It’s been a “remember when” kind of time.

Rock stars are supposed to be immortal. After all, the things they do seem superhuman, so why should they be subject to the frailties of human existence? How many millions (billions?) of people have lived their entire lives knowing that Brian Wilson walked the earth? It’s constantly said that the world has gone downhill since David Bowie and Prince died in 2016.

But death, they say, is undefeated. It will come for all of us one day. In the not-too-distant future, there will be no more livingBeatles. We’ll never get to see a proper version of Fleetwood Mac onstage ever again. Bob Dylan will transition to become an ex-Dylan. Jimmy Page will no longer pick up a guitar. And the Rolling Stones will stop touring, Keith and Mick will shuffle off. It’s sobering stuff, this slow-moving mass extinction event.

Music fans will have no choice but to deal with the loss of so many of their heroes. All we’ll be left with is our records and CDs, band T-shirts and “remember when” memories.

There will be new “remember when” opportunities. ABBA’sVoyageavatar continues to gross hundreds of millions at its purpose-built theatre in London. Kiss is set to join the singularity with a Las Vegas simulation. Virtual reality tech will continue to improve, too, allowing the estates of artists who have died (Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Buddy Holly, Ronnie James Dio, Roy Orbison et al.) to continue with productions featuring holograms fronting a live band.

There are other reasons this music will live on far longer than that of previous generations. Normally, an artist’s popularity will peak, wane, and be forgotten as they’re supplanted by the next generation of artists. Today, streaming is keeping older music alive far beyond its expected best-before date. Unlike their forebearers, today’s music fans are extremely ecumenical in their tastes when it comes to era and genre. Is it a good song? Does it make them feel something? Then they’ll listen.

And then there’s this: Over the past decade, companies with names like Primary Wave, Sony Music Entertainment and Concord Music have been buying up the publishing rights to the greatest music ever made. Billions of dollars have been spent acquiring these catalogues, resulting in some incredible payouts (I’ve been keeping track of them here).

With the way copyright works, these companies have up to a hundred years (or longer!) to recoup their investments. How? By making sure these songs never slip from the public’s consciousness and continue to generate revenue. Old songs that would have once been pushed aside by something new are now going to be heard for many decades to come. That means the original recordings, covers, samples, interpolations, and more. They will outlive their creators and the fans who remember when they were first released.

Here’s the brutal truth. If you have an opportunity to see a favourite older artist one more time, do it. You’ll participate in a mass “remember when” experience, plus you’ll be able to say you saw them that last time.

A health unit north of Toronto is running special hepatitis A vaccination clinics this weekend, after a staff member at a popular eatery contracted the disease.

People who purchased food and drinks from a Tim Hortons inBarrie, ONin recent weeks may have been exposed tohepatitis Aand are being advised to receive post-exposure vaccinations.

Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit(SMDHU) confirmed that a food handler at a Tim Hortons located at 181 Livingstone St. E., Barrie, has been identified as contracting hepatitis A.

Anyone who came into contact with food or drinks at that location between May 17 and June 3 may have been exposed to the virus, the public health unit said, adding that there is no ongoing risk at the restaurant.

Hepatitis A is an infection of the liver caused by a virus that is spread through the consumption of fecal matter. It is primarily contracted through direct contact with an infected person, but can be passed on by eating or drinking contaminated food or water.

While the risk for customers to contract the disease is low, SMDHU advises monitoring for signs and symptoms, which can begin 15 to 50 days after exposure.

Those who consumed food or beverages from this Tim Hortons in the last 14 days are recommended to receive the hepatitis A vaccine to help prevent the disease.

Individuals who have received two doses of the hepatitis A vaccine or have previously had hepatitis A infection will have immunity from the disease, and do not require further vaccination.

SMDHU is running a special hepatitis A immunization clinic in Barrie at 15 Sperling Dr. until Tuesday, June 17.

The cabinet official leading Canada’s negotiations with the Trump administration says talks on removingtariffsaren’t going fast enough, pouring cold water on the hope a deal will be announced at this week’sG7 summit.

Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, says that while conversations on a new economic and security partnership are “frequent and constructive … we don’t have the outcome we want yet” — particularly the lifting of recently doubled tariffs on steel and aluminum, as well as duties imposed on the auto sector and other goods.

“I’m hopeful we’ll get there, but it’s not fast enough,” he told Mercedes Stephenson in an interview that aired Sunday onThe West Block.

“Our hope was that we would have made more progress before the president arrives in Alberta for the G7. We haven’t hit that sweep spot.”

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney when G7 leaders gather in Kananaskis, Alta., on Sunday for three days of talks. All eyes will be on whether a trade agreement or a framework of a deal can be reached at the summit.

The two leaders have spoken directly “on a number of occasions” since their meeting last month at the White House, LeBlanc confirmed, including “informally on a range of issues.”

“Those conversations, (from) my understanding, aren’t exclusively on one particular subject,” he said. The G7 will provide “an opportunity to continue that conversation,” he added.

Reports of the behind-the-scenes talks between Carney and Trump had raised hopes that a deal was imminent.

Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. ambassador to Canada,would neither confirm nor deny reports last week that a deal framework was in the works,but expressed optimism that the talks were bearing fruit during a fireside chat with Stephenson at the Canadian Club of Ottawa.

LeBlanc also said he’s “eternally optimistic,” but warned time is running out to secure a deal before Canada strikes back at Trump’s latest tariffs.

“I believe that the economic damage the Americans are doing to themselves will at one point force a change in policy,” he said, “but we understand the reasonable frustration of Canadian businesses and workers.

“If we conclude in a short period of time that we’re not close to a deal, obviously, as we’ve said, the country will look at what might be further measures to retaliate against that doubling of the steel and aluminum tariffs.”

The minister would not say what those countermeasures may be, or if the government considers the G7 summit a deadline.

Canadian industries and provincial politicians like Ontario Premier Doug Ford have been pushing Ottawa for new counter-tariffs on the U.S.

Canada has already put tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods, a move LeBlanc acknowledged “is not without challenge for the Canadian economy” and is further fuelling the desire to resolve the dispute “as quickly as possible.”

LeBlanc — one of several key ministers negotiating with their Trump administration counterparts — said he has made the case to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other administration officials that co-operation on shared issues like defence can’t happen “at the same time as they’re hammering our economy with these punitive tariffs.”

Lutnick, Hoekstra and other officials have previously saidtariffs on Canada will likely stay put under any future deal, even at a lower rate.

Trump has imposed a 10 per cent baseline tariff on nearly all global trading partners, which remains in place under a new trade framework with the United Kingdom that was announced last month.

LeBlanc said he’s ensuring talks with the U.S. remain “collaborative and constructive” despite the tensions at play under Trump. Despite renewed efforts to diversify Canada’s trading partners and shore up the domestic economy, he said Canada doesn’t seek to break away from the U.S. entirely.

“They’re our most important economic trading and security partner, and geography means that will always be the case,” he said. “My approach (is that) being belligerent or sort of confrontational in a way that’s not particularly constructive, I don’t think advances the case.

“The Americans, we hope and believe, will change these decisions because it’s in their economic and security interest to do so.”

The opportunity to secure and bolster economic partnerships with other countries will be a major focus for Carney at the G7 summit, beyond the meetings with Trump.

LeBlanc said that was the main impetus for inviting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the summit despite allegations that Modi’s government has been involved in the murders, attempted murders and surveillance of Sikh nationals on Canadian soil.

The invite has earned Carney criticism from Sikh diaspora groups, opposition MPs and even members of the Liberal caucus.

“(Carney’s) responsibility as chair of the G7 is to have a conversation around economic security involving things like critical minerals, involving new and emerging markets that are in the interest of G7 partners,” LeBlanc said. “So an invitation like that to a significant economic player in the person of the prime minister of India is not unusual.

“That being said … there are investigations that are properly in the hands of police authorities and perhaps ultimately prosecutors, if that’s where these things go, that can also exist at the same time as a conversation takes place around economic and global security issues.

“We think that’s a reasonable decision to take.”

Modi’s invitation was given renewed scrutiny last week afterGlobal News revealed that a suspected agent of the Indian government was surveilling Jagmeet Singh, who was placed under RCMP protection in late 2023 while he was serving as leader of the NDP.

The NDP called on Carney to revoke Modi’s invitationfollowing the report.

LeBlanc, who was public safety minister at the time Singh was put under police protection, told Stephenson he continues to have faith in the RCMP to investigate foreign interference and protect political leaders and diaspora groups.

“The RCMP, in my view, do terrific work in dealing with this, and that work continues,” he said.

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Canada’s former chief of the defence staff says he’s glad to see a renewed urgency in Ottawa to boostdefence spendinggiven the ever-increasing global threat environment, which he describes as “unpredictable” and even “crazy.”

Retired generalWayne Eyre, in his first interview since leaving the top military post last year, says the “sheer number of conflicts and wars around the world” has made the need for Canada to invest in its national defence ever more critical.

“The rules-based international order that for so long provided the guardrails against large-scale international conflict — those have been eroded, and what’s emerging we don’t know yet, but it is much more dangerous and this transition period is rife for miscalculation,” he told Mercedes Stephenson in the interview, which aired Sunday onThe West Block.

“We have chaos reigning around the world. It’s crazy out there.”

Eyre made the comments shortly after Israel launched strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities and killed Iranian military commanders in an attack late last week. Iran soon retaliated by striking the Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv.

That conflict is unfolding amid Israel’s ongoing military offensive in Gaza, while Russia continues to ignore international efforts to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine. Fighting is also raging in other parts of the Middle East and Africa.

Eyre said he remains most concerned about the alignment between Russia and China, both of which have sought to gain entry into the Arctic. He said the “disregard for sovereignty” and the proliferation of nuclear technologies by hostile actors are threats that “we need to be very worried about.”

Eyre was replaced as leader of the Canadian Armed Forces by Gen. Jennie Carignan, who stood next to Prime Minister Mark Carney last week ashe announced the federal government will invest over $9 billion in defence this fiscal year.

Carney said the investment will ensure Canada meets NATO’s defence spending target of at least two per cent of GDP — a goal Carney had previously said wouldn’t be met until 2030.

“Defending the country is the top role of a government. Everything else is secondary,” Eyre said.

“The realization of that, given the increasingly dangerous world that we’re in, that was excellent to see.”

The new defence spending plan will focus immediately on boosting pay and benefits for Canadian military members, as well as the restoration of bases and existing equipment.

Eyre,who warned while servingas chief of the defence staffabout Canada’s military readiness, said focusing on people and infrastructure was particularly important to restore that capability.

“You can buy all the nice, new, shiny equipment you want, but if you don’t have the people, the infrastructure, the components of readiness that go into making a capability work, it’s useless,” he said.

He added that “it’s going to take some time” to restore that readiness, however, “because we have had decades of hollowing out of the Canadian military, and you can’t just fix that overnight.”

“What we need, and I am detecting it, is a sense of urgency to get us ready to face this increasingly dangerous world.”

Carignan has said her top priority is boosting recruitment to the armed forces.Nearly 7,000 people joined Canada’s military over the last year, the government said last week, exceeding recruitment goals and marking a 10-year high in enrolment.

Canada will face further pressure to ratchet up its defence spending at this month’s NATO summit, where allies will be asked to agree to a new target of 3.5 per cent of GDP with an additional 1.5 per cent on broader security-related investments, for a total of five per cent.

U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed NATO members to boost defence spending to five per cent and take on more burden-sharing for the military alliance.

Eyre said the entire federal government and all political parties must remain committed to ensuring Canada’s renewed defence investments are sustained into the future, as well as educating Canadians on why they are needed.

“We’ve got to be in this for the long run,” he said.

“We can’t just be doing it because our allies berate us. We have to be doing it for the right reason, and that’s to defend Canada against some very, very real threats.”

Ottawa also says the procurement of new equipment will prioritize Canadian defence manufacturers as well as partners in Europe in a bid to diversify away from reliance on the United States.

In an interview that also aired Sunday onThe West Block,Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said talks with the U.S. on securing a new security and economic partnership include the recent defence investments.

Yet he stressed that any co-operation with the Americans is contingent on removing tariffs on the Canadian economy.

“Our obvious desire is to work on that partnership with the Americans,” he said.

“At the same time, as they’re hammering our automobile, steel and aluminium sectors, those border tariffs (related to issues of) fentanyl and illegal migration — which has, thank God, been massively, massively reduced if not resolved — why would those tariffs and the threat of those tariffs still remain in place?”

Eyre said a “mesh” between investments in U.S., European and Asia-Pacific defence partnerships is in Canada’s national security interest given the unpredictability in Washington.

“Alliances are predicated on certainty, and if there is uncertainty, that raises the question as to how reliable an ally is,” he said.

“In my belief, we need to hedge. We need to have a diverse group of allies, partners and friends … because we just don’t know what the future is going to bring.”

Airplane enthusiasts are setting up at the Calgary International Airport in hopes of seeing some exciting aircraft land for the start of the G7 leaders’ summit in nearby Kananaskis, Alta.

Corbin Johnson wants to catch a glimpse of the plane carrying U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Air Force 1 is certainly the gold standard, but I think myself and everyone else is very excited to see all the other aircraft are coming,” Corbin Johnson said Saturday, as he checked out a viewing area of the airport.

The spot is also one of three designated demonstration zones that police have set up in Calgary, with another in Banff.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is hosting G7 leaders from the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Italy, who were expected to arrive Sunday for the start of the three-day summit in Kananaskis, southwest of Calgary in the Rocky Mountains.

Some leaders of non-member countries, including Ukraine and India, are also set to attend.

Johnson, a camera around his neck, said he posts all his plane photos on Instagram.

“My love of airplanes, I would say started right here, where we’re standing. My parents would take me here to plane spot and look at all the planes that would come through here,” he said.

“This is absolutely my number 1 hobby. It’s something you can make as full time as you kind of want to.”

While Johnson and some other plane spotters were getting the lay of the land, several police vehicles drove through the parking lot.

A sign on the runway fence topped with barbed wire warns: “No Drone Zone.” Air restrictions over the airport and Kananaskis Village went into effect Saturday morning.

Police said they have received indications that protesters are expected, and the demonstrations are to be broadcast on TVs set up for the leaders in Kananaskis.RCMP Chief Supt. David Hall said he just wants the protests to be peaceful.

“We know it’s important for people to have their message seen and heard by the world leaders, and it’s for this reason we’ve established live feeds,” he said.

“We police behaviours and not beliefs. And so I’d just encourage everyone to look to conduct any demonstration activity over the next few days in a lawful, peaceful and safe manner.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2025.

A massive search stretched into its second day Sunday for a man who authorities say wore a mask and posed as a police officer while fatallyshootinga Democratic state lawmaker in her suburban Minneapolis home, an actMinnesotaGov. Tim Walz called “a politically motivated assassination.” Authorities said the suspect also shot and wounded a second lawmaker and was trying to flee the area.

Former House SpeakerMelissa Hortmanand her husband, Mark, were killed in their Brooklyn Park home early Saturday. Sen. John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, were injured at their Champlin address, about 9 miles (about 15 kilometers) away.

Authorities identified the suspect as 57-year-oldVance Boelter, and the FBI issued a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction. They shared a photo taken Saturday of Boelter wearing a tan cowboy hat and asked the public to report sightings. Hundreds of law enforcement officers fanned out in the search for the suspect.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said Sunday that authorities believe the shooter hasn’t gone far.

“We believe he’s somewhere in the vicinity and that they are going to find him,” the Democrat said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “But right now, everyone’s on edge here, because we know that this man will kill at a second.”

Authorities had not yet given any details on a possible motive.

Boelter is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Hoffman, records show, though it was not clear if or how well they knew each other.

The attacks prompted warnings to other state elected officials and the cancellation of planned “No Kings” demonstrations against President Donald Trump, though some went ahead anyway, including one that drew tens of thousands to the State Capitol in St. Paul. Authorities said the suspect had “No Kings” flyers in his car and writings mentioning the names of the victims as well as other lawmakers and officials, though they could not say if he had any other specific targets.

A Minnesota official told AP the suspect’s writings also contained information targeting prominent lawmakers who have been outspoken in favor of abortion rights. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

Law enforcement agents recovered several AK-style firearms from the suspect’s vehicle, and he was believed to still be armed with a pistol, a person familiar with the matter told AP. The person could not publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The shootings happened at a time when political leaders nationwide have been attacked, harassed and intimidated amid deep political divisions.

“We must all, in Minnesota and across the country, stand against all forms of political violence,” said Walz, a Democrat. He also ordered flags to fly at half-staff in Hortman’s honor.

“Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place!” President Donald Trump said in a statement.

Police responded to reports of gunfire at the Hoffmans’ home shortly after 2 a.m., Champlin police said, and found the couple with multiple gunshot wounds.

After seeing who the victims were, police sent officers to proactively check on Hortman’s home. There they encountered what appeared to be a police vehicle and a man dressed as an officer at the door, leaving the house.

“When officers confronted him, the individual immediately fired upon the officers who exchanged gunfire, and the suspect retreated back into the home” and escaped on foot, Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said.

Authorities believe the shooter was wearing a mask when carrying out the attacks, according to a law enforcement official. The FBI released photos of the suspect including an image that appears to show him wearing a mask that covered his face and head, a police uniform, and holding a flashlight.

Multiple bullet holes could be seen in the front door of Hoffman’s home.

John and Yvette Hoffman each underwent surgery, according to Walz.

Hortman, 55, had been the top Democratic leader in the state House since 2017. She led Democrats in a three-week walkout at the beginning of this year’s session in a power struggle with Republicans. Under a power sharing agreement, she turned the gavel over to Republican Rep. Lisa Demuth and assumed the title speaker emerita.

Hortman used her position as speaker in 2023 to champion expanded protections for abortion rights, including legislation to solidify Minnesota’s status as a refuge for patients from restrictive states who travel to the state to seek abortions — and to protect providers who serve them.

Walz called her a “formidable public servant, a fixture and a giant in Minnesota.”

Hortman and her husband had two adult children.

The initial autopsy reports from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office gave their cause of death as “multiple gunshot wounds.”

The reports said Melissa Hortman died at the scene while her husband was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Hoffman, 60, was first elected in 2012 and was chair of the Senate Human Services Committee, which oversees one of the biggest parts of the state budget. He and his wife have one daughter.

Boelter was appointed to the workforce development board in 2016 and then reappointed in 2019 to a four-year term that expired in 2023, state records show.

Corporate records show Boelter’s wife filed to create a company called Praetorian Guard Security Services LLC with the same Green Isle mailing address listed for the couple. Boelter’s wife is listed as president and CEO and he is listed as director of security patrols on the company’s website.

The website says the company provides armed security for property and events and features a photo of an SUV painted in a two-tone black and silver pattern similar to a police vehicle. Another photo shows a man in black tactical gear with a military-style helmet and a ballistic vest.

An online resume says Boelter is a security contractor who has worked in the Middle East and Africa, in addition to past managerial roles at companies in Minnesota.

Around 6 a.m., Boelter texted friends to say he had “made some choices,” the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.

In the messages, read to reporters by David Carlson, Boelter did not specify what he had done but said: “I’m going to be gone for a while. May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn’t gone this way. … I’m sorry for all the trouble this has caused.”

Klobuchar condemned online threats and urged people Sunday to think twice before posting accusations or motives on the Internet.

Speaking of Hortman, Klobuchar told CNN’s “State of the Union”: “This is a person that did everything for the right reasons. And regardless of political parties, look at her face before you send out your next post.”

Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, a Republican from Cold Spring, called the attack “evil” and said she was “heartbroken beyond words” by the killings.

The shootings are the latest in a series of attacks against lawmakers across parties.

In April a suspect set fire to the home of Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, forcing him and his family to flee during the Jewish holiday of Passover. The suspect said he planned to beat Shapiro with a small sledgehammer if he found him, according to court documents.

In July 2024, Trump was grazed on the ear by one of a hail of bullets that killed a Trump supporter. Two months later a man with a rifle was discovered near the president’s Florida golf course and arrested.

Other incidents include a 2022 hammer attack on the husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in their San Francisco home and a 2020 plot by anti-government extremists to kidnap Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and start a civil war.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said he asked Capitol Police to “immediately increase security” for Klobuchar and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith. He also asked Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, to hold a briefing on member security.

Speaking Sunday on CNN’s “Inside Politics Sunday,” Smith said she personally felt safe and the thought of security details becoming the norm was unbearable.

“But I think we are at a tipping point right now when we see these kinds of personal threats. It gets worse, not better,” she said. “I don’t want to think that I need to have a personal security detail wherever I go.“

Karnowski reported from Minneapolis, and Durkin Richer from Washington. Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell’Orto in Champlin, Minnesota; Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, New York; Michael Biesecker in Washington and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government’snew policy forcing many Albertans to pay out of pocket for a COVID-19 vaccinationis about focusing on those who need it the most.

It could set a precedent across the country after the federal government put provinces in charge of buying COVID shots earlier this year.

Speaking Saturday on her call-in radio show the morning after her government announced the move, Smith said $135 million got “flushed down the drain” last year with doses wasted in part because Albertans are increasingly choosing to not take them.

“I think it’s because it doesn’t work particularly well, if you want the truth,” Smith said.

Just under 14 per cent of Alberta’s 4.8 million residents got vaccinated for the virus last season.

“It’s those that are healthy, that choose to do it because they’ve talked to their doctors, those are the ones that will have a little bit lesser priority,” she said.

Smith’s government will still pay for some to get the shots, including those who have compromised immune systems or are on social programs. Seniors in a congregate setting will also be covered.

It’s all part of an effort to get more bang for the taxpayer’s buck, Smith said.

“We believe in vaccine choice, but we don’t pay for everything,” she said.

She pointed to higher influenza vaccination rates, pegged at 21 per cent last year, suggesting that COVID vaccines don’t match the effectiveness of others, including for the measles.

Alberta, which is grappling with a spike in measles cases not seen for almost 40 years, is falling well short of the 95 per cent immunization rate experts say is needed to protect the population.

Smith’s United Conservative Party government doesn’t yet know the amount Albertans, including many seniors over the age of 65, will need to pay for a COVID shot. It estimates it could be $110 each.

Routine influenza vaccines will continue to be publicly covered.

Public health-care experts in Alberta say the province’s new COVID policy will mean more barriers to getting vaccinated and higher costs for things like hospitalizations and severe complications.

Dr. Lynora Saxinger, a physician and University of Alberta infectious diseases expert, told The Canadian Press Saturday that both COVID and influenza vaccines are formulated based on seasonal changes, so Smith’s prioritization was perplexing.

“They’re probably pretty similar in terms of how much potential they have to prevent severe illness — hospitalization, death, and then all those other things that come on the heels of both influenza and COVID,” she said.

She noted that for those 65 years or older, the risk of pneumonia, heart attack and stroke are much higher after a patient has had COVID or influenza, so vaccination can significantly reduce risk.

In a news release, Smith’s government pointed out that guidelines offered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, under anti-vaccine advocate Robert F.

Kennedy Jr. The U.S. federal health agency recommended stopping vaccines for healthy pregnant women and healthy children.

Alberta’s Primary and Preventative Health Care Minister Adriana LaGrange declined an interview request from The Canadian Press.

Her office also declined to say whether LaGrange agreed with Smith’s assessment that the COVID vaccine “doesn’t work particularly well.”

Maddison McKee, LaGrange’s press secretary, said in a statement late Friday night that the government is following national guidance.

But, McKee confirmed Saturday the province is bucking one recommendation from Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization that health care workers get a shot.

“Health care workers who do not fall into a higher-risk group will be eligible to purchase a vaccine,” McKee said in a statement.

Saxinger said vaccinating workers isn’t just about preventing an occupational risk — it’s about protecting patients.

She said influenza data shows that if you vaccinate health care workers, you reduce the death rate of the vulnerable people in their care.

The Opposition NDP has long accused the UCP of being anti-vaccination, and has called for the government to better promote the public health benefits of getting vaccinated.

NDP health critic Sarah Hoffman said Friday it’s a dangerous, callous and anti-science move to charge Albertans who want to protect their health and their loved ones.

University of Calgary health law professor Lorian Hardcastle has warned of the potential extra costs to the health care system, and has said she worries that Albertans are getting the message that vaccines just aren’t that important.

Israelunleashed airstrikes acrossIranfor a third day Sunday and threatened even greater force as some Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defenses to strike buildings in the heart of the country. Planned talks on Iran’s nuclear program, which could provide an off-ramp, were canceled.

Israel’s strikes have killed at least 406 people in Iran and wounded another 654, according to a human rights group that has long tracked the country, Washington-based Human Rights Activists. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

The region braced for a protracted conflict after Israel’s surprise bombardment Friday of Iranian nuclear and military sites killed several top generals and nuclear scientists. Neither side showed any sign of backing down.

Iran said Israel struck two oil refineries, raising the prospect of a broader assault on Iran’s heavily sanctioned energy industry that could affect global markets. The Israeli military, in a social media post, warned Iranians to evacuate arms factories, signaling a further widening of the campaign.

Israel, the sole though undeclared nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, said it launched the attack to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. The two countries have been adversaries for decades.

Explosions shook Iran’s capital, Tehran, around noon and again around 3:30 p.m. Sirens went off across much of Israel around 4 p.m., warning of Iran’s first daytime assault since fighting began.

Israel said 14 people have been killed there since Friday and 390 wounded. Iran has fired over 270 missiles, 22 of which got through the country’s sophisticated multi-tiered air defenses, according to Israeli figures. Israel’s main international airport and airspace remained closed for a third day.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said if Israel’s strikes on Iran stop, then “our responses will also stop.” Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, criticized the United States for supporting Israel and said if Israel’s “hostile actions” continue, “the responses will be more decisive and severe,” state TV reported.

U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. “had nothing to do with the attack” and that Iran can avoid further destruction only by agreeing to a new nuclear deal.

Israeli strikes targeted Iran’s Defense Ministry early Sunday after hitting air defenses, military bases and sites associated with its nuclear program. The killing of several top generals and nuclear scientists in targeted strikes indicated that Israeli intelligence has penetrated Iran at the highest levels.

Israel claimed it attacked an Iranian refueling aircraft in Mashhad in the northeast, calling it the farthest strike the military had yet carried out. Iran did not immediately acknowledge any attack. Video obtained and verified by The Associated Press showed smoke rising from the city.

Iran’s foreign minister said Israel targeted an oil refinery near Tehran and another in a province on the Persian Gulf. Semiofficial Iranian news agencies have reported that an Israeli drone strike caused a “strong explosion” at an Iranian natural gas processing plant at the South Pars natural gas field.

Human Rights Activists said its count showed at least 197 civilians and 90 members of the military have been killed across Iran. The group crosschecks local reports against a network of local sources.

In a sign that Iran expects Israeli strikes to continue, state television reported that metro stations and mosques would be made available as bomb shelters beginning Sunday night.

In Israel, at least six people, including a 10-year-old and a 9-year-old, were killed when a missile hit an apartment building in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv. Daniel Hadad, a local police commander, said 180 people were wounded and seven were missing.

Another four people, including a 13-year-old, were killed and 24 wounded when a missile struck a building in the Arab town of Tamra in northern Israel. A strike on the central city of Rehovot wounded 42.

The Weizmann Institute of Science, an important center for research in Rehovot, reported “a number of hits to buildings on the campus.” It said no one was harmed.

An oil refinery was damaged in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, according to the firm operating it, which said no one was wounded.

World leaders made urgent calls to deescalate. The attack on nuclear sites set a “dangerous precedent,” China’s foreign minister said Saturday. The region is already on edge as Israel seeks to annihilate Hamas, an Iranian ally, in the Gaza Strip, where war still rages after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has brushed off such calls, saying Israel’s strikes so far are “nothing compared to what they will feel under the sway of our forces in the coming days.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told CNN that the goal “is not a regime change,” adding that “this is for the Iranian people to decide.”

Iran has always said its nuclear program was peaceful, and the U.S. and others have assessed that it has not pursued a weapon since 2003. But Iran has enriched ever larger stockpiles of uranium to near weapons-grade levels in recent years and was believed to have the capacity to develop multiple weapons within months if it chose to do so.

The U.N.’s atomic watchdog issued a rare censure of Iran last week.

Iran’s foreign minister on Saturday called the nuclear talks “unjustifiable” after Israel’s strikes.

A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive nuclear talks, said Washington remained committed to them and hoped the Iranians would return to the table.

In a social media post, Trump warned Iran that any retaliation directed against it would bring an American response “at levels never seen before.”

“However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!” he wrote.

In Iran, satellite photos analyzed by AP show extensive damage at Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz. The images shot Saturday by Planet Labs PBC show multiple buildings damaged or destroyed. The structures hit include buildings identified by experts as supplying power to the facility.

U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that the above-ground section of the Natanz facility was destroyed. The main centrifuge facility underground did not appear to be hit, but the loss of power could have damaged infrastructure there, he said.

Israel also struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, said four “critical buildings” were damaged, including Isfahan’s uranium-conversion facility. The IAEA said there was no sign of increased radiation at Natanz or Isfahan.

An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity Sunday in line with official procedures, said it would take “many months, maybe more” to restore the two sites.

Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel, and Goldenberg from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Sam Mednick and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Authorities inBaliare searching for two Australian men suspected of fatallyshootingone Melbourne man and injuring another on the picturesque Indonesian island over the weekend.

The incident, which happened at Villa Casa Santisya in the Badung regency in southern Bali just after midnight on Friday, killed Zivan Radmanovic, 32, from Melbourne, and left another man severely injured, Badung police chief Arif Batubara confirmed,The Guardianreported.

“We cannot yet determine the motive,” Batubara said, adding that authorities were investigating.

The two Australian victims were transported to separate hospitals in Denpasar, a city north of where the shooting happened.

The Australian Broadcasting Association(ABC) said the dead man had been shot twice in the chest and once in his right foot, and had cuts on his face and shoulder.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade(DFAT) confirmed on Sunday morning that it was helping the family of a deceased man, but did not give his name.

“We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time,” it continued, adding that it is “ready to provide consular assistance to another Australian injured in the same incident,” but that it would not provide further details in the interests of maintaining both victims’ privacy.

Police in Bali say only three of the villa’s five bedrooms were occupied at the time of the shooting, with five guests present in total, including the wives of both victims and another tourist.

Radmanovic was shot in the bathroom, where they discovered 17 bullet casings, two unused bullets, and 55 bullet fragments, authorities confirmed.

Witnesses who were in the villa during the attack told investigators that two gunmen arrived at the accommodation on a scooter close to midnight. One was seen wearing an orange jacket with a dark coloured helmet. The second was reportedly wearing a dark green jacket, a black mask and a dark helmet.

According toReuters, the two suspects were heard speaking English in an Australian accent.

Radmanovic’s wife told police she was awoken by the sound of her husband screaming and that she was hiding under a blanket when she heard gunshots ring out.

Later, she discovered her husband’s body and the injured Australian, whose wife says she also saw the assailants and described being woken up by a loud noise.

She told police she heard multiple gunshots and the sound of glass shattering before the shooter entered her bedroom. She escaped the villa during the shooting, she told police.

Two Balinese witnesses staying inside the villa complex also told police that they heard a man saying he could not start his scooter in a thick Australian accent, shortly after the shots were fired, ABC reported.

Photographs from the scene, shared by the Australian outlet, show gunshot holes where bullets pierced the villa’s exterior.

Balinese authorities are currently awaiting permission from the Australian embassy to conduct an autopsy on the deceased victim.